Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure
(Click to enlarge)
I’m kickin’ it all international today with Italian author-illustrator Beatrice Alemagna, born in Bologna, and Sergio García Sánchez, who is a cartoonist from Spain.
If I had a dime for every time an illustrator here at 7-Imp has named Beatrice Alemagna as an inspiration, well … I’d be in Italy now. Yep. Why not? Italy sounds good right about now.
Last year she wrote and illustrated Little Big Boubo—on shelves here in the States this month, thanks to Tate Publishing—and I’ve got some spreads from it today. This book had me at its first lines:
Hello! My first name is Boubo.
My last name is Boubo too.
Boubo is proud of his growing independence and launches his best campaign in this story to convince readers that he’s a big boy. “I only wear my nappies one day a week,” he says, “like grown-ups.” With a small trim size, this story about a proud toddler is just right for toddler hands, perhaps those who have graduated from board books.
Know how he knows he’s big? His mother tucks him in nightly, saying “Sleep well, my BIGGEST love.” That’s how this story of child development also becomes a tribute to maternal love.
Also below, I’ve got some spreads from Nadja Spiegelman’s and Sergio García Sánchez’s
Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure (TOON Books/A Toon Graphic, April 2015), which is so fun to read — and not just because we Danielsons returned fairly recently from our own NYC adventure. (The book’s opening endpapers depict a subway map, something to which we became very accustomed just a couple weeks ago.)This is the story of a boy named Pablo, new to a NYC school and reluctant to make friends, since his family moves so often. His class heads out on a subway adventure and, along the way, learns about the history of the subway system. Pablo is paired with a girl named Alicia, who is trying her best to befriend him, despite the walls around him. The two of them eventually get on the wrong train but find their way back to their teacher and class. Sánchez’s spreads, colored by Lola Moral, are bursting with energy and life, and it’s a testament to his artistic sensibilities that he keeps these busy spreads from getting confusing for the reader. The book even closes with informational matter about the history of the subway system. Fascinating.
Below are some spreads from that too. Enjoy the art. …
LITTLE BIG BOUBO. Copyright © 2014 by Beatrice Alemagna. All images here reproduced by permission of the publisher, Tate Publishing/Abrams, New York.
LOST IN NYC: A SUBWAY ADVENTURE. Copyright © 2015 by Nadja Spiegelman, Sergio García Sánchez, and TOON Books. All images here reproduced by permission of the publisher.
Note for any new readers: 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.
1) Very busy week. My first kick is just Getting Everything Done. (This also means that, if you’ve emailed me about something blog-related, boy howdy and howdy boy … sorry for the delay. One day, I’ll get caught up.)
2) A brand-new coffee maker that is oh-so, oh-so good at what it does.
3) My girls and I went to hear author Matthew Baker speak at Parnassus Books this weekend. We’re enjoying his debut children’s novel (pictured below) so far, and it was good to hear him talk about the writing of it.
4) I’ll be teaching my picture book grad course again this summer, and my kick is that I sat down to go through my lecture notes and slides and the syllabus, etc. in order to get ready to update them for this year — and I think I actually got my bearings. (I last taught it two years ago.) Lots more work ahead of me, but I’m ready to go, I think.
5) Whenever I think of summer (as I just did above), I get excited about the extra time I’ll have with my daughters.
6) Tonight, I’ll have dinner with a good friend. And that’s always good.
7) Opportunities.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
What fun graphics you have for us today.
Jules, time with your daughters, isn’t that the best? Can’t believe summer is around the corner.
My kicks:
1. Back to school.
2. My Poetry Rocks group.
3. My grand girl swam 60 meters (120 laps) for her swimathon yesterday.
4. Getting ready for our poetry night this coming Thursday.
5. Writing.
6. The ballet. My friend’s (from elementary school) sons are part of the Oregon Ballet Company. Met up ith them Friday.
7. Bookclub tonight here. Flight Behaavior by Barbara Kingsolver.
Have a great week.
Good morning, Boubo, Beatrice, Sergio, and imps! May you all find your way through the trees and on the subways.
Jules: High-five for getting everything done!
My kicks for the past week:
1) #rockthedrop – the annual international book drop with readergirlz
2) #tothegirls – Courtney Summers’ motivational project
3) Performances
4) Rest
5) Simplicity
6) Water
7) Honesty
Jone, your last kick reminds me that I still haven’t read the Kingsolver book you sent me. GAH! GAH! And gah! again. Will you believe me when I say I really am going to read it (and then pass it on to someone else, as promised)? … Have fun at poetry night! And congrats to your granddaughter.
LW: Hurray for readergirlz, always. Break a leg at any and all performances.
Very fun art today!
Jules – congrats on getting everything done. Enjoy your dinner with your friend!
Jone -hooray for your grandgirl’s 60 meters! Have fun at book club and poetry night.
LW – Glad to see you including rest as a kick in your busy life! Hooray for rockthedrop!
My kicks this week:
1) Sunshine
2) Working in the garden/yard with Daisy.
3) Daisy deciding to “help” by ripping up a gardening glove I’d taken off to fiddle with a hanging basket. It was hard not to laugh when I scolded her – the look on her face was so surprised – she really thought she was doing a good thing. (But mom, isn’t it my job to rip things up that you put down?)
4) A dinner party and then seeing the one woman show “People’s Republic of Portland” by Lauren Weedman. She’s been a Daily Show correspondent and she is very very funny.
5) Getting a party gift of homemade lavender and poppy soap. (I’m boring, I just brought wine and chocolate for everyone.)
6) Breakfast and a dog walk with a friend who had wanted to catch me up on his good news – yay for happy friends!
7) Sharing a poem that I love with someone, and having them love it too.
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Rachel, that show sounds fun. I was just reading a Q&A with Jon Stewart, speaking of The Daily Show.
I’ve never heard of poppy soap. Gonna have to look that up.
Hugs to Daisy. Have a great week!
Late to the party this week and too tired to really write but just wanted to say hello to all my fellow kickers!! Hope everyone had as good and full a weekend as we did! Now, off to bed
Stacey: Hope you have a good night’s rest!
Daisy: It was sweet that you tried to help Rachel. Now go make her a new glove.
Jules: Apparently, there’s a new Elbow song in the new movie Man Up. What is it called? I want to hear it.
Hi Stacey! May life always come before kickin’. No worries!
LW: I DIDN’T KNOW THAT! I’ll have to explore. Thanks for the heads-up.
Jules, I love ALL of your kicks and I’m curious—-Keurig?
And it’s funny, whenever you ask this “7 Kicks” question, I draw a blank—probably because my mind IS! lol I’ll try though:
1) Starting to get a handle on the bread machine I got so I can bake gluten-free bread. (Of course, getting the recipes right is another story!)
2) ordered a Cuisinart ice cream maker. Sounds like I’m handy in the kitchen, but I’m not all that, really. This is simply a necessary undertaking lol
3) actually excited about making dairy-free ice cream! Got a highly-recommended book today by Kelly V. Bozyna appropriately entitled: DAIRY-FREE ICE CREAM
4) finished up some long-awaited dental work. So glad it’s over!
5) read THE TRUTH ABOUT TWINKIE PIE by Kat Yeh and loved it
6) am reading FISH IN A TREE and am simply blown away by Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s writing!
7) purchased a pal’s debut picture book and am SO excited it’s finally HERE! (STICK & STONE by Beth Ferry) And it’s BRILLIANT! Love Tom Lichtenheld, too!