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Author: Fran Slayton¡
Rating: 
Reading Level: 5th to 8th
Pages: 160
Publisher: Philomel, Penguin Young Readers
Edition: Hardcover, 2009 (from galley)
Judging by the somewhat muted and sleepy cover, I thought I was going to read a "pensive, quiet" coming-of-age, historical fiction. It turned out that the story is NOT all that quiet: every episode falls on an All Hallow's Eve from early-40s to late-40s. You get the thrill of the secret Society's weird, slightly off and scary way to honor a recently deceased member; you get the Halloween prank gone awry; you get the blood-pumping, almost heart-stopping football game actions; and you get the death and danger working on the steam-engined trains. But then, you also get so much HEART between the main character and his father. It is an entirely "male" book, glaringly so -- you hardly see a female character and they hardly have even a speaking turn. It's all... very, macho, but oddly also very tender. And so much humor and humorous wisdom. I am not ashamed to say that I cried hard at the end of the tale... mourning the passing of a man and of an era so lovingly and convincingly portrayed by the author.
View all my goodreads reviews >>
Author: Fran Slayton¡
Rating:
Reading Level: 5th to 8th
Pages: 160
Publisher: Philomel, Penguin Young Readers
Edition: Hardcover, 2009 (from galley)
Judging by the somewhat muted and sleepy cover, I thought I was going to read a "pensive, quiet" coming-of-age, historical fiction. It turned out that the story is NOT all that quiet: every episode falls on an All Hallow's Eve from early-40s to late-40s. You get the thrill of the secret Society's weird, slightly off and scary way to honor a recently deceased member; you get the Halloween prank gone awry; you get the blood-pumping, almost heart-stopping football game actions; and you get the death and danger working on the steam-engined trains. But then, you also get so much HEART between the main character and his father. It is an entirely "male" book, glaringly so -- you hardly see a female character and they hardly have even a speaking turn. It's all... very, macho, but oddly also very tender. And so much humor and humorous wisdom. I am not ashamed to say that I cried hard at the end of the tale... mourning the passing of a man and of an era so lovingly and convincingly portrayed by the author.
View all my goodreads reviews >>
Author: Gennifer Choldenko
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th to 7th Grade
Publisher: Dial
Edition: Hardcover, 2009 (galley)I am completely delighted by this book. I really enjoyed the first one and this one holds up, well and strong, and I think it works even better. Maybe because I thought, "What can she come up with that can top the first book?" before starting to read this one.. and Choldenko absolutely pulled it off. There is humor and tension all throughout the book, not to mention some hard-to-sort-out moral dilemmas. Over the years, my students have loved the first book -- from really strong readers to really reluctant ones - and both girls and boys do, too. I can see this one achieves the same effects: not a book that gets everyone super-excited, but one that gets talked up by young peers and gets passed around without making too big a wave. Its "beloved-ness" will last quite a while, I believe.
I also really appreciate the author's notes. This will make for a good historical-fiction writing assignment starter book. (I can see a whole class reading the book, discussing the facts and fiction aspects of the story, and doing some sort of historical research and writing a short story. <-- with my librarian's hat on, of course.)
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Author: Rick Riordan
Rating:
Reading Level: 3rd to 7th
Pages: 381
Publisher: Hyperion
Edition:Hardcover, 2009
Pure adrenaline inducing 381 pages of fun. I'm so glad that the level of action and humor is maintained throughout the entire series -- that the last book did not suddenly become some deep philosophical revelation. (I definitely did not get into these books for their messages or meanings.) It's been quite a craze here at the school and the waiting list of eager readers is mighty long, deservingly so.
View all my good reads reviews.
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Rating: 
Reading Level:
Pages: 304
Publisher: Knopf (Random House)
Edition: Hardcover, 2009This is definitely a fun book and many of my young readers already told me that they enjoyed reading the third offering from Hiaasen. Everything does hang together nicely and the punishment of the evil doers satisfying. Hiaasen did not shy away from super contemporary things: facebook, CNN/Anderson Cooper, and of course, the father who is injured in Iraq. This makes the volume a "timely" book for current readers and only time will tell if in a decade or two, young readers still will appreciate the story, despite the references to matters that can easily date the book.
Scat, however, does not offer much more than either Hoot, or Flush -- much of the same thing to young readers who like mysteries, who like to read stories about older kids (High School students as protagonists) but who do not necessarily wish to decipher complex sentence structures or figures of speech and who still enjoy jokes on fairly basic/bodily function levels.
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Author: Tamora Pierce
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th grade and up
Publisher: Random House
Edition: Galley, 2009
I really liked the first one and have been waiting for the second installment for a long long time. The second book still works. My initial quibble of not believing Beka able to write all of the stuff down in her journal still stands -- even with the explanation of ciphers and reports and how events are chopped down into several installments. Still seems a bit far-fetched. However, I guess if one believes in ghost-carrying pigeons and a young woman talking to street dust winds, one has to somewhat allow her to be able to write dialogs and descriptions in such minute details when recording her own exploits.
That's another thing: the pacing is a bit draggy at moments because it seems a bit too much of JUST Beka -- just her thoughts, just her experiences, and just her achievements. All the secondary characters (POUNCE, for example, who is absent for most of the story) take a real Secondary position here. Achoo the hound, although very important to the plot, is not satisfying as a strong supporting character because she is too much of a hound, no human traits at all. I love her, but she cannot replace Pounce whose wry humor adds so much to the flavor of the story.
Dale, as a secondary character at the beginning of the story, never got his chance to even remain in that position. By mid-book, he's already just a bit of thoughts in Beka's mind. This shows Beka's dedication to her work and how incredibly sensible she is, but I feel slightly let down by Dale's demotion. He definitely could have played a larger part in the story (either helping or hindering Beka's tasks) because he was positioned to do so from the get go (but peters out...)
Having Hanse explain all the rhymes and reasons seems a bit of an easy and very basic mystery device (for that is what this series is... Law and Order meets Tortall Fantasy.) I was hoping for huge surprises and unexpected villains and deeper plots.
Oh, I sound too critical, I do believe. Going to end by saying that I definitely enjoyed following Beka through the streets, watching her eat sea food, seeing her fight various villains -- above ground and underground. It's great to be back in the land of such cool magic. Am I now again eagerly waiting for the next book? You betcha!
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Author: John Flannagan
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th to 6th grade
Pages: 249
Publisher: HarperCollins
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
I finally got around to read this first book in the ever-more popular series that my students have loved for the last few years. I know now why they like the stories and characters so much. The world is easy to understand -- since in this first book, the young people are "in schools." They are being trained in their various trades with cool skills like tracking, archery, sword play, and cooking. One of the main characters gets bullied and eventually those bullies get their just deserts! I can hear the cheering from the young readers! I will from now on describe the book (or the series) as Fantasy Spy Story, a blend of Alex Rider and Lord of the Rings. (Prob. a bit exaggerated but I think that will help interest the next reader!)
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Author: Jonathan Stroud
Reading Level: 6th grade and up
This is a guest blogger post. Josh is 16 years old and just finished the trilogy. (I feel remiss here -- since I neglected to recommend this series to him when he was in middle school!) He sent me a long email with his reviews of the three books and we subsequently exchanged a couple more emails, especially about the endings of this trilogy and the His Dark Materials trilogy. There are plot spoilers.
ABOUT The Amulet of Samarkand
Bartimaeus is hilarious. I simply love the djinn. Nathaniel is interesting to follow as well, a fun character with a couple flaws. There really isn't much to speak of in this book other than plot: it's fun, but Bartimaeus is the real winner of this one.
ABOUT The Golem's Eye
Here we see Nathaniel turn into the pompous, arrogant
named John Mandrake. He falls into the very trap Bartimaeus told him to avoid: letting the corrupting influence of magicians twist him into something horrible. The things he does and says are unbelievable, and the effect is doubled by how he behaved in the 1st book. We get introduced to Kitty, who's a good person at heart, and then gets caught up in the whole Honorius affair. Mandrake shows his bastardness with his perpetual breaking of vows, many only hours or less after having made them. Bartimaeus is fun as ever: was sad about Queezle, that she got introduced and then snuffed out, but oh well. So goes the storyline.
ABOUT Ptolemy's Gate
By far the most interesting, most powerful, most moving, most climactic of the three (well, for that last one I suppose there's a reason, being the end and all). We see Mandrake turn from arrogant into the marginally better (or worse, depending on your POV) "top magician". Bartimaeus evokes a lot of sympathy with his sorry state, and Kitty becomes my favorite character for the majority of the book.
And then Mandrake slowly crumbles, leaving a mature Nathaniel. He still has flaws, but then, so does everyone but Bartimaeus. As Kitty and Nathaniel work together, with each other (and slowly begin to admire each other: my guess is given a couple years, they'd end up as very good friends or more, provided Nathaniel doesn't relapse, which I don't think he would), it's my favorite part. To see Kitty put the same trust in Bartimaeus that Ptolemy did, showing greater understanding of him than perhaps even the Egyptian boy (though Ptolemy did not have someone's notes or previous history as guides, admittedly).
And then, when Nathaniel accepts Bartimaeus into his own body...this is where N/B takes over as my favorite character(s). The fact that, working together, they manage to destroy far more powerful spirits than they. The fact that, working together, they are the culmination of Ptolemy's hopes and dreams, the ultimate climax of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus' relationship, the fulfilling of the purpose of Kitty's visit to the Other Place...once they become both two souls and one, a single 2-part mind in a single body, I could not put it down even for work. I was breathless as they turned the staff on Nouda...
AM. Nathaniel hit by the Detonation. Coming from Barti's POV, it is even more effective. And then when Nathaniel realizes the seriousness of the wound, his acceptance of his fate and determination to do selfless good is such strong writing. The last meeting with Kitty, where N/B both know what has to be done, and the whole concealing it from K thing...I really felt it. Comparable, at least for me in my after-reading-state, to when Lyra and Will realize they must separate in Amber Spyglass.
True to form, he breaks his final promise, having finally made one beyond his power to keep. This was where I was sad that the "item" could never happen (Kitty's picking through the wreckage at the end made me think she was feeling the loss of a possible future, one containing more happiness, or at least more possibility, than her current one, a future with a united djinn/human in it).
I thought that writing N and B's end at the very end was the best move of the whole trilogy. We already know what happens: we know that the great evil is destroyed by the heroic death of N/B. Now we get to see the heart of darkness, the center of the inferno, as N/B march to their death. The connection between them in this scene is so powerful I thought they might actually survive. This isn't the usual master-servant relationship; this isn't even Ptolemy's relationship. Ptolemy was a trusting, kind, benevolent, freedom-giving master, yes, but he was a master, as evidenced by his final dismissal of Barti. N and B banter as friends, they speak as equals, as 2 halves of the whole. Nathaniel's character at the end here practically radiates goodness off the page. And then, the way he dismisses Bartimaeus, I feel, is from an equal to an equal. The delivery of the dismissal is not that of a master dismissing a slave, but of a friend releasing a friend.
My throat was seized up the whole final scene, but it was the 2nd-to-last paragraph, where the Staff breaks, that the tears almost fell (almost, because I usually manage to keep them in while reading, though I failed during Amber Spyglass several years ago). The simplicity of the writing there - "Nouda did this. Nathaniel finished the Dismissal. I went. The Staff broke." had so much raw POWER in the way it was written. Stroud simply couldn't have written that end any better (except maybe Nathaniel surviving: just as he turns good, he turns so good that he must make up for the magicians' sins and evildoing. He dies for a better world, and I do rather prefer when they get to actually see that world).
I'd discuss the last paragraph but I need breakfast. Barti's final words in the trilogy, starting with "typical master", given that Nathaniel was anything but, either give the paragraph a tone of affection or a tone of disgust. Choice of the reader, so I chose affection :)
*** (Another email discussing the endings of Amber Spyglass and Ptolemy's Gate is omitted.) ***
Amber Spyglass had a Tough ending...but I think that, for me, Ptolemy's Gate takes the cake. To see what Nathaniel becomes by the end of the trilogy...in book 1 he was bumbling but likable, in book 2 I nearly burned the pages with him, in book 3 first couple parts I was a little put out with him (especially given his treatment of Barti), in last 150ish pages I thought, "This is what he should have become from book 1." The opposition of him + Barti and him from the previous books was so pronounced, and the tentative friendship springing up between him and K...it all made his death doubly sad and twice as noble.
Still tugs at the hearstrings, reading it. It's his Redemption, and yet he goes so much farther than he "needed" to, to redeem himself. For once, a magician of the old generation does what people of such power are supposed to do (at least in our society): use it for the people, sacrifice himself for the commoners.
FAIRROSA:
I cannot really honestly say which one affected me more at the moment of reading -- but I do think that Lyra and Will's final parting has a much stronger lingering effect. I read that scene, what, 8 - 9 years ago and I can still feel the sorrow now; whereas I do recall Nathaniel's final sacrifice (and you described it so well below) and how much I sobbed over it, it does not give my heart a blow whenever I think of it.
JOSH:
It's something about the way the two are written, I think. Something about them makes Bartimaeus stronger than HDM for me. I can't place it...my first guess would be that in Barti, the whole experience comes from 1st person, and their unity is such a 180 from everything before it, but I'm not sure if that's it.
Maybe it's the fact that N/B was 4 days ago, and L/W was 4 years ago...but there's no way to either prove or disprove that.
Argh.
Given the time difference between reading the two (not too much for an adult, but for me it's my entire emotional maturation to date), I don't think I can honestly say either one. L/W affected me more, but I hadn't read many books before then in which the heroes either die or must sacrifice something HUGE to win. I'm more used to it by now, and being a fan of happy endings, anything with such sacrifice will .
Author: Philip Reeve
Rating: 
Reading Level: 5th to 8th grade
Pages: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition:Hardcover, 2008
This is a book for the Arthurian Legends enthusiasts, and I happen to be one. Having read many re-imagined Arthurian tales, I was completely delighted by this fresh take on the “true story” behind the legends. Reeve’s conceit is a fabulous one: it is all about the power of stories, storytelling, and story tellers. The title alone is worthy of much examination, with its double meanings of "lying dead" and "telling lies."
At the beginning, I was perplexed by the switches between past tense and present tenses. Slowly, I realized the why and when of such passages. This is a meta-fiction in a slightly different form and it really works for me.
I imagine that, though, this might not be as much fun for some others. If you don’t find piecing together pieces of a complex story puzzle (who’s who and which event eventually “became” which well known tale,) then, you won’t be having as much fun as I do. If you are not usually a sucker for stories that “discuss” the underlying philosophical elements of story-telling or humans’ needs for such elaboration, then, you probably won’t like this book as much as I do. And if you are not totally loving the meta-fiction genre, then you definitely will not enjoy it as I do. Also, if you only want a story with magic and valor, (that’s what I expected, before reading the actual text) then, you definitely will be disappointed. This is one Arthurian tale, featuring heavily the prototype character or Merlin (Myrddin) that definitely has NO magic whatsoever!
What’s even more impressive with this tale is Reeve’s ability to actually tell a cohesive story, with a highly believable and admirable main character, set against a convincing backdrop. (Although one might say that the language of the telling is fairly contemporary 21st century, it is to be excused because the teller could be anyone in any time – everything is apparently made-up anyway.)
To say that I am highly impressed is to put it lightly. I hope many others (especially middle school readers) will find this an intelligent and satisfying read!
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Author: Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th to 6th grade
Pages: 50
Publisher: Roaring Brook/Neal Porter
Edition: Hardcover, 2008I am speechless and teary-eyed, reading and having finished reading this thrilling little biography of Christo and Jeanne Claude and of their art. Greenberg and Jordan did not disappoint -- as always, their words are as vivacious and artistic as the artists they chronicle. One cannot help but being completely infected by the passion from all of those involved: the artists and the biographers.
And to this one, since it is something I deeply experienced, with friends, students, and family, my emotional reaction is even stronger. Between me and my husband, we took about 500 photos -- both under a bright blue sky and in the snow, with the gates winding around and the fabric flapping wildly in the wind. In fact, when it was time for my then-kindergarten daughter to do her "hundred day" project, she chose to draw a tree with branches and then glue 100 miniature pictures from our collection as leaves -- a Fall Tree, as she called it, because these were orange leaves. The artwork is still hung next to my desk at work.
(Hmm... I was slightly perturbed why there have not been more pictures of the Gates in this book, especially of the Gates when they were "in action and in motion"?)
The meticulous and artistic design of the book itself also echoes the free and playful spirit of Christo and Jeanne Claude. I applaud all who worked on this book! Thank you for a precious gift.
And I simply cannot help but posting a couple of the snowy pictures (the blue sky ones are on a DVD somewhere else...) -- to commemorate a fabulous time in New York City:
And of course, my friend Monica Edinger had her class document the process on a web page. Go
HERE to see!
And here's a link to many more Central Park Gates Pictures by searching google images of simple:
Central Park Gates.
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By:
fairrosa,
on 11/10/2008
Blog:
Fairrosa's Reading Journal
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Author: Ben Boos
Rating:
Reading Level: for all readers
Pages: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Edition: Hardcover, 2008
I couldn't believe my eyes, flipping through page after page of beautifully rendered swords from many time periods and many cultures, how visually perfect this book is! No matter whom I showed this book to (HS students, MS kids, other adults) - the reaction was the same: an astounded delight at this Feast of the Artistry of Beautiful and Elegant Swords. I'm glad the inclusion of Asian and African swords and their histories (although would have like a more balanced proportion in treatment...)
This makes a great holiday gift for any child who enjoys this topic. The general and specific notes on various types, their usages, their histories, and those who used such and such swords are easy to read and absorb. But one definitely doesn't need to read all the text to enjoy the book.
I am so happy of this book's existence!
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Author: Neil Gaiman
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th grade and up
Pages: 320
Publisher: HarperCollins
Edition: Hardcover, 2008
This one definitely reached deeply into my heart. Love the world building. The Graveyard became a "residence" for my soul for the duration of reading/listening to the book -- a real place where my mind can wander. I could picture the sights, the light, the details, both described in the book and not described, undefined. My mind filled in all the corners and expanses and turned that world into a tangible space. Even after the storytelling is over, The Graveyard remains in my heart. Now it's as real and as cozy (if a cold graveyard can be cozy) a place as my Library' Reading Room.
I think the short story format works really well. Each "story" has a satisfying conclusion. Each advances the larger tale forward, too. Bod's maturation is expertly handled. And then, the conclusion of the entire tale is bittersweet, and yet not disappointing. (Oh, I guess I was sad that Bod might lose all the ghostly skills he possessed as a child and slightly mad of Gaiman for that -- why can't he still straddle the two worlds, even when he chooses to venture out into the world? My mind does not wish to accept that conclusion so I am making up other adventures for Bod that requires him to go into the other realms, to fade, and to haunt!)
I was shocked but really appreciated how Gaiman handles Bod and Scarlet's necessary parting. Keeping us readers on our toes, always. (And that little scene where Scarlet hugs Bod... so achingly revealing: since the age of two, he has not really been hugged, by real flesh and bone.)
And there is the rich imagination, the host of distinctive and adoring characters, a most chilling villain, and all that witty humor. How could I not love the book to pieces?
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Author: Karen Hesse
Rating:
Reading Level: 6th and up
Pages: 240
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Edition: Hardcover, 2008
I did not know that this would have been so good. I did not expect that I would have loved it so much and that I could not stop reading it and pretty much finishing it in one "fell swoop." It seems Dickensian, but that might not be a fair comparison because it is actually quite sparing and except for the intentional repetitive phrasing in those dream-like segments about the children "under the bridge" (and so effective, those poetic passages.. *sigh*), there is not that much repeated sentiment. I was drawn in, felt like I lived side by side with Joseph, and often was surprised at the richness and the vividness of the world I "saw" through the text. It doesn't hurt that I (and my family) adore the sense of place and history and the bustling life of Coney Island.
I wasn't sure at first about the vignettes of the children under the bridge but found them so mesmerizing and expanding of the experience of the turn-of-century Brooklyn - not only those who "made it" but of those who struggled and failed... I imagine that I'll remember Joseph's story for a long time, but I will never forget the Radiant Boy's, or Mattie's, or Otto's, or the story of May who almost died from eating the poisonous meal, twice.
It's an intricate tapestry and an "important tale" that is beautifully woven in the hand of artisan.
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Author: Kevin Henkes
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th, 5th, 6th
Pages: 179
Publisher: Greenwillow
Edition: Hardcover, 2008
Henkes is such a craftsman. I can appreciate all the skills and thoughts and wonderful passages that he puts into this and many other titles: all of them high quality works! But my realization today is that I don't particularly love the Impressionistic artworks. I have seen and "understood" the "Water Lilies" of Manet, for example -- hey, I even visited and was thrilled by Monet's garden at Giverny. And I understand how impressive the techniques are to combine Just Right those small patches of colors to capture light and mood and impressions. But, when you stand back and take a look at a painting of a bridge or a pond of water lilies -- they are a bridge and a pond of water lilies: it does not excite me. Bird Lake Moon is sparkling at many points, mysterious as well, and a young coming-of-age story done poetically. Many "patches" of beautiful language and revelation are combined just right to capture this significant summer in two little boys' lives. But, this is not a story that took me to another plane. I am never a lover of representations of objects in art. Maybe because I want someone to surprise me, to make me laugh or to awe me, or to perplex me (can perplex be used this way?): so, give me Cubism, Surrealism, or even Post-modernism, and I am thrilled -- finally, I understand myself and how I can categorize a bunch of books as impressionistic and explain why I am not entirely taken by them!
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Six Innings by James Preller
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
My reaction after finishing this short novel for pre-teen and teens, especially who are really into the finer points of baseball playing and the spirit of the game was a tremendous respect for the author. James Preller poured much of his passion for the game into a finely crafted story set in just ONE little league game: 6 innings, character sketches of 12 players of one visiting team, and the framing, soul-searching story of the 13-year-old severely ill ex-ballplayer-turned-announcer...
I am not particularly into baseball: enjoy watching the game once in a while, of course, but do not personally collect memorabilia or statistics as a life-long hobby. This book makes me want to know and learn more about the game, its history and all the psychological aspects of the players and the plays; it also makes me believe that there is a reason for someone, young or old, to be completely lost in the world of sports and get much of their life's wisdom out of these games.
Preller also has quite a way with words and turn of phrases:
p. 15: "Aaron Foley, short and stocky with a squashed-in face that reminded Sam of an English bulldog, did more than toss his cookies. No Aaron projected his vomit across the room, spewing his insides as if fired from a cannon, a thunderous blast of wet barf splattering onto the tile floor." p. 16... That's how Sam and Mike began their friendship, sealed with a simple exchange, a look across a silent (but foul-smelling) distance.
p. 18: (About the five tools of baseball: speed, glove, arm, power, and the ability to hit for average.) Branden Reid, however, posesses a sixth tool, amnesia, the art of forgetting. Baseball is, after all, a game of failure. The only thing that a player can influence is the next play, the next at bat.
p. 22 (this describes the game, but somehow fittingly describes the book as well): "The slow rhythm of the game, a game of accumulation, of patterns, gathering itself toward the finish..." AND what a finish this book has! I felt like I witnessed a historic game after reading the last page of the book (and it isn't even about the game or the innings or the winners and the losers.)
p. 63: "There's a squarish, two-story bulding -- an overachieving shed, really"
p. 46: On the field, baseball is a game of isolation, nine singular outposts of shared solitude... You are a "team" immediately before and after each play. (This does get repeated on page 132.)
p. 106: Tragedy, the stuff of comedy.
There are a few specific references that will definitely date the book -- which is too bad: p. 40: the boys talking about Jessica Simpson and someone listening to the lyrics to a Jay-Z tune.
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Author: N.D. Wilson
Rating:
Reading Level: 4th to 6th grade
Pages: 304
Publisher: Random House
Edition: Hardcover, 2008I completely immersed and lost myself in this original and dark story of magical cupboards, space and time travels, told in a highly folksy manner -- more like folktales passed down through generations, by the hearths, enjoyed along with home-made pies and chicken soup. Absolutely enjoyable. I hope it finds a large audience who will appreciate it not just for the nerve-wrecking adventures but for the author's care in telling the story.
Jules: WOOT! It’s the first Sunday of the month and time to feature a student currently studying illustration or someone who has recently graduated (or is otherwise new to the scene in some way). This week it’s Tiffany Laurencio. As her bio tells us, she lives in Boston; graduated from the Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts; and has always wanted to be an illustrator since getting over her dream of being a cowgirl (aw, shucks). She has a special place in my heart now, too, since her bio also states she got in trouble in high school for skipping class to go get coffee.
I also have a big ‘ol special spot in my heart now for this illustration, entitled “Bunny Foo Foo Bop Of Doom.” (It might technically be called “Bunny-Foo-Foo-Bop,” according to this page.) I would love to hear the wonderfully-warped story around this one. Look, he’s so defiant, but I somehow still wanna pinch his cheeks.
Here’s what Tiffany has to share with us on this first Sunday of March (can you believe that it’s already March? But I digress):
“Sarcastic, fluffy critters are my favorite things to paint but I have a soft, squishy spot for the moon. I’ve always loved and wanted to be a part of picture books. There were so many illustrators and writers that hypnotized me as a kid. I was very lucky to have such wonderful, crunchy teachers who encouraged me to take hold of life’s crayons.
Going to Montserrat College of Art really helped me to condition myself, not just as a picture maker, but also as a young professional. Currently, I’m promoting like mad and trying to get my work into as many hands as possible. It’s a crazy kind of love I have with promoting my work. I find myself obsessing over the print quality of my postcards just as much as the color schemes of my paintings. I haven’t started twitching yet, but I occasionally catch myself mumbling.”
(more…)
Jules: Eisha and I are featuring artist Jaime Zollars this week and are rather gaga over her style. Pictured here is “Little Red”, a silkscreen print. Isn’t that great? Jaime paints for galleries and commercial clients but has illustrated a picture book — intended for release this Fall with Tricycle Press — entitled Inside the Slidy Diner, written by Laurel Snyder (who has a nice-looking web site herself; you can read a bit more about the book here).
{Profile of Jaime in the latest issue of the online international magazine
Neo Collective, which features photographers and artists}
There’s a darker element to a lot of Jaime’s work (or “melancholy,” as she puts it), which Eisha and I both like, but since Sunday is for listing kicks, we’ll start with some illustrations that have a bit less gravity to them, such as “Tranquility” and — pictured below that — “Marmalade Sky”: (more…)
Jules: Anyone else remember when illustrator Sophie Blackall was featured by Jennifer at not your mother’s bookclub in October during the Blogging for a Cure/Robert’s Snow effort? And remember how severely kickin’ her snowflake was (”foxtacular elficide,” anyone?)? Well, ever since then we’ve wanted to feature some of her art work here at 7-Imp (and I recently reviewed the beautiful Red Butterfly, which made me want to have her stop by WAY WAY MORE). So, we up and asked, and here she is. WOOT!
She is sharing with us today some illustrations from her forthcoming new title, written by Meg Rosoff (whose Meet Wild Boars she illustrated in 2005) and published by Henry Holt, Jumpy Jack & Googily. I happen to have an ARC of this title — which will be released in April, I believe — and it’s wonderful and makes me laugh out loud in a rather snort-like manner. Pictured above are Jumpy Jack and Googily in the flesh. Jumpy Jack is a rather nervous snail who is terribly afraid of monsters. And, well . . . if you haven’t noticed yet, Googily is a monster himself. The story opens thusly:
“I’m nervous,” said Jumpy Jack to his best friend, Googily. “There could be a monster nearby and I’m scared of monsters.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Googily.
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Jules: These bedfellows here aren’t as strange as they seem. If you have read this year’s Cybils-
shortlisted Go to Bed, Monster! by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Sylvie Kantorovitz (Harcourt, 2007), then you know that is Lucy, who couldn’t sleep, and her late-night creation with an “oval body. A square head. Rectangle legs. And circle eyes. When she added triangles, the shape turned into a . . . MONSTER!” Move over, Harold. When her monster roars at her, the intrepid Lucy says, without missing a beat, “You don’t scare me . . . Let’s play!” And play they do until Lucy herself starts to get worn out and tries everything in the book to get him to sleep already, Wing cleverly turning the tables on the child/caregiver relationship and bed-time struggles. I reviewed this title back in November of last year. It’s a winner, I tell ya. And it’ll be up to the judges in the category of Fiction Picture Books to decide if they think it’s a Cybils winner this year (award winners are announced this week, so keep your eye on the Cybils site).
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Jules: Welcome to our weekly 7 Kicks list, the meeting ground for listing 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.
Happy February to all! It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means we’re featuring another new grad or student of illustration. I’ve been looking forward to this. I think this feature is fun, if I may say so myself. If you missed our very first one ever on the first Sunday in January, go here to see the illustrations of new grad Ashley Smith.
This week we welcome Chris Eliopoulos, who goes by Elio. You’ll see there at his site that he is a Chicago-based illustrator and comic artist “who enjoys telling stories with my work. I reference mid century print, design and advertising; UFOs, donuts, and old cranky men.” Maybe he can tell us later if he’s ever done an illustration of an old, cranky man eating donuts on a UFO. (more…)
Jules: Welcome to our weekly 7 Kicks list, the meeting ground for listing 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.
We’re so happy that Caldecott Honor-winning author/illustrator Steve Jenkins (whom School Library Journal last year called “a master illustrator”) has stopped by to share some new illustrations with us as well as some from current titles. The image here and above is from the Cybils-shortlisted Vulture View, written by April Pulley Sayre (Henry Holt, 2007), in which readers are introduced to the world of the majestic turkey vulture.
Steve also sent us two spreads from a book that he and Robin Page created (Robin is the talented co-author of many of Steve’s titles, as well as his wife) and which will be published this Spring by Houghton Mifflin. It’s called Sisters & Brothers. “It’s about sibling relationships in the animal world,” Steve told us, “a subject we were surprised to find not much information on, when we began to look . . .” (more…)
As many of you know, when we gather on Sundays to list our 7 Kicks for the week, we feature an illustration (or two or three or four) from some of our favorite illustrators, whether they have a new book coming out or not. And I’m such a fan of good picture book illustration that it’s become my favorite feature of all here at 7-Imp (here’s a list of whom we’ve featured thus far).
Author/Illustrator Anna Alter was lined up to be featured this Sunday but later re-scheduled for another Sunday. And when that Sunday didn’t work out for her after all (but after I had already lined up another illustrator for this weekend), I told her that 7-Imp would gladly feature her any ‘ol day of the week. Her illustrations have a way of brightening our days. As a result, I asked my Poetry Friday entry for today to scoot on over — shoo, shoo and skedaddle, I told it, and it obliged me — so that we could feature some art work from Anna’s new illustrated title, Priscilla and the Hollyhocks written by Anne Broyles (but, hey, I snuck in some poetry yesterday anyway). (more…)
Jules: Welcome to our weekly 7 Kicks list, the meeting ground for listing 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.
This week we’re happy to be featuring the art work of illustrator Doug Chayka, whose critically-acclaimed illustrated books are listed here and whose most recent title is the Cybils-shortlisted Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2007). The above illustration is from this title, a poignant tale of courage about two girls in a Pakistani refugee camp who share a pair of sandals that begins a friendship. The book was inspired by a refugee girl who asked the authors why there were no books about children like her. Here’s another one of Mr. Chayka’s beautiful acrylic illustrations from this title, the final illustration in the book:
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Jules: Welcome to our weekly 7 Kicks list, the meeting ground for listing 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.
We’re featuring Eric Rohmann today, which is quite a thrill. I’m a huge fan of his books and the beautiful art work he creates. If you’re not familiar with his books (well, you know you know the Caldecott winner, My Friend Rabbit), here’s one place you can begin, a link that includes another link to a bibliography. The above illustration is from his new picture book, A Kitten Tale (released this month by Knopf Books), which I raved about maniacally in this post (hey, 7-Imp is — mostly and for all intents and purposes — a fan site, and Eisha and I are geeky Rohmann fans. And he doesn’t disappoint with this title, which just adds to his already impressive track record). Summary if you don’t want to read the afore-linked review I wrote: A Kitten Tale is a wonder. It’s a splendid tale for the very young. Here are three more images (I hope the colors on these illustrations are right; they look slightly different than the ones in the ARC I have, but it could be an artifact of my computer). And p.s. these images are just for Little Willow.
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Little Willow, what great kicks. Congrats on the call backs and dodging that cryptic bullet (but cryptic is okay; you don’t have to tell). Glad you like those kitties. 
I never got around to reading this series, but they are certainly popular. Maybe I should give them a go.