By: jules,
on 11/14/2015
(Click to enlarge) I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Alessandro Gatti’s and Pierdomenico Baccalario’s The Story of Snowflake and Inkdrop, illustrated by Simona Mulazzani and released by Enchanted Lion Books this month. The book was originally published two years ago in Italy. The review is here, and below is some more art […]
By: jules,
on 11/7/2015
” … only / Miss Augusta / and I / are here /in a room / filled with magic / story / rhyme. …”(Click image to see in detail and read the poem in its entirety) I’m keeping things very brief today here at 7-Imp, though I do hope you leave your kicks from […]
By: jules,
on 10/31/2015
(Click to enlarge) It’s the first Sunday of the month (happy November!), so I’m featuring the artwork of a recent grad today. Her name is Amanda Moeckel, and she tells us all about herself below and shares more art, so let’s get right to it. * * * Amanda: My mom told me recently […]
By: jules,
on 10/25/2015
(Click to enlarge) It’s not the first Sunday of the month, which is when I tend to do my student-illustrator features here at 7-Imp, but I’ve been rather unorganized lately and haven’t done one in a while. So, why not today? This morning I’ve got some artwork from Ellen Shi, who graduated in the […]
By: jules,
on 10/24/2015
It’s not the first Sunday of the month, which is when I tend to do my student-illustrator features here at 7-Imp, but I’ve been rather unorganized lately and haven’t done one in a while. So, why not today? This morning I’ve got some artwork from Ellen Shi, who graduated in the Spring from RISD. […]
By: jules,
on 10/10/2015
Hi, dear kickers. I emailed Julie Paschkis this weekend (she’s one of my very favorite illustrators), and I asked if I could post one of her cheery suns today. My father passed away this week, and I not only wanted one of her lovely suns, but I’m also not really prepared to showcase the work of anyone else today. I’ll get organized next week and perhaps back to “normal” blogging habits when life settles down a bit. I thank her for permission to share one of her sparkling suns.
p.s. Did you see here recently when Julie visited Jama Rattigan?
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) I was with my father when he passed away.
2) Family pulling together.
3) Birthdays …
4) … including my youngest daughter’s. She will hit double digits this week!
5) The changing leaves. Welcome, Autumn.
6) Humor when you’ve been stretched to the limit.
7) Finding an old email from my Dad where he told me I was special and to never let the bastards wear me down.
Please do share YOUR kicks this week. …
By: jules,
on 10/3/2015
Hey there, dear kickers. I had a post lined up today, saying that I’d be taking a week-long blog break. A couple months ago, I received the James Marshall Fellowship from the University of Connecticut. That means I’m going to head up there to look through the papers of author-illustrator James Marshall. (Big fan here of his work. I’m excited!) I was going to do that this week, but plans have changed. My father is actually on hospice and is, I think, nearing the end. So, I’ll do that trip another day, another time.
But that sudden change in plans left me with nothing to post today, especially since I’m out at my parents’ house. You all know it breaks my heart to put up a post without any art. I decided to ask the talented Moira Birch Swiatkowski, a regular kicker herself (and an artist previously featured here at 7-Imp), if she could share some art. She gave me permission to pick whatever image I wanted from her site, and I thought the above image was fitting. As you can read here, it’s all about breakfast and all about fathers.
Since I’m around this week after all, please do leave your kicks, if you’re so inclined.
[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.]
By: jules,
on 9/26/2015
If you read about picture books as often as I do, you may have seen the New York Times coverage in May of Joyce Wan’s The Whale in My Swimming Pool (Farrar Straus Giroux, April 2015), where Emily Jenkins wrote, in part:
Wan is a greeting card designer and the creator of many board books. Her curvilinear and comforting style recalls Hello Kitty and other Japanese pop art in its fat dark lines and squat characters, but the hero has an antic physicality and a wide range of emotional expressions. Her world feels safe and joyful, even as the hero experiences anger and frustration.
This is the story of a boy who heads out on a warm summer day to the tiny kiddie pool in his yard, only to find a whale occupying it. (“Never has a young child shared anything so awesome as a kiddie pool completely without conflict,” wrote Jenkins.) It’s funny stuff, as you can see in the illustrations here today: The mammoth whale is perched atop the wee pool, balanced perfectly. The boy tries various ways to get the whale out of the pool — to no avail. But that doesn’t mean there’s not a happy ending. There’s, to be exact, a happy ending followed immediately by a bit of a comic rimshot, which you can see below.
It’s a funny book with an endearing main character children will root for, and I thank Joyce for visiting today to share some art from it.
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) The intro to this post makes me think of “Olivia” from Lowland Hum, where they sing “get your body in the water before it turns Fall.”
2) My 11-year-old drew this comic, and when I shared it via Facebook, cartoonist Harry Bliss asked if he could draw it. So this was in newspapers on Friday. Very fun!
3) My 11-year-old’s face when I told her.
4) Sometimes you just have to drop everything and play with an almost-four-year-old, which is what I did on Friday night.
5) This is so good.
6) Cooler weather means it’s almost hot-cocoa weather.
7) Did I already mention the girls and I are reading Laura Amy Schlitz’s The Hired Girl and loving it? It’s also the perfect read to follow Anne of Green Gables, which we just finished.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 9/20/2015
I spent all of yesterday at the SCBWI Midsouth conference, as I was invited to speak at a session. I got there early yesterday to hear the keynote speaker, author-illustrator John Rocco. He’s pictured here, making a salient point.
Since I’ve been busy with that this weekend, I don’t have a picture book or art to feature, but I figured that, at the very least, I could share this action shot. (Cue action music as you read.)
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) The aforementioned conference.
2) A college friend is in town, staying with us, and it’s great to see him.
3) This great new CD (Over and Even) from Joan Shelley:
4) And Lowland Hum’s new CD from this year (self-titled). Oh, it’s excellent. It took me a while to get my copy, but I can’t stop listening to it this week.
5) Making mixed CDs for friends.
6) Kind words about 7-Imp.
7) The way everyone rallied and kicked so heartily last week.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 9/12/2015
I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Silvia Borando’s Black Cat, White Cat, originally published in Italy last year. This English translation comes to us by way of Candlewick Press (August 2015).
The review is here, and below is a bit more art from the book.
Enjoy!
BLACK CAT, WHITE CAT. Text copyright © 2014 by TIWI s.r.l. English translation copyright © 2015 by Walker Books, Ltd. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA on behalf of Walker Books, London.
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) We took a short weekend trip to Tennessee’s aquarium in Chattanooga.
2) Jellyfish are strangely comforting.
3) As long as there’s a barrier between them and me.
4) I’ve been watching Colbert on the Late Show all week, which is a commitment for me, because I don’t normally stop what I’m doing to tune into a network show. But it’s been entertaining, and I like how he’s consistently had guests who aren’t just celebrity actors.
5) Showing the girls Clue, circa 1985:
6) Playing Graceland for my girls.
7) I don’t have a seventh kick. The news is depressing to me. Trump, Kim Davis. Well, that’s enough. Plus, I’ve family and friends who are sick and struggling. Who has got some REALLY great kicks for me? Who’s got some beauty, some truth, some light?
By: jules,
on 8/22/2015
Edmond, the Moonlit Party, translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick, is the enchanting story of a squirrel who lives in a tree also populated by an owl and a bear (his neighbors, that is). Edmond is shy, so he spends time alone, making nut jam and being “an amazing pompom maker.” He makes things like pompom hats in “no more than a day or two.” It’s very fun to spot his pompom creations, and the character himself is quirky and funny in such a way that is never too precious or cloying. His neighbor, the owl, likes to dress in disguises and eventually invites him to the party bear throws — and Edmond comes out of his shell. The story is laugh-out-loud funny in spots, and Boutavant’s illustrations are a perfect fit here, Leonard Marcus describing them in the New York Times as “a stylish retro-Pop brew with winsome notes of Takashi Murakami and Richard Scarry.” Yes. That.
The Day No One Was Angry is quite unlike any other story collection you’ll read this year — and different from the way many American books would handle such a thing. Here, Tellegen explores anger in 12 stories featuring a variety of creatures. The stories are funny and bizarre and thought-provoking — sometimes all three at once. Think: An elephant who argues with himself for having climbed a tree (and fallen, as he suspected he might). Or think: A lobster who sells anger door-to-door from his suitcase. (“I’m the lobster. Can I interest you in some anger?”) It’s an intriguing collection of stories and worlds apart from your typical story set.
Here’s a bit of art from each book so that you can see for yourself. …
[Pictured above left is a spot illustration from “The Hedgehog” from Tellegen’s The Day No One Was Angry.]
EDMOND, THE MOONLIT PARTY. First published in 2015 by Enchanted Lion Books, and all illustrations here used by their permission.
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) Well, this is so wonderful for obvious reasons.
2) I didn’t think it could be possible to like Lily Tomlin even more than I already did, but then I listened to her Fresh Air interview
.3) I’m driving a bit more these days, and I’m getting caught up on podcasts, both long-time favorites and brand-new delights. I’m sorry to the environment, but my ears and brain are happy.
4) My girls and I are reading this below, and it is very funny. We are racing through it, because we can’t put it down.
5) Invitations.
6) My middle-schooler continues to like her new school — and especially that the library opened this week.
7) Re-discovering old CDs and songs, such as Crowded House’s “Nails in My Feet.” Those guys and their lyrics. So good.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 8/15/2015
It’s a story with a lot of heart, and as the Publishers Weekly review puts it, “it’s a warm, gently funny reminder to chase down one’s dreams, rather than waiting for them to appear on the doorstep.” I love to see Matt’s sketches and to hear him talk about the progression of the artwork for the book, and I thank him for visiting today. Let’s get right to it. …
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.
Sorry to skip my kicks, dear Imps, but I have an ill parent, and so I’ve been at my parents’ home for a couple of days. And right now I just need to catch up on sleep. In sort of a pressing way. It might even be a tiny miracle this post is up, but I’m glad it is — because I like Michelle’s writing in the book and like seeing Matt’s art.
Please do tell me, though, what YOUR kicks are this week.
By: jules,
on 8/8/2015
In free verse, Weatherford tells the story of activist Fannie Lou Hamer, who was known as the voice of the civil rights movement and fought for voting rights for African Americans and racial equality. Weatherford takes readers from her childhood in the Mississippi Delta all the way to her lifelong service award in 1976 from the Congressional Black Caucus. In between—and with great reverence and passion for her subject matter—Weatherford touches upon Hamer’s many accomplishments, including Mississippi’s Freedom Summer, her establishment of grassroots Head-Start programs, her work for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, her appearance at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in New Jersey, and her efforts toward the passing of the Voting Rights Act.
There are many moving and quite powerful moments here. In a poem called “Black Power,” Weatherford writes:
I mourned whites who died for freedom.
I have lived long enough to know
that no race has a corner on decency.
I feel sorry for anybody that could let hate wrap them up.
Ain’t no such thing as I can hate anybody
and hope to see God’s face.
Out of one blood God made all nations.
After Hamer’s own struggles to vote, due to the unfair literacy tests many African Americans were given, she ran for Congress in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. “I meant to prove,” Weatherford writes, “that anyone, / black or white, rich or poor, / could get involved in American politics. / I cast my first vote for myself.”
Gives me goosebumps, I tell you. Hamer’s story is an incredible one.
Also incredible is the art. Holmes’ textured, patterned collages offer up a visual feast for one’s eyes. I wish I could show you every spread in the book, but if you go find a copy on library or bookstore shelves, you won’t be disappointed.
Here’s another spread below. And here’s her website with lots more art.
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) My picture book grad course is over. I’ve got lots of grading this weekend (which is why I’m tragically behind on all email having nothing to do with teaching), but I enjoyed teaching it.
2) My girls and I read Little Women this summer. It was my first time, too. (No, really.)
3) And then we watched the 1994 movie adaptation, and my, that was well-cast.
4) School has begun. I’ll miss more time with them, but I’ll also have quiet days once again for getting work done.
5) The oldest is in middle school (and a brand-new school), and the school thus far is really great.
6) And it has a GREAT LIBRARY STAFFED WITH TWO GREAT LIBRARIANS!
7) This!
7½) Also this great interview, and I like Rebecca’s new book an awful lot.
Bonus) This beautifully written post.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 8/1/2015
Amanda Driscoll’s first book, Duncan the Story Dragon (Knopf, June 2015), is the story of a dragon who loves to read. As you can probably guess, his problem is that, though his imagination catches fire when he reads, so do his books. Quite literally. All Duncan wants to do is finish a book. So many plots; so many questions. “I want to read those two wonderful words,” he says, “like the last sip of a chocolate milk shake … ‘The End.'” Eventually, Duncan finds a friend to read to him, but I won’t ruin the entire story for you.
Amanda is a graphic designer and artist and lives in Louisville, Kentucky. She’s here today to tell us more about herself, this debut picture book, and her work. I thank her for visiting.
The Duncan story “spark” began long ago with my own love of reading. I remember as a child (and still today) being utterly transported by books. As a writer, I wanted to convey that feeling to kids. As an illustrator, I love visually interesting characters, and the image of a dragon lodged in my mind. Then one day, the two ideas merged and Duncan the fire-breathing, book-reading dragon was born. Once I had the character, the plot came easily. Sparks fly when you combine fire breath and flammable books!
I start with pencil sketches. First thumbnails, then larger, more detailed drawings. Once the sketch is finalized, I scan it and open it in Photoshop. I tweak it a bit, and then use the sketch as a background layer, applying color, texture, and line over top of it. I love working digitally, because corrections are so much easier. I have to admit, “undo” is a wonderful thing, and I use it liberally.
The process with Duncan was interesting, because the character changed a great deal (for the better) from my early sketches to the final dummy. Duncan began as a fairly traditional dragon, but transitioned into a more kid-friendly, child-like character. People often tell me they love his untied red high-top sneakers. So, of course, I wear red high-tops to my book signings. (Although I tie mine. I’m clumsy enough without untied shoes.)
Story inspirations generally come from my children or from my own childhood. When I was a kid, if the sun was up, we were outside. Our imaginations transformed the world around us. I would love for my books to share some of that experience with today’s more electronically-connected generation. And although my kids are teenagers now, I frequently draw from the many memories of their younger years.
Regarding artists who inspire me, can I answer “everyone”? There are so many talented illustrators that it’s really difficult to narrow it down. I’m a big fan of Dan Santat and was thrilled Beekle won the Caldecott. It’s a beautiful book, and I love that he works digitally. I adore Patrice Barton’s expressive characters, texture, and line work. Marla Frazee’s talent is mind-boggling. I admire John Rocco, Jon Klassen, Loren Long, LeUyen Pham, Peter Brown, Peter Reynolds. … I could seriously go on for days.
I am currently illustrating my second book, Wally Does Not Want a Haircut, due out next summer from Knopf. It’s about a sheep who goes to great lengths to avoid his first shearing, which leads to some hair-raising situations. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) This story was directly inspired by my exploits with my own children’s haircuts, or lack thereof. The humor is wacky, but it still has the warmth and heart that I strive for in all my stories. It’s been wonderful working with the same editor and art director as I did with Duncan.
I hope my stories have a positive message sent in a subtle manner. Kids are smart. They can spot a preachy story a mile away. But if you can teach them with subtlety and humor, there’s value in that. I’m a huge believer in kindness and compassion, and I hope my characters always convey those morals.
DUNCAN THE STORY DRAGON. Copyright © 2015 by Amanda Driscoll. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York. All images reproduced by permission of Amanda Driscoll.
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.
It’s been a looooong week—you know those weeks, right?—so my kick right now is that I’m going to take a bubble bath with a good novel. (I’m finally reading this one, after many, many years of both my husband and best friend telling me I should.) And that’s kick enough to make up for seven.
What are YOUR kicks this week? Please do tell.
By: jules,
on 7/25/2015
Look closely on the title page spread, and you’ll see a quote from Fifi Brindacier (a.k.a. Pippi Longstocking, as she’s known in France):
It’s best for young children to live an orderly life. Especially if they order it themselves.
I love this, and it’s the perfect fit for this story, in which a five-and-a-half-year-old girl named Edith (but her friends call her Eddie) sets out to find a fuzzy little squishy.
There’s a lot to like here, including Alemagna’s vivid mixed-media illustrations (or what appear to be mixed-media to me), as well as the cast of characters in Eddie’s community that she visits on her quest. Eddie leaps off the page in her neon pink jacket, and she brims with character. Best of all, she manages to find precisely what she’s looking for—rather, she manages to create just the gift she wants—-and this is especially triumphant, given that she says on the book’s first spread, “I don’t know how to do anything.” This is one girl’s journey of self-discovery — and along the way she picks up a bit of self-confidence to boot.
Here are some more of the colorful illustrations to pore over. …
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) Picture book imports like this one.
2) Invitations.
3) A bit of home decluttering that really needed to happen.
4) New tracks from Laura Marling.
5) I got a late start to the show Veep, but my God, it’s funny.
6) A crisis averted and …
7) … the kindness of strangers.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 7/18/2015
Good morning, fellow imps. I’m highlighting a bit of artwork today from award-winning author-illustrator Cece Bell’s newest picture book, I Yam a Donkey!, published by Clarion Books in June.
There are several things I like about this book (whose story starts on the title page itself)—its humor, its memorable two main characters, its irreverence—but my favorite thing is that it is inherently subversive, if you consider the 
existence of prescriptive linguistics, which is concerned about the rules governing what people should or shouldn’t say (rather, how they say it). Descriptive linguistics is concerned with how language is used, instead of telling people how to use language properly.
Prescriptive linguists would shake their fist at this entertaining story, complete with a tongue-in-cheek moral, and that is part of its beauty. Or, as the Publishers Weekly review notes, “pedants who can’t adapt will be left in the dust.” And that’s because it’s all about a donkey who has a particular way of talking, though the stubborn and opinionated grammarian yam he meets keeps telling him he’s talking incorrectly. Or, as the vegetables watching it all go down (well, most of it) put it, it’s a “big fight about grammar.” The ending is delicious in more ways than one, but I’ll let you discover that for yourself.
I was just about to tell you all about Cece’s art for the book, rendered in china marker and acrylics, but you can see for yourself below.
p.s. Here’s my 2008 breakfast interview with Cece. (Was it really seven years ago?)
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) I spoke this past week in Knoxville about the best children’s books of the year (well, the best books from last Fall and this Spring) at an event I participate in yearly, and it was (as always) good fun. I always enjoy hearing my colleagues speak as well.
2) My daughters went with me, and we made a little trip out of it.
3) They don’t often get to see me work, so I hope they enjoyed hearing me talk about picture books (though they mostly sat in the back and read).
4) I got to catch up with friends, while in Knoxville and Maryville.
5) The new issue of the Horn Book.
6) Story time.
7) It’s good to be home.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 7/12/2015
I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Mordicai Gerstein’s newest picture book, The Night World (Little, Brown, June 2015). That is here if you want to read all about the book.
I’ve got some art today here at 7-Imp from the book, and Mordicai also sent some early roughs from the book. “As you will see,” he tells me, “the ruffs are very close to the final art.”
They roughs are, indeed, similar to the final art, but if you’re an illustration fan like me, you love to see these kinds of comparisons, so I’m going to post Mordicai’s roughs and follow each one with the final art as seen in the book.
I thank him for sharing.
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.
Forgive me as I forgo seven, separate kicks (band name — I call it!), but the girls and I are reading a galley of this …
… and I’m really curious to know how it ends, so my kicks are this book and that I’m going to go read some more with them. (We’re close to being done!)
How about you all? What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 7/5/2015
It just so happens that my very favorite medium in picture book illustration is charcoal. I get all googly-eyed when I see it done well. But that’s not the only reason I love this book from author-illustrator Akiko Miyakoshi, The Tea Party in the Woods, coming in August from Kids Can Press and originally published in Japan back in 2010. The visuals here are pure magic and filled with intriguing details, and the story is one of mystery and friendship.
cover.jpg)
A young girl, named Kikko, awakes to a “winter wonderland.” She heads out to deliver a pie to her Grandma, the one that her father, who has already set out for Grandma’s house, left behind. This is all slightly reminiscent of the classic tale “Little Red Riding Hood” in that the girl’s destination involves her grandmother, and her skirt and winter hat are bright reds (much like Red’s cape) in a sea of white snow and dark charcoals. But that’s where the similarities end: There’s no menacing wolf here.
Instead, she is fairly sure after heading out that she spots her father ahead, and in an effort to catch up to him, she falls in snow drifts and the pie box is crushed. She follows her father anyway to “a strange house. Has it always been here? Kikko wondered.”
Her father enters the house, and when she peeks in the window, she is surprised to see, not her father, but a great big bear. A kind lamb asks Kikko, still outside, if she is there for the tea party. She goes inside with the lamb, and here is where the magic and mystery amp up. There is a fabulous spread where all the creatures at this party—forest creatures of every stripe—turn to stare at her. But Miyakoshi places readers right with Kikko, so it’s the reader who gets a stare-down too. It’s a wonderful, rather spine-tingling moment.
Was it all a dream or did she really feast with forest creatures? It doesn’t really matter. The adventure was worth it, either way.
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) Did I mention I love to see charcoal illustrations like this?
2) Being thanked by name by Dan Santat in his Caldecott acceptance speech last weekend. It was tremendously thoughtful of him to thank bloggers.
3) Lots of great new music to explore.
4) Alabama Shakes’ new CD really is extraordinary.
5) Brian Selznick’s drawings.
6) Sparklers.
7) Pie.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 6/20/2015
Boats for Papa (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, June 2015), which will be on shelves at the end of this month, is about Buckley, an anthropomorphized beaver who lives with his mother in a tiny house by the sea. “They didn’t have much, but they always had each other.” Buckley’s father is gone. One doesn’t really know why—I suppose it’s possible he took off for one reason or another—but it’s also perfectly plausible that he has died. Readers who look closely will see loving family photos, which include Buckley’s father, on the walls of the house.
Buckley loves to make things, especially boats from the driftwood he finds on the shore. He makes boat after boat, his mother always encouraging his creative efforts. “Your papa would be proud!” his Mama tells him. Buckley, who misses his father, wants to show him his favorite boats, but he settles for carrying them to the sea, with notes attached that say “For Papa. Love, Buckley,” and he pushes the boats out on the tides — all in the hopes that the hand-made vessels will reach his father.
Buckley closed the lid and sat quietly. The boats must have washed back onto the beach, after all. They had never reached Papa.
Buckley runs back, after jotting something on his boat-note, and he and Mama watch the boat drift out to sea.
Later, readers see Mama walk to the beach, grab the boat that has sailed back, brush the sand off of it, and wrap it in her shawl. As she does so, she sees the note that reads: “For Mama. Love, Buckley.”
As for the book’s rich watercolors, well … you can see that for yourself here today, since Jessixa (her site, by the way, says that the “x” is pronounced like a “c”) shares some paintings from the book, as well as some early sketches. She’s including the original thumbnails for the story before it changed. It was once called Drift. “Neal [Porter],” she tells me, “came up with the title Boats for Papa, because he said Drift was too melancholy, like Mama and Buckley were drifting aimlessly. I joked with Neal, telling him one day I would write a YA novel just so that I could call it Drift, because I still liked that title a lot.”
Jessixa also includes here today the original test pieces of art that she made when she got the idea for the book, “as well as a photograph of all the paint tests that I created during the painting process. These are some of my most favorite things in the world — all the little scraps of paper I tested colors on and figured out what color the sand, water, and sky would be at different times of the day.”
Boatloads of thanks to Jessixa for sharing today.
BOATS FOR PAPA. Copyright © 2015 by Jessixa Bagley. Published by Neal Porter/Roaring Brook Press, New York. All images here today reproduced by permission of Jessixa Bagley.
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.
Well, the news in Charleston this week was incredibly disturbing and sad, so we have to make the most of it, yes? Help me out with your own kicks, dear readers.
1) It’s Father’s Day, and my daughters are very lucky to have the father they do.
2) Story time at Parnassus Books with attentive children and my friend’s daughter (one of my favorite children on the planet) right by my side.
3) She’s baaaaaack!
I actually read an early copy of the book, but I’m happy to have the hardback. My girls and I laughed so hard when we read this that tears streamed down our faces.
4) One of my dearest friends, Susannah Fotopulos, was featured on Nashville Public Television recently. She is doing great things in local schools with her organization, Plant the Seed, creating outdoor classrooms in school gardens to educate and empower under-resourced children.
5) Evidently, my blog is listed as a good picture book website in the back of this new book from Martin Salisbury (a book I really want to read):
6) Getting a much-needed kick in the pants on a project.
7) I particularly enjoyed featuring Caroline Magerl’s work this week, and I am happy to share Jessixa’s today, too.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 6/13/2015
I am breakin’ the 7-Imp rules this weekend and featuring a newly-graduated illustrator just one week after featuring another debut illustrator. (I normally do this the first Sunday of each month.) But, hey, rules are made for breaking.
My guest, Louis Fratino, graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art just under a month ago, majoring in Painting and concentrating in Illustration. He tells me he likes to draw more than anything, though his studio work is mostly oil on canvas.
Below is more from Louis, including some of his artwork. I thank him for visiting. I hope we see his work in (published) books one day.
Drawing made me want to be an illustrator. I have been drawing and telling stories my whole life. It was something I spent enormous amounts of time doing as a child. I would go through reams of printer paper, which really irritated my parents, because I never wanted to draw on the back of an image. I still remember having a nice fat stack of clean paper in front of me, a feeling I think I understand more fully as an adult. I really loved illustration as a child, too, and continued to pay attention to children’s books through adolescence.
I am a painter, primarily, and I use painting as a means to tell stories about myself. I really enjoy illustration as a way to inform my painting practice — and to take a break from it. Since I am a storyteller and a draftsman, illustration excites me.
I love Persian and Indian miniature painting and American folk art. I am influenced by the ancient pattern work of the Etruscans. Painters that I really rely on would be Matisse and Hockney.
Some illustrators that influence me are Marc Boutavant, Enzo Mari, Maira Kalman, and Ben Shahn. I also am amazed at Blexbolex’s use of print and digital media. I love Chuck Groenink, Ignacy Witz, Makoto Kagoshima, Miroslav Šašek, Benjamin Chaud, Laurent Moreau, and Dahlov Ipcar.
This is, unfortunately, an insignificant number of things that I see that become part of the visual soup I am sampling from whenever I am making an image. I have a blog of imagery that I reference that can be seen here, which is maybe the most comprehensive answer!
I recently completed (maybe) a book project called Some Boys [pictured below] … that used colored drawing inks.
I was awarded a Fulbright in Painting and Printmaking to Berlin for 2015-2016. I will be there for a year, continuing my studio practice, which I still am completely speechless about!
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) A late-night game of family laser tag. Just ’cause.
2) This song, “Little Bigot” by Villagers:
3) A flexible work schedule that allows for hanging out with my girls this summer.
4) Getting galleys in the mail just this week of children’s novels I really wanted to read.
5) I don’t normally get that fired up about book trailers, but this one is really good — and I always like to see anything animated by Christian Robinson:
6) And I’ve seen an early copy of that book, which I really like.
7) Re-discovering an older CD that is pretty much perfect. I mean, you know it’s perfect, but it’s always good to drag it out after years and years and re-discover its perfect-ness.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 6/6/2015
As you’ll read below, Sarah used some of her existing paintings to create this book. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person recently, and she has a real passion for children’s literature and learning even more about picture book-making. (This is the first picture book she’s both written and illustrated.) She has a BFA in Painting and an MAT in Education and taught for many years. She’s a big believer in nurturing children’s creativity: “Look at art, make art, read books, and write stories,” she says. “That creativity is in everyone; it just needs a little encouragement.”
Below, she tells us more about herself and shares some paintings from the book. I turn things over to her now, and I thank her for visiting.
As far as children’s books go, I am a huge fan of Maurice Sendak, not only for his amazing illustrations, but also for his willingness to tell a strong story. And Maxfield Parrish, illustrator extraordinaire. When I was a kid, I used to copy his illustrations in my sketchbook, and my mom would critique them for accuracy. It really helped me with drawing. The illustrations from Alice Adventures in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, the original Oz books by L. Frank Baum, and the paintings of Alphonse Mucha all had a big effect on me as a child.
My first experience illustrating was the book Bambu Mouse by Marianne Bouldin. It is a charming story about a little mouse in China, who learns lots of lessons about home, friendship, and patience. The book also incorporates Chinese phrases, so the reader can learn a little about Chinese language along the way. I lived in China for a year, teaching English, and Marianne Bouldin’s grandmother was Chinese, so it was really fun to draw on those experiences to make the book.
Because of my career as a painter, the illustrations were the driving force for this story. They had been painted previously and worked into a story after the fact. As I paint, I am always telling myself the narrative of the painting — something is always happening visually, and there is always tension in it. I always wanted to bring the stories of these pieces together as a children’s book, but the business of being a painter and a mother took so much time. It was one of those dreams on the back burner.
I paint on canvas. The first thing I do is lay down a texture of plaster and gesso. I seal that by applying many translucent layers of acrylic paint, very loose and messy and chaotic. I mostly use giant brushes, paper towels, and paint splatters. After I get the ground of the painting rich and exciting, I stop and let an image or idea come to me. Then I get the oil paint and render it on the abstract background. The idea for the painting develops as I paint it, so the process it very integral to the work itself.
After the book launch, there are a few projects on the calendar. I have a show in Madison, Wisconsin (Art Fair on the Square), and an exhibit at Blend Studio in Nashville. I am in Proto Pulp book fair in Nashville as well — and have a list of commissions to paint in between it all. And in March, I am the featured artist, along with sculptor Preston Farabow, at the Webb School in Knoxville. We will be creating a circus installation, complete with performers!
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) The Deslondes.
2) The girls and I are having fun this summer with more time to read. We are reading all good things thus far but are probably enjoying these two the most:
3) Lying in the sun. I don’t mean tanning. But just soaking it in.
4) The 11-year-old survived her first fall from her bike. Her chin was one with the pavement. But she’s still going.
5) A friend told me the fun fact that, for a while, John Lennon and Paul McCartney had the working title of “Scrambled Eggs” for “Yesterday.” I told my 9-year-old, who ran off and wrote some new lyrics.
6) Then I saw this.
7) The first night of my grad course went well this past week. I seem to have a good group of students.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 5/30/2015
I’ve got a review over at BookPage of Miranda Paul’s beautiful Water Is Water (Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook Press, May 2015), illustrated by Jason Chin. That is here. Today, Jason is sharing a bit of art from the book, as well as a few early sketches. I thank him for sharing.
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) Letters from friends.
2) Book recommendations from friends and colleagues.
3) I’m learning “Golden Slumbers” on the piano.
4) My girls learned to ride bikes (and a late start too — one is 9; the other, 11) in about thirty minutes! This is good, because now we can bike a lot.
5) Biking to the library.
6) Surprises in the mail.
7) My picture book grad course (for the University of Tennessee) starts this week. I hope my students are ready to read read read.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 5/23/2015
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There is a closing note in Julie Paschkis’ new picture book about how she and her family have an annual party where they gather together with friends to decorate eggs and eat yummy food. She makes particular mention of pysanky, Ukrainian decorated eggs, and a brilliant, decorated egg is an integral part of the story in this bright and beautiful book, P. Zonka Lays an Egg (Peachtree, March 2015). When I say bright, I’m talking a primarily sunny yellow palette, punctuated by other warm and lovely colors.
The story itself is about a chicken who doesn’t lay her eggs on time, nor does she lay enough of them to suit all the other chickens. (Rebel, nonconforming chickens are my favorite kinds of chickens, even if I can’t start my day without scrambled eggs.) P. Zonka is too busy taking in her surroundings, observing all the world’s wonders and details, to lay her eggs. But never fear: She has a big surprise for everyone in the end. “Every page turn,” writes the Kirkus review, “reveals a stunning new composition of fowls with personality, baskets of eggs and floral design elements evocative of … the beautiful folk art found on a Ukrainian decorated egg.”
It’s technically still Spring, so let’s take a look at some art from the book. (Most spreads are sans text.) I thank Julie for sharing; she also sent some early sketches. Oh, and we’ll close with some of Julie’s decorated eggs.
Enjoy …
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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) A night out.
1½) With raspberry torte.
2) Letterman’s farewell on Wednesday night. One of my oldest friends and I had on our bucket list to see him live one day, and well … we missed out on that. [She was, however, on the show years ago, handing an animal to Jack Hanna (since she works with zoos), and she brought me some surprises from the green room. I still have them.]
3) Last weekend’s children’s reading festival in Knoxville was wonderful, as always. Pictured here is the good discussion we had about picture books. I moderated, and weighing in with great responses were: R. Gregory Christie, Phil Stead, Erin Stead, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, and Dan Santat.
4) New bikes!
5) I finally wrote about my trip to Wyoming here. Maybe next week I’ll share more photos from the day (here at 7-Imp).
6) I went from the Tetons to the Appalachians in the span of one week.
7) School is over! The girls and I have a huge stack of books we can’t wait to read. Summer time = more time to read. (And swim.)
BONUS #1: This. Kyle Mooney makes me laugh.
BONUS #2: Game of Thrones, The Musical.
BONUS #3: Reading lots of picture books this week at my daughters’ school. I also got a third-grade class turned on to Dory Fantasmagory and left them my copy. Since I’m a Dory Evangelist, my work there is done.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 5/16/2015
Today, I follow up the review with some art from the book and a few other images Elly sent along. I thank her for sharing.
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) The Danielsons are heading to Knoxville this weekend (though I’ll be back before Sunday) for their wonderful Children’s Festival of Reading. (I wrote about it here.) I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting others in person for the first time.
2) I’ll be moderating the picture book panel discussion, too, which I always enjoy doing.
3) I read Station Eleven while I traveled last weekend. (If you’ve read it, then you know how WEIRD it was for me to be reading it mostly in airports.) It’s good stuff.
4) And I got a new novel, since I realized that I miss reading grown-up books more often.
5) Nashville Kidlit Drink Night.
6) I had so much fun in Wyoming last weekend. I hope to write about that event soon. I got to meet lots of great folks, including Jerry Pinkney:
7) The story my 9-year-old is writing.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
By: jules,
on 5/9/2015
Here’s the review if you want to read all about the book, and below is a bit more art.
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) My stomach flu is gone.
2) I had a birthday this week, and people I love spoiled me.
3) People I love.
4) I’m actually in Wyoming as you read this for a children’s lit event. Maybe next week I can tell you about my trip. It’s my first time in Wyoming. You can maybe assume right now at this very moment that my view is spectacular.
5) Crises averted.
6) Reading a great novel (for grown-ups) I bummed from my husband. (Good timing, since I’m seeing airports this weekend.)
7) The countdown-to-end-of-school has begun.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
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The art of Simona is beautiful especially the snow one.
I agree, Jules, the horror of the past week is unbelievable.
Jules, I love Shakey Graves. How cool to be seeing them.
My kicks:
1. This place to share positive moments in times such as this past week.
2. Watching a flicker feed at the suet block.
3. Attending the book launch of my critique member’s book baby, Caskets from Costco. Such a terrific book.
4. Sending off Veteran’s Day poems to veterans.
5. I might actually get No Ordinary Time finished for book club next Sunday. Six hundred pages about the Roosevelts.
6. Turning off the television at 9 PM to read nightly.
7. The Ducks won against Stanford, a much needed win.
Have a great week.
Good morning, Imps! Hope you are all safe and dry and warm.
The title alone is cool: THE STORY OF SNOWFLAKE AND INKDROP.
Jules: Sending lots and lots of healthy thoughts to your amazing cat. Hugs to the humans in the household as well. You must have been thrilled to hear and see Laura Marling live! I hope you enjoy the Shakey Graves show as well.
Jone: That, too, is an interesting title – Good luck to your book club friend. Enjoy the books and the discussions.
My kicks for the past week:
1) Stability
2) Performing
3) Timing
4) Scheduling
5) Rehearsing
6) Writing
7) Daring
Lovely snow!
Jules – sending healing wishes to your cat! Glad Laura Marling was so wonderful & happy you get to see Shakey again! Jeff Buckley – love him – he is part of the soundtrack to my LA days.
Jone – thank you for sending Veterans Day poems to Veterans. And I agree completely with Kick #1 – having a place to share the positive is so important. Turning off the TV to read is a wonderful thing.
LW – Love Kicks #1 & #7 – while they seem so opposite, I think you need to have the Stability to get to be Daring, and in my mind I envision as a whirling dervish of both.
My kicks this week:
1) Getting to visit small rural towns in Oregon this week – so beautiful.
2) Daisy & I had pumpkin pancakes for breakfast.
3) Cold rainy weather is perfect for having a fire in the fireplace.
4) Going to Powell’s to shop for the perfect birthday presents for a couple of friends.
5) When questioning whether to give books rather than wine, the friend helping me shop told me, “You are the only person I know who gives books as presents anymore – I always love getting books from you.”
6) A friend’s fun 40th birthday party, at where else? A brew pub! And he loved the book I’d gotten him! Yay!
7) A misunderstanding with friends that we all figured out and fixed within 24 hours – it is so nice to have good, kind, caring friends.
7.5) Cold weather makes Daisy more snuggly. Love the snuggle-pup.
Sending wishes for all you Imps to have a safe, warm, love-filled week amidst all the sadness in the world. Thank you Jules for a light-filled hopeful place to land. Keep spreading the joy y’all!
Ack! LW – that was supposed to be that I envision YOU as both!