Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

I promise I have a few words to say, but first I want to show you eight different illustrations (before I show you even more art after I say my few words).

Here goes:

Why am I showing you all these today?

Last week at Kirkus, I wrote about Seven Lovely Fall 2013 Picture Book Surprises. That’s ’cause my eyes were big, and I didn’t want to write about just one book. That link is here, and today I have art (more below) from each book. Authors Kelly Cunnane and Ame Dyckman also share a few words about their picture books.

[IMPORTANT NOTE: The colors are a bit off in the illustrations from Rico the Brave Sock Monkey. They are translating a bit too brightly here on the computer screen. If I can somehow fix that later, I will do so.]

Enjoy!

Kelly Cunnane: I taught in The Sahara. I asked the Muslim African, Moor, and Haratin women about their malafa, their veils, and Deep in the Sahara is their answer.

The original illustrations that I saw by Hoda were the most adorable collages I had ever seen, so when the final illustrations arrived, I was so surprised at the change that I actually questioned it. Her originals—which were far more “cute”/playful, full of visible cloth and yarn textures—had been on my wall and as my screensaver for a year! Anne Schwartz’s assistant, Stephanie Pitt, patiently explained that the book had adults in it and adult themes, so cuteness would not support the material, as well as the final illustrations, which are both representative of the adult aspect, as well as sweet.

For some reason, I didn’t realize how pro-female the book is until I saw Hoda’s illustrations. Her use of color and shape in illustrating the women is such a great celebration. I was enormously privileged to work with a woman from Iran. And that Anne [Schwartz] would know to combine us is Anne’s gift. Hoda gently straightened me out on more than one cultural misunderstanding. To make sure the book embraced one of the strongest caste systems still in place in the world took a lot of painstaking attention; that the white Moors, the tribal Africans, and the Haratin people (descendants of the slaves to the Moors) were all equally represented was a driving point all the way through the work. For example, the working title of the book was Mina’s Malafa, which we all liked so much, but the more I learned, the more I saw that the name in no way represented the other groups of veil wearers in the country, so to be more politically correct, in my way of thinking, I had to find a name that was found in all three groups: Lalla.

Ame Dyckman: Tea Party Rules was a riot to make. I had so much fun with this book! Michael Bond’s A Bear Called Paddington was one of my childhood faves (still is!), so I’ve always believed a small bear could pop into someone’s life at any moment. And what better event than a backyard tea party?

But this party’s prep wasn’t quick: Tea Party Rules was carried around in my pocket for at least a year-and-a-half before it read anything like the TPR of today. (I have 13 different drafts on my computer, and a few hard copy drafts more became manuscript confetti in the washing machine. I gotta start checking my pockets before laundry day.) At various times, there were additional protagonists (more bears), a different title (Cookies for Cubs), and an alternate ending that just didn’t ring kid-true, like this one. But with all the fabulous advice from the TPR team (Super Agent Guy Scott Treimel, Editor Extraordinaire Leila Sales, and the whole amazing crew at Viking Children’s) and the hysterical art from master-of-facial expressions K.G. Campbell—you should’ve seen me running around the room laughing when I got his sketches!—I hope we’ve created a book party everybody would like to join.

THE BIG WET BALLOON. Copyright © 2013 by Liniers & RAW Junior, LLC. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, TOON Books.

DEEP IN THE SAHARA. Copyright © 2013 by Kelly Cunnane. Illustrations © 2013 by Hoda Hadadi. Published by Schwartz & Wade Books, New York. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher.

TEA PARTY RULES. Copyright © 2013 by Ame Dyckman. Illustrations © 2013 by K. G. Campbell. Published by Viking Juvenile, New York. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher.

THE GREAT AMERICAN DUST BOWL. Copyright © 2013 by Don Brown. Published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Illustrations reproduced by permission of Don Brown.

THE GOODS was edited and designed by Mac Barnett and Brian McMullen. Images appear courtesy of Big Picture Press, McSweeney’s, and the contributors. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

GOODS 3 credits:
“Elephant & Piggie Comix!” by Mo Willems
“Connect the Words” by Brian McMullen
“Cyclopic Ants” by Shawn Harris
“Treasure Hunt” by Dan Santat

GOODS 40 credits:
“Cook With Your Face” by Jon Korn & Susan Garrett
“Alternative Pets” by Michaelanne Petrella
“Sharpen Your Eyeballs” by Scott Teplin
“Angry Avianautics” by Kevin Cornell
“Find the Word” by Brian McMullen

THE SILVER BUTTON. Copyright © 2013 by Bob Graham. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA on behalf of Walker Books, London.

RICO THE BRAVE SOCK MONKEY. Translation copyright © 2013 by Rubinstein Publishing. Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Noëlle Smit. Originally published in the Netherlands. Text copyright © 2009 by Fiona Rempt. Published in 2013 in the States by Golden Books, New York. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher.

ROBOTS, ROBOTS EVERYWHERE! Copyright © 2013 by Sue Fliess. Illustrations © 2013 by Bob Staake. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Golden Books, New York, as well as the illustrator.