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It’s the first Sunday of the month, which usually means I feature a student illustrator. But I’m breaking my own rules and doing something different today.
I wrote a review last month for Chapter 16, which is a daily online journal about books and author events in Tennessee. I reviewed Julie Hedlund’sMy Love for You Is the Sun, illustrated by Nashville artist Susan Eaddy, pictured right, and published by Little Bahalia Publishing last month. I’ve enjoyed reading Chapter 16 for years, so it’s particularly great to contribute to the site. That Chapter 16 review is here.
Regular 7-Imp readers know that I like to follow up these reviews I write at other places with picture book art. So, for today’s post, I asked Susan if she’d be interested in sharing some photos of what it’s like to create her illustrations. I thought it’d be fun to see Susan’s process in particular, because Susan works in clay. She shared generously, including some images of final spreads, and all of that is below.
But there’s more! Because I love to share as much picture book art as possible, I’ve also got illustrations from a couple of other new books. I mentioned in the Chapter 16 review that 2014 has given us a handful of picture books illustrated, like My Love for You Is the Sun, in what can best be described as a sculptural technique — not the traditional, two-dimensional illustrations we typically see in picture books. There is Yuyi Morales’Viva Frida, for example, rendered in stop-motion puppets, paints, photography, etc. Yuyi will visit 7-Imp soon to share images from that. Or Loretta Holland’s Fall Leaves, illustrated in 3D paper vignettes by Elly MacKay, who will also visit 7-Imp soon. And remember Princesse Camcam’sFox’s Garden, featured in this post? Yep. That one, too.
Karina’s and Maggie’s three-dimensional tableaux are pictured below. Last up—because she sent so many images, which makes me happy—are the photos Susan sent, and I thank her for that.
Here’s to 3D art. Let’s get to it …
From Maggie Rudy’s I Wish I Had a Pet:
(Click to enlarge)
“…that you had a pet?” (Click to enlarge)
(Click second image to enlarge and to see spread in its entirety)
(Click second image to enlarge and to see spread in its entirety)
From Karina Schaapman’s The Mouse Mansion (without text):
The Mouse Mansion (Click to enlarge)
“Little Sophie’s Birthday” (Click to enlarge)
“Hoisting Time” (Click to enlarge)
“The Bakery” (Click to enlarge)
Susan Eaddy and My Love for You Is the Sun, written by Julie Hedlund:
Figuring out the palette (Click to enlarge)
Trying a new palette — with reference (Click to enlarge)
Clay palette (Click to enlarge)
Background (Click to enlarge)
Laying in the grass, one piece at a time (Click to enlarge)
Building a face — with anatomy reference (Click to enlarge)
Laying in the mane, one hair at a time (Click to enlarge)
Final spread: “My love for you is the wind. / Blowing kisses in your ears, / It wipes away your salty tears.” Susan: “See how the mane changed? The art director thought the first manes looked too ‘wormy.’” (Click to enlarge)
Mama frog before spotting
Mama with spots
Bare baby (Click to enlarge)
Spotted baby jumping
Making ripples Susan: “You can see how many audio books I go through during the building stages!” (Click to enlarge)
Putting in raindrops one at a time (Click to enlarge)
Bunny- and background-building (Click to enlarge)
Final spread (front and back of book) (Click to enlarge)
Finally, want to see Susan create a spread (really, really fast)? Here we go:
Author photo of Susan Eaddy used by her 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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) October.
1½) That my 10-year-old collects acorn caps in October.
2)The Boxtrolls. Totally off the wall and slightly demented and very entertaining.
3) I got our tickets to see Shakey Graves live in Nashville in a couple of weeks:
4) My girls and I are usually reading a small stack of novels at once (maybe a bad habit?), but once we started Laura Amy Schlitz’sA Drowned Maiden’s Hair, it trumped everything else and it turned into a reading frenzy. I swear, I nearly kept them home from school on Friday (but didn’t) just so we could finish it. ‘Cause WHAT A GOOD BOOK. It was a re-read for me, and I knew they’d hang on every word. Which they pretty much did.
6) It was really wonderful to visit Karen MacPherson’s blog and talk about Wild Things! Her work was important to our research, and she has a great site for children’s book fans.
I can not wait to see My Love For You Is The Sun in real life. Her illustrative process is definitely unique. The video is fantastic!
I can understand your daughter collecting acorn caps. I used to do the same thing. They still fascinate me.
My Kicks:
1. Multiple rainbow sightings the past two days.
2. Rain
3. Iris blooming in the autumn. Love these little natural surprises.
4. Colored leaves and the patterns they make after they fall.
5. Friends
6. Wonderful books for children
7. Strolls with Xena
Wishing you all a peaceful week.
jules said, on 10/5/2014 7:26:00 AM
(BUT, I might add, it was chilly enough yesterday to make the first hot chocolate of the season. Mmm.)
jules said, on 10/5/2014 7:26:00 AM
Margie, she puts the acorn caps on the little dolls she sews. Or she tries (and hopes they stay). … I bet you have a lot of turning leaves now where you live. It’s slooowwwllly happening here in the South. Hug Xena for me.
Suzanne Del Rizzo said, on 10/5/2014 7:52:00 AM
Fabulous post! Being a dimensional illustrator myself, I work mostly in plasticine( modelling clay) and sometimes polymer clay and mixed media, it’s so great to see an post featuring these wonderfully talented illustrators. Yay!
I love visiting your blog each morning before I hit the studio, for a daily dose of inspiration.
Thanks!
Suzanne Dell Rizzo
Skink on the Brink(written by Lisa Dalrymple, Fitzhenry & Whiteside) winner if the 2014 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, Canada
Gerbil, Uncurled( written by Alison Hughes, Fitzhenry & Whiteside) Spring 2015
Jone said, on 10/5/2014 7:55:00 AM
And I thought collage was tedious! These two illustrators are amazing. I can’t imagine the hours of work that went into each book especially The Mouse Mansion. A great way to start Sunday.
Jules, Chuck kept talking all day about The Box Trolls. I hope to see it soon. And the book festival? I want to attend!
Margie, love the color leaves and their patterns too. Enjoy your strolls with Xena.
My kicks:
1. CYBILS nominations opened on October 1. Nominate your favorite books.
2. Dinner with friends last night. They are like family.
3. Seeing Gone Girl with bookclub friends.
4. Time with grand girl.
5. Wedding reception today for my friend’s daughter (part of kick 2).
6. Crisp mornings and warm afternoons.
7. Reading The Boys in the Boat.
Have a great week.
Beth Stilborn said, on 10/5/2014 7:56:00 AM
Wonderful illustrations! I have a soft spot for Julie Hedlund’s and Susan Eaddy’s “My Love for You is the Sun” — Susan’s illustrations are so amazing, and Julie’s lyrical text is a joy. Thanks, Jules, for featuring this book — and for introducing me to the other two amazing illustrators. My TBR list just increased!
Tracy Barrett said, on 10/5/2014 8:23:00 AM
I love these, especially Susan Eaddy’s clay art. I also love Salley Mavor’s fabric illustrations in Pocketful of Posies, winner of the 2011 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration.
Little Willow said, on 10/5/2014 8:38:00 AM
Good morning, Imps!
Hi Susan, Maggie, and Karina!
I love the picture of the mouse and the bird. So cute.
And the critter in the long knitted sweater(dress)!
Jules: I wrote, “Does she make anyone wear the acorn caps?” and then saw your response while reading the comments.
Margie: Send some rainbows this-a-way!
Suzanne: I like the cycle of inspiration – someone inspires someone else, that person makes something which in turn inspires the next person…
Hurrah for all involved in the Cybils. Have fun!
Kicks for the past week:
1) Casting
2) Auditioning
3) Applying
4) Recording
5) Uploading
6) Appreciating
7) Writing
elisa kleven said, on 10/5/2014 11:04:00 AM
These are fascinating, exquisite little worlds. Must get these books! With thanks and awe from a fellow miniature lover.
JES said, on 10/5/2014 11:33:00 AM
Hello, Kickers!
I loooove these 3D/sculptural/dimensional illustrations, Jules! You’ve featured some before, I’m pretty sure… Ah, yes, here we are for one example (Carin Berger). And also this one (from Chris Sickels — it almost killed me to read at the time: visual-pleasure exhaustion syndrome). Oh! And Jayme McGowan and her buskers…!
(Including three links in a single paragraph probably just pushed me into the 7-Imp sp*minator, didn’t it???)
The only downside to these works, in fact, is the sensory frustration of not being able to, y’know, HANDLE the actual objects, or to walk around them and see them from the other side, etc. But just knowing they must have existed at some time, and maybe still do, somewhere in studios and garages and galleries… well, there’s a certain satisfaction there, too!
(Btw, Suzanne — your stuff is great, too! When I saw the Kowabunga! one the first thing I thought of was, Oh, man, now that is ART.)
Kickin’ good musical selection there, Jules. And thank you for the Drowned Maiden’s Hair rec… sounds like a wonderfully haunting/haunted read!
Love everyone’s Kicks today, now that I’m going back through them again. For some reason I thought LW’s, regarded as an acronym, spelled out a sort of Celtic oath (or moan, I’m not sure): “Caaruaw…!”
Just a few kicks from this quarter and then I must take advantage of fall finally fall fall fall…
* Clearing out the DVR by bingewatching MOVIES instead of TV shows.
* Focusing on the speckles of good sometimes dotting the most horrific news landscapes.
* My younger sis just passed a major birthday milestone. We couldn’t go to the NJ bash, but I’ve been loving the photos people have sent us.
* Just the right stupidly silly video at just the right moment.
* Terry Pratchett (Thief of Time, currently)
Hello, dear kickers. Today I have some artwork from author-illustrator David Biedrzycki, whose has a brand-new picture book out from Charlesbridge, Breaking News: Bear Alert (Charlesbridge, September 2014). It’s the story—in the style of a breaking-news, this-just-in television report—of two very curious bears who make their way into a busy town. It’s a fun story, and David has a handful of spreads from it to share today, as well as a few early sketches. The Kirkus review for this one notes that David’s Adobe Photoshop illustrations are “bold and playful, appropriately reminiscent of vintage Hanna-Barbera and a good match for the slapstick story,” while the Publishers Weekly review adds that David’s book “comically exploits our cultures of distraction and surveillance.” (They make an excellent point.)
The cover’s so entertaining that I’m opening this post with it, though I normally open with artwork (well, non-cover artwork).
While David’s here, he’s also sharing some other artwork, so let’s get right to it, shall we? To read more about the books from which these images come and more about David and his work, you can visit his site here.
Sketches and final art from Breaking News: Bear Alert (Charlesbridge, September 2014) (Click on each piece of final art to enlarge and see in more detail)
From the Me and My Dragon books (Charlesbridge) (You can click on most of these to enlarge and see in more detail)
From the Ace Lacewing books (Charlesbridge) (Click on each image to enlarge and see in more detail)
All artwork is used with permission of David Biedrzycki.
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) A weekend with no big plans, which is good for relaxing and reading.
2) Good food and good conversations with friends this week.
3) I love the first song on this First Listen from Shara Worden, who evidently goes by the name My Brightest Diamond. (New to me, but I love all the sounds in that first tune.)
5) Picture books are always a kick for me, but I enjoyed two in particular this week: Joyce Sidman’sWinter Bees & Other Poems of the the Cold, illustrated by Rick Allen (see some beautiful spreads here!), and Jen Bryant’sThe Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Melissa shared some images from that book back in July (here), but this week I saw the hardback. MY GOODNESS, it’s gorgeous.
6) A friend recommended a BBC drama called Happy Valley, and my husband and I watched the whole first season in a few days. (Granted, there are only six episodes. Also I’m a hopeless night owl.) The acting is particularly wonderful, though it’s also intense and difficult to watch in spots.
7) I’m learning a Chopin piece on piano this week.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
10 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #397: Featuring David Biedrzycki, last added: 9/14/2014
Loving all the pictures today, but the bear book looks particularly fun!
Number four IS funny. And thanks for the BBC rec, I’ve never heard of it.
1. Had a great time hanging out at a book festival here in Brisbane last weekend
2. It was exciting seeing Karen Joy Fowler’s “We are all completely besides ourselves” (a great book) shortlisted for the Booker after enjoying Karen’s dry wit at a festival event last week
3. Getting out and about by myself knowng that the baby was having a good time with his grandparents (and knowing they were having a great time watching him)
4. Leisurely time at the park/outdoor coffee shop with my parent’s group on Friday
5. Seeing how excited my baby was when his dad returned from a work trip
6. Belated Father’s Day brunch today
7. Watching my nieces and baby play with bubbles in the yard this afternoon
Margie Culver said, on 9/14/2014 7:14:00 AM
As I scrolled through the artwork of David Biedrzycki I found my smile growing larger and larger. I can’t wait to see these books.
Jules: Thanks for bringing my attention to the Joyce Sidman book. I love The Right Word. I am so happy you are learning the Chopin piece.
My kicks:
1. Getting lots done around the house by good service people.
2. Laughter with friends
3. Good Hope Vanilla Red Tea
4. Soup
5. Channel surfing last night (I rarely watch TV) I discovered the movie Burlesque and its great music
6. Xena is bouncing back from being sick
7. Walks with Xena
Jone said, on 9/14/2014 8:06:00 AM
David Biedrzyck’s work is fun. Love Bear Alert.
Jules, kick number 4 is hilarious. And I love all of Joyce Sidman’s books so I am glad she has a new one in the world.
Margie, so happy to see you back here. I am glad Xena is doing well.
My kicks:
1. Finished Countdown by Deborah Wiles. It’s as if she wrote my life at age nine (except I was in California and my father wasn’t in the service) she captured my fear that we’d be in a nuclear war.
2. Family.
3. Dark Chocolate.
4. Sunshine.
5. Kindergartners.
6. Planning a surprise for grand girl.
7. Fresh garden tomatoes.
Have a great week.
Jeremy said, on 9/14/2014 8:07:00 AM
Ooo, how I love seeing the different stages of a drawing — so cool to see the reference photos and sketches on the way to the finished work. These are all so fun and polished.
Jules, that Shara Worden song is so gutsy and inventive — thanks for sharing. I also love it (and am a bit jealous) that you’re learning to play new music on the piano.
Margie, your #4 is inspiring me to make soup today!
I was feeling particularly thankful one day this week, and thought “it’s been way too long since I did seven kicks”. So here goes.
1) My mom’s mini-vineyard arbor is laden with impossibly sweet seedless green grapes, and we’ve been gorging ourselves like black bears.
2) Nectarine crisp/crumble.
3) Stand-up paddle boarding. I did not expect to get into this, but our whole family loved it this summer — such a relaxing way to enjoy the lake and get a surprising workout too.
4) My mom living nearby in our town. She’s a good friend, and the kids are so lucky to have an amazing grandma here.
5) Daughters getting into photography and seeing their pictures win at the local fair.
6) Guacamelee, a guilty-pleasure video game that hooked me hard on the kids’ Wii.
7) Our youngest turning 7, which technically happened last month, but he celebrated with three friends yesterday.
Little Willow said, on 9/14/2014 9:01:00 AM
Good morning, Imps!
Hello to David and the adorable bears and dragons and bugs, oh my! Cool to see the photographs-turned-sketches.
Jules: Good luck with the Chopin piece. Have fun with it. Very cool orchestrations and layering in that song you posted from Shara Worden / My Brightest Diamond. A group I dig, The Veronicas, released a new song this week called You Ruin Me. Check it out.
Margie: Hugs to the bouncing-back super-pup Xena.
Kicks from the past week:
1) A movie I’m in was screened in Europe
2 and 3) A play I wrote is having a reading in New York and getting fully produced in California
4 and 5) Another play I wrote is getting a reading and full production, again two different theatres/companies/places
6) Like minds meeting
7) Technology and photography capturing and sharing that which we cannot be present for in person
Moira said, on 9/14/2014 9:43:00 AM
David’s books look like so much fun. I’ll have to check them out.
Jules – I do admit that those book titles are funny. My favorite is, “The 80′s”. That Thesaurus book also looks like one I’m going to have to find.
Margie – What kind of soup?
Jone – Dark chocolate is the best! The darker the better.
Jeremy – My folks live in the same town as us. It is wonderful to have them be such a big part of my kids lives.
LW – #6 is so fantastic. It is always great to be with people who, “get it”.
Kicks
1. I ran my first 5K without slowing down to walk or collapse.
2. Smoothed out some scheduling issues for my son at school without turning into crazy mama bear.
3. This year my daughter will be on stage for our local studio’s production of the Nutcracker.
4. & 5. So proud of and happy for two friends who have debut picture books out this week, Kelly Light and Mike Curato. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/63912-draw-what-you-know.html
6. Reading aloud to my little niece and nephew and my big daughter and son.
7. Sorting through my bird pics. http://instagram.com/p/s2HtvxlP1P/?modal=true
September is so lovely here. I hope things are lovely where you are too.
Little Willow said, on 9/14/2014 10:01:00 AM
Moira: CONGRATS! Woo hoo for the run, for the schedule-smoothing, for all of it. Tell your daughter I said break a leg! Nutcracker is my favorite ballet.
Jeremy: Happy belated birthday to your munchkin, and high-fives to your budding photographers.
Jone: I am craving tomatoes. And avocados.
Emmaco: That’s such a great title.
emmaco said, on 9/14/2014 4:04:00 PM
Moira, your bird pictures are lovely. I enjoy putting images to names I know from books.
Jeremy nectarine crumble sounds delicious. I’m glad we’re heading into stone fruit season here soon.
Glad Xena is well, Margie!
LW so many exciting events this week! And yes it’s a great book title. Karen said they tried a different (boring) title when they went to sell it in the UK market but it didn’t get picked up until they reverted to this title!
Jone, I can taste those tomatoes now.
Moira said, on 9/14/2014 6:30:00 PM
Hi Emmaco and thanks! Sorry I missed you earlier.
jules said, on 9/14/2014 7:56:00 PM
Emmaco, Fowler’s book is on my TBR list! So glad you had some baby-free time and enjoyed yourself (and that the baby enjoyed the grandparents).
Margie, didn’t know Xena was sick but glad to hear she’s bouncing back. … You’re making me want a good hot cup of tea right now! … Glad you had a good week.
Jone, I want to read Countdown. I’ve not read it yet but my book club is about to read Revolution, the second in that trilogy (right?). …. Hope your granddaughter loves her surprise!
JEREMY! Happy birthday to Ezra. So cool that your mom is right there. And I’ve never even heard of stand-up paddle boarding, so I’ll have to look that up.
Little Willow, I’ll look for the song. Thanks! AND OH MY GOSH, your KICKS! Congrats on all the results of your hard, talented work. Go, you!
Moira, congrats on the 5K! Oh, and congrats to your daughter too! May she break a leg.
Okay, you all. I just gotta write about another Bruce Eric Kaplan picture book, because whenever he writes and illustrates a new one, I’m reminded how wonderfully weird and refreshing they are. I see a lot of picture books on a regular basis, you see, and some of them start to blur together in my vision, but when one of his shows up, I know I’m likely in for a laugh.
Let me back up first. Kaplan is a cartoonist, whose work regularly appears in the The New Yorker, and since he’s known for his darker humor, his picture books have a touch of that as well (which means, of course, I’m going to be drawn to them). Dark humor in picture books is an easy thing to get wrong, though, yet Kaplan hasn’t made a misstep yet. At least, not in my book anyway. His debut picture book was 2010′s Monsters Eat Whiny Children, featured here at 7-Imp, and this was followed last year by Cousin Irv from Mars, which I wrote about here at Kirkus (and followed up here with art).
The new one, Meaniehead, came out in June (Simon & Schuster) and features more of his dark, hyperbolic humor and wry (and wise) observations on childhood. Henry and Eve are siblings who are experiencing an ugly new phase (as you can see above), involving lots of arguing. One day, an argument over an action figure (“There’s nothing sillier than fighting about what belongs to whom, but no kids and even fewer adults know that”) leads to a broken lamp, a wrecked bedroom, and the destruction of the house, the neighborhood, the local toy store, the library, the pizza place, the beauty parlor, the park, and all the town’s buildings, really. After a snack break, the intensive arguing continues until … well, I can’t give it all away, but some Texas football teams get involved …
… and in the end the world explodes.
That’s a Bruce Eric Kaplan book for you. Though you can never expect a moral with his books (thank goodness), there is some remorse, post-apocalypse. Best of all, he seems to really get those intense childhood fights. (My late brother and I grew up to be the best of friends, but boy howdy did we have some doozies when we were younger. I remember an argument over macaroni that is best not discussed.)
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) I might have to listen to this great conversation with poet Marie Howe multiple times. This is excellent on so many levels.
2) I took my girls this weekend to this Coretta Scott King event at the Nashville Public Library, and they got to take writing and art workshops — and I finally got to meet in personR. Gregory Christie.
3) Reading about this smart idea (putting a social worker on staff at a D.C. library to work with homeless patrons) led me to this podcast. It’s from the Dallas Public Library; it’s about homelessness; and it’s hosted by a young man who is himself homeless. I’m on episode three at this point; so far, it’s interesting stuff.
I’ve been away from 7 imp for too long! I will definitely return to read more kicks tomorrow. Jules, I love the sound of kick #6 the best even though all your others were great too – there’s just nothing to beat a bubble bath and good book.
As an aside, I will say though the idea of having a social worker at the library is a great one. I’ve never wondered if there are many homeless people at the city library I frequently visit, I suspect we have less homelessness than some big US cities but I would imagine some people would hang out there…perhaps I will send the article to a librarian I know and ask!
Anyway, I’m quite sleepy so only 5 kicks despite the break of a few weeks
1. Last week we went up north and visited my dad and his wife for a long weekend last weekend – so lovely to see them interacting with the baby (who is 13 months but I am going to call a baby for a while yet as technically he can’t actually toddle)
2. Lovely beach walks while we were there
3. Watching the baby crack up with laughter just watching dad’s (small & white) dog run around
4. Living close enough to family that I could pop in and see my youngest sister and her husband today on the spur of the moment
5. Fresh lemons off her tree are laying on the kitchen bench smelling nice
Moira said, on 8/31/2014 6:39:00 AM
Hey guys!
This book looks great. I’m one of five kids so I know of epic battles.
Jules- I want to know what novels you’re reading. I just started, “Gone Girl”.
Emmaco- I still call mine babies even though they are upright and over 5 feet tall.
kicks
1. I’ve added a couple of new pics to my website. http://moiraswiatkowski.com
I’m tweaking it a bit this week so I’ll probably change and add a couple more.
2. Newport, RI is a fun day trip. The mansion tour reminded me of Downton Abbey.
3. My big wonderful family
4. Ice Cream
5. Close encounter with a big blue crab
6. One week until I run a 5K for the first time.
7. Seeing a friend I made at the ICON Conf. in person.
Have a great week all!
Jone said, on 8/31/2014 7:31:00 AM
The foot fights in the back seat of the car were epic with my brother. Meanie Heads sounds like the type of book that many will check out.
Jules, will have to listen to Marie Howe, Dolly Parton rocks, and what are some of the books on you TBR pile?
Emmaco, so great to see you check in. Walks on the beach and fresh lemons, great kicks.
Moira, ice cream. I have been craving solid chocolate ice cream.
My kicks:
1. Finished One Came Home by Amy Timberlake. It was terrific. Intense.
2. A misty end of summer rain yesterday.
3. Lunch with friends.
4. My writing critique group.
5. Hosted Poetry Friday. So many good entires.
6. Game of Thrones, season three, almost finished.
7. Back to school bar-b-Que. Good to see students and parents.
Have a great week.
Little Willow said, on 8/31/2014 8:07:00 AM
Good morning, Imps! Hope you are enjoying the weekend.
That sounds like a very intense fight, Eric. Thanks for stopping by!
Jules: Hope your girls are enjoying the new school year. Yay for the workshops and meet-ups.
emmaco: Glad that your family is doing well, and that you all could visit.
Moira: I’m shorter than your kids!
Jone: Thanks again for hosting Poetry Friday.
My kicks from the past week:
1) Good news
2) Confirmations
3) Recommendations
4) Goal met
5) International audiences
6) Feedback
7) Forward
Rachel said, on 8/31/2014 9:53:00 AM
Happy Weekend Imps!
Meaniehead looks awesome. Definitely sibling fights in our house with 4 of us growing up, though as youngest I watched more of them since the others were a bit older.
Jules -a bubble bath and a book sounds wonderful. And Dolly Parton is great – I love hearing about people quietly doing good in the world.
emmaco – time spent with family is lovely, and I can smell those fresh lemons from here.
Moira – first 5K – go you!
Jone – wasn’t the rain great? Now if I can remember I said that in 4 months when its nonstop again. GOT – yes! And lunch with friends is always nice.
LW – met goals always feel so good! And good news is always, well, good.
My kicks cover the past 2 weeks since I was away:
1) Pink Martini final Oregon Zoo Concert last Saturday – it was perfect weather, and we had wine and cheese and macaroons.
2) Read Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto, dark but good.
3) Read Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara – really liked it.
4) I am fostering a sweetie pie pit bull named Daisy and she’s been with me 2 weeks now, and settling well.
5) Fun babysitting night with my friend’s girls -3 & 6 – we had a pizza party, played and watched movies. And I have new art on my chalkboard wall, which I love.
6) Picked up framed prints I was waiting on and hung them – when I look at them it makes me happy. The artist is http://paigebradley.com/ and she does amazing sculptures, I have prints of Expansion and Home.
7) Things coming together. I’ve been feeling very lucky and grateful and full of joy that I am surrounded by so many good people, near and far, and that makes it even sweeter to share all the good things going on in my life with them, and of course that includes y’all too.
Have a great long weekend!
jules said, on 8/31/2014 5:47:00 PM
Emmaco, 13 months already? How is this possible? So glad you had a good trip.
Moira: I read Gone Girl (primarily ’cause I saw a trailer for the movie adaptation that intrigued me — that usually works the other way around!).
Let’s see (to answer your question and Jone’s question): I started Lev Grossman’s The Magicians (!!), and I finally got a copy of Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming, and I got Boys of Blur, based entirely on this kick-ass video: http://wildthings.blaine.org/?p=1067.
Also, the girls and I are enjoying now The Greenglass House.
Moira: YOUR FIRST 5K? GOOD LUCK!
Jone: I still super bad want to read One Came Home. Thanks for the reminder. … Glad you had a good week!
Little Willow: Good news is getting jazz hands from me. So are international audiences!
Rachel: Hi to Daisy! Ages 3 and 6 are good ages when it comes to playing with children, too. Also, I LOVE KICK #7!
Have a good week, all.
Moira said, on 8/31/2014 6:02:00 PM
I am trying to read it before the movie. I’m totally picturing Ben Affleck as the main character.
Rachel said, on 8/31/2014 9:45:00 PM
Jules and Moira – looking forward to Gone Girl the movie. Although I just watched Water for Elephants & loved the book more. Tough making a movie of a book.
Jules – The Magicians is so fun! I’ve read the first two, now need to pick up a copy of the third The Magician’s Land. And yes, the 3 & 6 year old are great fun! And thanks, I love kick 7 too. Life is sweet.
jules said, on 9/1/2014 7:19:00 AM
I’m enjoying Grossman’s book so far, Rachel. I’m three chapters in.
Longchamp Bags On Sale Paris said, on 9/2/2014 2:43:00 PM
Over at BookPage, I’ve written a review of Anna Kang’sYou Are (Not) Small (Two Lions, August 2014), illustrated by her husband, Christopher Weyant. So, I’m sending you over there today to read about it, but I’ve got a bit art here at 7-Imp today to go with 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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) I got to Skype in yesterday to The Book Beat’s special book launch (in Oak Park, Michigan) for the late Peter D. Sieruta, one of my co-authors on Wild Things. Here’s a photo, courtesy of Rhonda Gowler Greene on Twitter, of Betsy (who was there) talking to Video Me at the launch:
1. Publishing my first book of poems, Crackles of Speech (order your copy today — hint, hint) http://www.lulu.com/shop/steven-withrow/crackles-of-speech-poems/paperback/product-21763638.html
2. Reading Wild Things (which just arrived)
3. Studying Sylvia Plath’s early poems
4. Packing for a big move
5. Performing Harry Potter for my daughter
6. Reconnecting with friends
7. Finishing this poem:
Cheating American Lit
Absent the week Mrs. Colford taught The Pearl—
Too sick for school—
I flunked the quiz, and were it not for a girl
I sort of liked, who shared her notes, that jewel
Of Steinbeck’s shorter books might well have been
A dead weight on my final grade. I read
Her loopy purple cursive night by night
Until I thought that I had taken in
Enough to bluff an essay test. Instead,
Mrs. Colford—seeing through me?—made us write
Five paragraphs on A Raisin in the Sun.
No trouble there:
I’d watched the film from 1961
On VHS with Ruby Dee. Was it fair
To skip the play? I’m still not sure it tipped
The scales against me, but when I learned I’d aced
The test—I’d tied for highest mark in class—
I felt such guilt I had to read the script. And Mama said, “I guess you better not waste
Your time with no fools.” Now do I pass?
Jules: Glad that technology permitted and supported your virtual attendance. Congrats on the starred Booklist review! Wahoo!
Steven: Congratulations on the publication!
My kicks for the past week:
1) Singing
2) Seizing opportunities
3) Mind over matter
4) Pushing through
5) Full house
6) Rest
7) Pumpkin granola
Jone said, on 8/17/2014 7:56:00 AM
What a fun book. It would be perfect for my Pre-K time.
Jules, I want to see Snowpiercer and The Giver..the book I just finished reading, Revolution by Deborah Wiles had a lot of Beatles references.
Steven, love the line about “her loopy purple cursive.” Good luck on your move.
My kicks:
1. Middle and youngest grandgirl are up for a visit. I haven’t seen them since New Year’s.
2. The whisperings and giggles and laughter of oldest and middle grandgirl.
3. Oldest grangirl on crying:”if you don’t get rid of the tear-aches, you will get sick. That’s why I cry.”
4. Revolution by Deborah Wiles. Important book about the summer of 1964 in Mississippi.
5. Call for CYBILS panelists and judges opens tomorrow.
6. A poem in the mail from a Summer Poetry Swap person.
7. Beautiful summer weather.
Have a great week.
Jone said, on 8/17/2014 7:58:00 AM
Steven, yes, congrats on being published.
LW: we crossed in cyberspace. I like the idea of pushing through and pumpkin granola.
Jules said, on 8/18/2014 5:05:00 AM
Back soon. Promise!
jules said, on 8/18/2014 5:33:00 AM
Steven, congrats on the publication!
Little Willow: Carpe diem.
Jone, Revolution sounds good. Thanks for the heads-up!
Sorry for my very belated reply. Yesterday got busy (but my house is cleaner because of it).
Hey, look! It’s an animated GIF in which debut author-illustrator Zack Rock is showing us a spread being painted. I hope the animation is working for everyone.
It’s good to have Zack back at 7-Imp. In 2012 (here), his artwork was featured on one of my Up-and-Coming Illustrators Sunday posts, and now his first book is out with Creative Editions. In fact, if you look again at that post from two years ago, you will see that he included two images from this new book back then. (Also, it’s a fun post to re-read, since he talks about studying at England’s Cambridge School of Art with scholar Martin Salisbury. Zack described it as “a no-holds-barred, steel cage death match of mutual respect and encouragement.”)
The new book is called Homer Henry Hudson’s Curio Museum and will be released in mid-August. “Everything has a story,” the book opens, and Zack’s is a beguiling one. Henry is a bulldog, who owns a museum of curios from all over the world. He proudly displays several in the book and tells readers about them — from a Conatusaurus Skull from the Late Jurassic Period to a Humble Willow Root Cane. The collection includes delightfully bizarre artifacts, and Homer is a fine storyteller. I like the art in this book (illustrations that the Kirkus review describes as possessing “touches of humble elegance”), and the writing is outstanding. (“My job is to keep the place spick-and-span,” Henry says when we first meet him. “My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, but I’m a proper Magellan at nose navigation. You’d be surprised how well a 6th-century Byzantine bedpan keeps its distinctive aroma.”) Zack Rock is one to watch.
I’m going to let Zack talk now and share some of his artwork. Enjoy.
p.s. If you visit his 2012 7-Imp post, you can spot Maurice Sendak, Shaun Tan, and Lisbeth Zwerger in one of the illustrations from this book.
* * *
Zack: Thanks again for having me back aboard the good ship 7-Imp! It was an honor being previously featured as an up-and-coming illustrator and an absolute joy to return as an arrived-and-here illustrator. I can only hope 7-Imp will continue to record my career in the decades to come, even if it’s only in a Where Are They Now-type feature, far down the road (SPOILER: undefeated tango champion at Deer Glen Assisted Living Facility).
For now, I’m super excited to share my first book, Homer Henry Hudson’s Curio Museum! It’s the tale of a globetrotting explorer and the bounty of bizarre bits-and-bobs he collects on his adventures. Part Indiana Jones, part Hoarders, but with the one element those series were conspicuously lacking: an elderly, half-blind talking dog.
Zack: “A photo from the sketchbook page I first worked out the idea for HHH on.” (Click to enlarge)
Starting in the present day with an introduction to the crowded museum, the book then flashes back to the rise and fall of Homer Henry Hudson via the curio descriptions themselves. It was a fun way to narrate his biography and buys the reader a ticket to all the exotic locales HHH has pilfered (as well as a sushi restaurant).
But the big draw for many has been the smörgåsbord of artifacts in the book. Every drop of my imagination was wrung out to fill the museum, leaving a scoosh over 100 exhibitions in the book. Each has a story, though for the most part I’ve left them for the reader to dream up.
“Everything has a story: the dullest clam may hold the brightest pearl. …” Zack: “{These are} step-by-steps of an illustration from thumbnail to final illustration.” (Click each to enlarge)
The journey from first draft to final was almost as calamitous as one of H³’s adventures. The original idea sprawled out to include seven main characters, a trio of taxidermic bulldogs, a pair of dead parents, and one sinister white squid. After some minor retooling (picture an axe-wielding lunatic with a vendetta against paper), I pared it down to only one main character. And only one dead parent.
“My eyesight isn’t what it used to be …” (Click to enlarge and read full text)
“… the future is never set in stone (or, in this case, bronze).” (Click to enlarge and read full text)
“She begged I accept her bear as a token of gratitude.” (Click to enlarge and read full text)
“Reward from the temple’s caretakers for convincing the parrot priest to unbeak a panel of wood he’d stripped off the dilapidated temple wall.” (Click to enlarge and read full text)
Working with Creative Editions on the book was beyond wonderful. Tackling a project like this is daunting to say the least, but the dedication Creative’s publisher Tom and art director Rita had to Homer carried me through the many harrowing legs of the journey. When I first approached them with my portfolio, I felt like the high school Science Fiction Club president asking the prom queen for a dance, and I’m still stunned by the faith they have in my work.
Zack: “My work space back in Seattle where I wrote and illustrated the book. (I’m living in Berlin nowadays.) My cat sat right behind me like that for most of the project, kept my posture straight.” (Click to enlarge)
Sadly, two individuals whose talents helped shape Homer Henry Hudson’s Curio Museum passed away before its release: my editor Aaron and printer, Ermanno. Along with writing some of the most engaging titles Creative Editions has released, Aaron’s deft red pen led my original text away from the brink of obscurity. And Ermanno’s genius not only revived the illustrations after my particularly poor scanning job nearly derailed the project, he made them just shine on the page. But beyond their professional abilities, they were a couple of the warmest and kindest people I’ve ever met. The world’s poorer for their absence.
(Click to enlarge)
Currently, I’m chiseling away at another book for Creative [pictured above], this time about an acrobatic young pig whose life changes after an encounter with a bookstore. Something about surrounding short, squat little animals with stuff evidently appeals to me. It’s called The Unexpected, and you can expect it 2016.
* * * * * * *
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
Hi, kickers! I’ve missed you the past two weeks. Let’s get caught up …
1) It’s really neat to have Zack back at 7-Imp.
2) I GOT TO MEET JAMA, YOU ALL! And her very nice husband. And hang out with her in her beautiful home. I also got to see Sara Lewis Holmes, though it wasn’t my first time meeting her in person, and meet her husband. I’m lucky to have these people as friends in my life (and I could have spent all day talking to them).
3) This was all while we were in D.C. last week for vacation, which was a fun trip (“fun AND a lot like Social Studies,” said my 8-year-old).
4) There was this Wyeth exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Hoo boy, I could have stayed ALL DAY in that one exhibit.
5) The book I wrote with Peter Sieruta and Betsy Bird came out on Tuesday of last week! (Should you wanna read it, by chance, here’s the low-down.) I had a book launch at Parnassus Books, which was fun. A local wine shop manager, Dan Hutchinson at The Wine Shoppe at Green Hills in Nashville, paired my book with some wines for the event, and he chose The Velvet Devil and Kung-Fu Girl (both from here). I mean, how wonderful is that? I have a video of the talk he gave at my launch, so I’ll try to share it soon.
6) People have been very supportive of and generous about the book launch, and I really appreciate it.
7) I’m reading this, and I love it thus far. I had to back up and start over (before I had gotten very far at all) just so I could read it with my girls:
I think I used the word “fun” an awful lot in this post, but it’s been a fun couple of weeks, in fact.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
10 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #392: Featuring Zack Rock, last added: 8/10/2014
So glad to see our regular Sunday space back up. How cool is this that Zack is back. I loved his goats two years ago and this book looks like a winner.
Jules, hooray for you book baby! I will be getting one. Think it’s a must have for any school library. And The Glass Sentence looks curious. Oh, and you got to meet Jama and see Sarah!
My kicks:
1. Healing from shoulder surgery.
2. Watched The Book Thief last night. Makes me want to read the book again.
3. Time with family at the coast.
4. Time in Lake Tahoe with college pals.
5. Visiting Beach Books and listening to book suggestions from the owner.
6. S’mores.
7. Sunset on the beach.
Have a great week.
Little Willow said, on 8/10/2014 8:42:00 AM
Good morning, Imps! Happy Sunday, one and all.
Welcome back, Jules! Hope you are having a WILD (Things) month. Glad that you and Jama (plus Jama-fama-ly and Sara) had fun hanging out.
Welcome back, Zack! Thanks for sharing your art again. So awesome that you found such support from your publisher. I especially like the picture of the pig in the stacks. Adorable. Let us know when you have a release date so we can expect The Unexpected.
Jone: Sending you healthy thoughts. I really like The Book Thief novel but haven’t seen the film yet.
My kicks for the past week:
1) Opening night!
2) Screening
3) Selection
4) Congratulations
5) Pickings
6) Writings
7) Coupons
Rachel said, on 8/10/2014 8:49:00 AM
HI Jules! Congrats on the book launch! I will definitely be getting a copy. Love the story and illustrations – Zack has such a talent for creating a whole world in each illustration, I just want to keep finding all the little details.
Jone – hooray for healing from surgery and time at the coast with family.
My kicks this week:
1) Annual Kickball tournament last weekend – great fun and we made the playoffs again.
2) Icebox cake for a friend’s birthday.
3) A much needed spa day.
4) A birthday lunch for a good friend – very fun.
5) Last minute invite to see Sara Bareilles – she was amazing – high energy and very emotionally honest performer.
6) My tomatoes are FINALLY ripening! I feel like they’ve just been hanging out green for weeks, so this is a relief.
7) Puppy sitting 2 cute shibas for a friend.
7.5) Saw Guardians of the Galaxy – great silly fun.
I am very grateful for how amazing this summer has been.
Hope everyone else has a wonderful week!
jama said, on 8/10/2014 9:45:00 AM
Well, somebody has to say it: Zack Rock rocks!! What great news about his new book. Enjoyed all the art and hearing about his process. His penchant for incredible detail reminds me of Graeme Base and Michael Hague.
Congrats again on the new book, Jules!! Your launch party looks like it was fun and well attended. Those wines sound perfect .
Glad your shoulder is healing well, Jone. Mmmmm, s’mores.
Hi, LW. Opening night! You have the most exciting life.
Envy your garden tomatoes, Rachel. I’ll have a piece of icebox cake, thank you.
Kickiness:
1. Meeting the entire Danielson family!! They are all adorable and purrrrfect.
2. Started reading Wild Things! on my Kindle. Too much fun. Can’t wait to receive my hard copy.
3. Another great throwback moment in Whole Foods: DC5′s “Because.” Had a huge crush on Mike Smith back in the day.
4. Meeting a good friend for dinner in D.C. Second time seeing her in person, first time meeting her lovely husband.
5. Ciao Bella Coconut Sorbet
6. Colin Firth in “Magic in the Moonlight.” Movie, so-so; Colin, EVEN MORE HANDSOME THAN BEFORE. *fans self*
7. Three foxes (mother and two kits) coming to dine on scraps outside the kitchen door. White tips on their tails, and long black stockings.
Happy Sunday, Everyone!
jules said, on 8/10/2014 11:54:00 AM
Jone, good to hear you’re healing! Glad you got to visit the coast, and I’ve been wondering if the film adaptation of The Book Thief is good. I’ll have to check it out.
Little Willow, “selections” reminds me that you are typically very modest about all the good things happening in your career. I can only assume “selections” means an altogether NEW instance of someone selecting something you’ve written for the stage? If so, congrats!
Rachel, it makes me happy to read your summer has been “amazing.” I’m curious about Guardians of the Galaxy. I keep hearing it’s a hoot and very fun, and yet I’ve yet to see a preview. I’m a pop culture moron sometimes.
mrs. b: I’ve been wondering about that Woody Allen movie. I’ll have to wait for it on DVD. … I was hoping for a fox sighting at your house. They waited till we left. BOO. But it was so great to meet you. (You all, Jama’s house? IT IS AMAZING.)
Little Willow said, on 8/10/2014 12:29:00 PM
Jama: I love how you described the foxes.
Rachel: Sara Bareilles is AMAZING. So glad you got the chance to see her live – as you said, she’s a very honest and awesome performer. I hadn’t heard of icebox cake before! I hope you are having fun with the Shiba dogs – they have wonderful smiles, don’t they?
Jules: You are correct! Thank you!
jama said, on 8/10/2014 12:52:00 PM
The foxes are typically very shy and only come around after dark. Perhaps they were also a little fearful of all the meowing they heard indoors?
Must check out Sara Bareilles. And congratulations, LW, on all the good things happening in your career.
Etienne Delessert said, on 8/10/2014 1:07:00 PM
Well.Jules, good choice to feature such a real talent. We met a year ago in Bologna, he was such a young mad dog! riding a bike around the Book Fair.
I am also happy he names the departed Aaron Frish-the editor he had at Creative, and Ermanno Beverari, our superb printer in Verona.
We all miss them
Be well
Etienne
etienne delessert said, on 8/10/2014 1:17:00 PM
thinking about it, Zack’s work reminds me of Rick Schreiter (The Plums of king Oscar the Bad, for instance, published by Harlin Quist in 1967 I believe.
He was an immense talent too, but life was hard on him (and Quist stole everything he could!) Rick disappeared.
Years later he was a homeless, a friend told me. I looked everywhere to find him, to work for the famous series of Fairy Tales issued in 183-4 by Creative. Rita Marshall art directed the 20 books, and was helping in the search.
I miss very much Schreiter, 40 years later!
Jone said, on 8/10/2014 1:27:00 PM
Jules, I was happy with the adaptation of The Book Thief.
Author-illustrator Barbara McClintock is here today to talk about creating the artwork for Beverly Donofrio’sWhere’s Mommy?, released in March by Schwartz & Wade, which Kirkus calls “irresistible.” This is a companion book to Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse and Mary, released back in ’07. Those of you familiar with the first title will know that Maria is Mary’s daughter, and Mouse Mouse is Mouse’s daughter. In this new book, Maria and Mouse Mouse are (separately) looking for their mothers, their experiences and goings-on fully parallel, as McClintock gives us a peek into each one’s home and surroundings.
Soon, Barbara will also see the release of another 2014 illustrated title, Jim Aylesworth’sMy Grandfather’s Coat (Scholastic), which has already received two starred reviews. (Barbara also discusses below some other new projects. Fans of Adèle & Simon will be happy.) I haven’t seen My Grandfather’s Coat yet, but maybe she can come back to talk about it, especially since she’s also interested in talking further about the March Leave Your Sleep exhibit at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, as well as the Leave Your SleepCarnegie Hall concert (back in April), which had, in Barbara’s words, “images from the book projected big as a barn behind the stage. Maybe [we can have] a discussion about ways picture books extend beyond their printed avatars.” (If you’re not familiar with Leave Your Sleep—with Natalie Merchant—you can visit this 2012 7-Imp post.)
I’d love to discuss those things, but for now, let’s look at Where’s Mommy?
I thank Barbara for sharing …
Barbara: Hi there, Jules! Great to be back at 7-Imp!
Thanks for inviting me to talk about Where’s Mommy? I had the great pleasure of working with Lee Wade, Rachael Cole, Stephanie Pitts, and Anne Schwartz again for round two of the mouse/girl adventure.
Where’s Mommy? is a definite nod to The Borrowers by Mary Norton. The Borrowers was one of my favorite books when I was growing up. I wished with all my might when I was little that I’d had my very own tiny family living under my bedroom floor, going about their life with furnishings poached from forgotten small stuff under the couch or lost in the back corner of cluttered kitchen drawers.
Beth and Joe Krush’s fluid black and white illustrations for The Borrowers were—and still are—enthralling. The Krushes really had their drawing chops down. Their loose, sketchy illustration style jumps out of a solid background in highly-skilled, realistic drawings. Love it!
The secret friendship, the risk of discovery, the parallel worlds — it’s all there in Where’s Mommy? with whiskers and tails added. I had a lot of fun thinking of all the modern household debris that would make perfect furnishings for a comfy contemporary mouse house. Just imagine what little midnight visitors to a recycling bin would find, making good use out of plastic berry containers and caps and bottles and used-up toothpaste tubes. And I now know where my missing set of ear buds might be.
Where’s Mommy? is a step away from my usual style. I was excited about mixing up the visual pacing by using very simple, minimal images along with those complex drawings that invite hunting for details. I relied on watercolor more than cross-hatch to get effects like that light-glowing-through-clear-plastic thing goin’ on in Mouse Mouse’s kitchen. The word balloons hearken back to my girlhood obsession with drawing comics, and I am over-the-moon thrilled with Chris Costello’s gorgeous hand lettering in the balloons throughout the book and on the front cover.
(Click to enlarge)
There was a vibrant conversation between Lee, Rachael, Anne and me about the dummy and elements in the sketches and finished art. We were definitely a team finding our way to making the book as engaging, energetic, and fun as possible.
“Sketches taped up on my studio wall” (Click to enlarge)
I began the art for Where’s Mommy? right after I finished art for Leave Your Sleep, the last book I worked on to completion with my beloved editor Frances Foster. I’m so very lucky to have known Frances and worked with her on five and a half books. She was universally loved by her authors, illustrators, and anyone who worked with her. She was intensely involved with every aspect of my creative process, always available, always there for me. I’d send Frances an email at 11:30 at night and get an email back 15 minutes later. Her husband Tony referred to her weekends as “work ends.”
To have had such access to her inventive, brilliant mind was a a rare and precious gift. I still feel a deep sense of grief and loss, even feeling lost, but she was ready to take flight and leave all of us with her legacy and the memory of her elegance, wit, and genius.
Sketches and final art: “If Maria’s parents knew there were mice in the house, they’d get a cat.” (Click each to enlarge)
Sketches and final art: “Have you seen Mom?” (Click each to enlarge)
I’m working on finished art for Adèle & Simon in China at the moment. This was the last project Frances and I worked on together; we’d gotten to the sketch stage. Simon Boughton is my new editor on this book. He’s enthusiastically cheering me on with the book and is also being amazingly sensitive to honoring Frances’ vision and work on this book. I can’t imagine how tricky that must be, and I admire his tact and am grateful for his belief in my work. The book is really in place, but I admit to missing hearing Frances’ voice and reading her emails as I’m drawing crowded market streets in Hong Kong or coloring a scene of the desert near Dunhuang. My partner David Johnson encourages me to “channel my inner Frances” — not quite the same as actually being in contact with her, but it is a comfort nonetheless.
Sketches and final art: “Where’s Mom?” (Click each to enlarge)
Sketches and final art: “Guess who!” (Click each to enlarge)
Adèle & Simon in China, by the way, is looking FABULOUS! My son Larson DiFiori is getting his PhD in Chinese philosophy and ancient Chinese language studies at Brown and has been at my elbow as my go-to guy to answer questions — or put me in touch with people who can answer questions about China that come up as I’m working on the book. Plus he and David pop into my studio from time to time wearing funny hats and make me laugh. What could be better than that?
“Hey, what’s this? It’s my son Larson, wearing a klondike hat in my studio! He just popped in while I was working to offer some comic relief.”
AND … there’s more! I’m also working on Emma and Julia Love Ballet with the wonderful, dear Dianne Hess at Scholastic Press. Emma and Julia shows a day in the life of Emma, a young girl who dreams of being a ballet dancer, and Julia, a professional ballet dancer. They both have breakfast, go to lessons, and are ultimately at the same evening dance performance — Emma in the audience and Julia on stage. They meet back stage after the performance, Emma with her dreams of the future and Julia with encouragement and the memory of her early dreams. I wrote the book thinking of my sister who loved ballet as a girl. I’m having a blast drawing and photographing dancers at a local ballet school, as well as drawing and inking the final artwork. Dianne, like Frances, is that rare breed of marvelous editors who is always there, always supportive and caring. This will be our ninth book together. Holy Cow, time flies!
My Grandfather’s Coat, written by Jim Aylesworth and edited by Dianne Hess for Scholastic Press, comes out this fall. Stay tuned!
Here’s a promiscuous hodge-podge of work-in-progress/process pics [from Where's Mommy?]:
“Working on spread of family at beginning of book. Why not have a Goya poster on the wall? I was fascinated by this painting as a child, and if I stop to think about it now, it’s a little weird and scary. So I don’t stop to think about it!”
“Studio chaos!”
“Inked 1st page spread”
“Cover idea”
“Finding the perfect Maria-yelling-‘Mommy!’-head”
“Various failed attempts to get the right inked drawing of Maria yelling”
“At last — got the inked Maria head and everything else down!”
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
My kicks one through seven this week will be that I saw Hurray for the Riff Raff live in Nashville a second time this year. They always put on a highly entertaining show.
And it always makes me happy to see Barbara’s artwork. (And this recent Wild Things! post reminded me that I wanted to share some of her artwork here.)
It’s not that I didn’t have other kicks this week, but as usual, I’m typing past midnight (I’m a hopeless night owl), so I think I’ll hang it up for now.
But do tell: What are YOUR kicks this week?
10 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #391: Featuring Barbara McClintock, last added: 7/22/2014
1) Improvement
2) Clarity
3) Ranting
4) Cleaning
5) Clearing
6) Book donation
7) The right thing to do
Jone said, on 7/20/2014 7:14:00 AM
I love the behind the scenes of Beverly’s artwork. Thank you for that.
Jules, will have the read the Wild Things post. Love the posts.
LW: cleaning and clearing…makes you feel good, doesn’t it?
My kicks:
1. Sending off packages.
2. Time with grandgirl.
3. Grandgirl’s drama camp showcase. Sang songs from Disney movies in a hero and villain story line.
4. Time with daughter.
5. Books.
6. Friends.
7. Preparing for surgery. (Tomorrow on left rotator cuff).
Have a great week.
Little Willow said, on 7/20/2014 9:25:00 AM
Jone: Sending you healthy, healing thoughts. Give your granddaughter a high five from me.
Katy Gilmore said, on 7/20/2014 12:49:00 PM
Seven kicks right here in your post!
1. Learning abut “Where’s Mommy?” which looks wonderful.
2.Going back to your earlier post about McClintock.
3. The studio shots with all that great work going on.
4. the sketches of Maria shouting “mom!”
5. all these preliminary sketches showing so much detail
6. Dummies, too.
7.Finals, of course.
Thank you both!
Rachel said, on 7/20/2014 2:22:00 PM
Wow, loved seeing the whole process this week, the early sketches, the inspirations, the studio visitors and the final work. And Barbara McClintock totally captures the warmth and detail of The Borrowers!
Jules – so glad you had more concert fun!
LW -cleaning and clearing are going on in my world too – little bit of synchronicity.
Jone – sending you good wishes for surgery!
My quick kicks:
1) Painting & setting up the home office.
2) A “summer cleaning” in the whole house that is still ongoing.
3) Saw Typhoon 2 weeks ago – they were great!
4) Saw Amos Lee in concert at the zoo this past Thursday & he was amazing!
5) Softball team is on a winning streak!
6) Garden is really producing zucchini & tomatoes are on their way.
7) Having a beer with a visiting friend last night – always good to catch up with the people you don’t get to see regularly.
Wishing everyone a happy, sunshine and music filled week!
Moira said, on 7/20/2014 5:23:00 PM
Hey gang!
Just stopping by after a fun but exhausting couple of weeks. I was in Portland, OR for ICON and then came home to work and family and baseball tournaments.
Here’s a link to my flickr album from my trip https://flickr.com/photos/10898160@N04/sets/72157645747968963
And here’s a link to a video of a wall mural workshop I was a part of with some super nice and super talented illustrators http://youtu.be/DM_OEydRonU
Sadly Jone and I did not meet up but I did get to Powells.
PS. I love any story with a Maria.
I’m gonna go crash now.
jules said, on 7/20/2014 10:11:00 PM
Little Willow: Clarity. Oh-so good.
Jone, best of luck with the surgery. I’ll be thinking of you!
Oh, good, Katy. Glad you enjoyed the post!
Rachel, you saw Typhoon? I’ve heard them. I like them. I’m jealous. Was it a great show? … Sounds like you had a good week.
So glad you had fun, Moira! YAY! I shall look at your photos tomorrow.
Have a good week, all.
Allison said, on 7/21/2014 2:03:00 PM
Completely charmed! Thank you for sharing. Also enjoyed Ms. McClintock’s website.
Enjoyed catching up on other Kickers – glad to know everyone is doing well.
Hope Jone’s surgery went well. Rotator cuffs – painful!
No real kicks this week – too bogged down by jet lag and complications with our Tiny’s adoption.
See you all next week!
jules said, on 7/21/2014 9:23:00 PM
Allison, I’m sorry to hear about adoption complications. Hope this week is better.
Aaron Becker said, on 7/22/2014 6:55:00 AM
I love Barbara’s work and it’s such a treat to see a bit of her process unfold here. Thanks Jules and Barbara for putting this together.
It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means a student or just-starting-out illustrator here at 7-Imp. Today, I welcome Brooke Boynton Hughes, who has already illustrated one children’s book and is working on a handful of others now but is still relatively new to the field. It’s a pleasure to share some of her artwork today. Let’s get right to it, especially since Brooke gives us a few words of introduction.
Brooke: I’ve wanted to illustrate children’s books ever since I was little. When other kids my age were moving on to middle-grade books, I was still poring over picture books. I loved reading, but I was especially enthralled by visual storytelling. As a kid, I spent a lot of time drawing and becoming engrossed in whatever visual world I was into at the time. There were a couple of years where I drew almost nothing except for tree houses, and there was the year of underground rabbit houses. The imagined worlds that I created in my drawings felt really real to me. I guess I loved, and still love, residing in imagined worlds.
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I attended Colorado State University where I earned a BFA in printmaking. In 2006, I received an MFA in figurative art from the New York Academy of Art. I concentrated on drawing and relief printmaking and made a lot of woodcuts that focused on folktales. Today, I use pen and ink and watercolor on Arches 140lb hot press watercolor paper to create my illustrations.
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In 2005, while still in grad school, I joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and began attending their conferences. I’ve learned so much from SCBWI and have met most of my close friends at SCBWI conferences.
This summer I’ve been working on putting the finishing touches on Baby Love, written by Angela DiTerlizzi and published by Beach Lane Books. Baby Love [pictured below] will come out next Spring.
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I’ve started on the illustrations for the second book in a middle-grade series, called Cupcake Cousins. The first Cupcake Cousins book, written by Kate Hannigan and published by Disney-Hyperion, came out at the beginning of May. I’m starting on the illustrations for a picture book titled MORE!, written by Linda Ashman and published by Random House. I’m also working on two book dummies of my own stories and am getting ready for this year’s SCBWI Summer Conference.
Jules: Thanks to Brooke for visiting. Because she gave me permission to pull more images from her website, I’d like to share these, too. The last two are my very favorites:
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All images used with permission of Brooke Boynton Hughes.
* * * * * * *
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
It was a distressing week in children’s lit, due to the very sad loss of Walter Dean Myers, and it was a distressing week for women’s rights in national news, so let’s work extra hard to find our kicks, shall we?
1) Though it’s challenging to get work done at home (since I always work from home) during the summers, I’m still enjoying more time with my girls — and especially more time for reading with them.
2) Remember how last week I was too tired to even leave kicks from re-organizing stuff in our home (mostly books)? Well, it feels good to be re-organized.
3) I love, in particular, what Sergio Ruzzier has to say in this interview about reading levels and children reading what they want.
6) Betsy Bird and I launched a website for our upcoming book, where we will share a story a day up until publication — stories, that is, which never made it in the book (but were in earlier drafts). Today’s story includes the best ALA conference photo ever.
7) I’ve lined up a book launch at Parnassus Books in Nashville for the book’s release, but I’ll try to remember to post about the website and the book launch here at 7-Imp tomorrow.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
10 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #389: FeaturingUp-and-Coming Illustrator, Brooke Boynton Hughes, last added: 7/6/2014
Wow, great new art today and extra recommendations too! I have missed being here on Sundays!
Congrats on the website, Jules! Boo to reading levels, what a strange idea. And I admire your working from home. I do 2 days in the office and half a day at home, and the half day from home over the course of the rest of the week is a real challenge!
1. Baby music event at a children’s art festival last weekend – not sure the music part was necessary as the babies just loved hanging out with each other and crawling around the giant textured mat they had set up.
2. Had to cancel a weekend trip to see a friend and her new baby due to my baby being sick – only slightly so, but who want to give germs to newborns? But fortunately she is in in town next weekend so we can still catch up.
3. Went to a festival here instead, and had fun eating nice food, looking at the river and enjoying the winter sun
4. I also bought a cute dress
5. However, my baby was a bit sicker today (though still not too bad) and we were able to get a doctor to visit for free under a new initiative that I suspect is trying to reduce out of hours visits to hospitals. I love that we generally have a great healthcare system here. (and the doctor confirmed it’s probably just a virus so just wait it out)
6. Very windy weather is cold but great for drying clothes
7. Farmer’s market today – stocked up on veg, bought a yummy baguette and enjoyed a good coffee.
Steven Withrow said, on 7/6/2014 7:24:00 AM
Ah, to be back on 7-Imp! Brooke’s art is dazzling; it has such a sense of depth, and a delicacy of color.
My kicks today are marginally momentous:
1. Leaving my job of six years
2. Saying goodbye to Rhode Island
3. Moving to Cape Cod
4. Rediscovering my self-confidence
5. Reading solely for pleasure
6. Completing my first poetry collection (out in August)
7. Revising this poem:
Model Ship and Maple Leaf
My single-masted skipjack is a stunner,
A copy of an oyster boat that trawled
The Chesapeake. I’ve weathered its assembly
Months now, its lasered fittings from a kit
Of balsa wood and birch. I sweated each
Precise detail: the hull, the perfect scribing
Along the deck, the stanchion holes of brass.
I raised cloth sails with rigging thread. Yet here,
Standing beside a stream, my dream complete,
I contemplate one floating leaf that fell
Heedless from an overhanging tree.
For all it lacks in discipline, design,
It makes a tighter, sounder craft than mine.
It rounds a curve. I cart my skipjack home.
Good morning. On the road literally on our way home from Idaho. Has a great rime. Will try to pop in later.
Moira said, on 7/6/2014 8:54:00 AM
It’s so nice to see Brooke’s work here today. I love her fairy tale worlds that she creates.
Jules – I love the new website. That Misty photo is so crazy.
emmaco – I’m glad things are going well. Sorry to hear baby is sick. That’s always tough on mom too.
Steven – Congrats on the collection and welcome to Cape Cod.
Kicks
This has been a busy week full of exhausting but good things.
1. Sister and family comes to town
2. Corporation Beach
3. Brother and Sister-in-law come to town
4. Princess Beach
5. Cookout on the Fourth in the rain
6. Cousins
7. All the while going to work and getting ready for my trip to Portland.
Speaking of Portland, Jone and I are going to have an Imp meetup if any other PDXers want to join us, let us know.
Follow me on twitter or Instagram to see how I’m doing at ICON.
Little Willow said, on 7/6/2014 9:17:00 AM
Fly-by posting to say hello to all Imps! Will post kicks later tonight.
Margie Culver said, on 7/6/2014 9:37:00 AM
Thank you Jules for highlighting Brooke Boynton Hughes here today and thank you Brooke for your conversation and artwork. It is absolutely charming with a wee bit of mystical magic to it. (I am a huge fan of The Clown of God too.) I look forward to seeing your books.
I have major book relocation to do in my home Jules. I am looking forward to the relief you are currently feeling. I LOVE the website for your new book!
Hope your baby is feeling better Emmaco. Farmer’s markets are the best.
I would say you have huge changes in your life Steven. I wish you well on your move and the publication of your poetry collection. Model Ship and Maple Leaf is a splendid comparison.
My kicks:
1. They are finally finished putting in the new electrical line along my property. I see my watering efforts paying off in the form of grassy new shoots.
2. Golden crescent moon
3. Independent book stores
4. Roses, lilies, delphiniums
5. F & G gifts
6. Watching Xena sleep
7. Walking with Xena
Rachel said, on 7/6/2014 9:57:00 AM
I am loving the artwork this week, particularly that first image with boy and tentacles down below, and the little girl in the boat with the whale lurking beneath – the hidden depths are speaking to me now…
Jules – congrats congrats! Love the website, and can’t wait to read all the stories. Any chance there will be a stop in Portland on the book tour?
emmaco – sorry the little one is sick, hooray for catch-ups with good friends and cute dresses! Sending wishes for a quick recovery for the little one.
Steven – congrats on leaving your job! And on the poetry collection coming in August!
Hi Jone!
Moira – sounds like you had a busy and wonderful week and a wonderful 4th! I’d love to meet up with you and Jone when you’re in town! Email at my instagram name plus yahoo.com
Hi LW!
I was missing last week due to travel, so lots of kicks this week:
1) Trip to LA last weekend – perfect amount of time to catch up with friends and enjoy the sunshine and beach.
2) Dodgers game at Dodgers Stadium. And they won! Total summer fun.
3) Wen to The Annenberg Space for Photography and saw the exhibit: Country: Portraits of An American Sound. http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/exhibition/country
4) Tim Howard’s 16 saves in the World Cup game – amazing.
5) Late dinner and a catchup Thursday with 2 mentees/friends. Summer dining outside and Moscow Mules – yum.
6) Went to the 4th of July Portland Thorns game with a good friend visiting town, perfect weather, great seats, even better company. Then we watched the Brazil-Columbia game at a local pub.
7) Watched the fireworks from the Morrison Bridge with another good friend. Very full day.
7.5) World Cup fever. Goodness all the socializing that goes along with it can be exhausting – good thing its every 4 years!
Bonus kick – going to dinner and a concert with a friend tonight for a late birthday celebration – my friends spoil me.
Have a sun-drenched and happy week Imps!
JES said, on 7/6/2014 11:28:00 AM
Hello, Kickers!
I love the samples of Brooke Boynton Hughes’s work presented here. (Thank you so much, Jules, for continuing to blow my mind with the talent of young illustrators.)
And oh, Jules — that Walter Martin video made my weekend. And the Wild Things Web site is shaping up great!
Vicarious pleasures today from emmaco’s Down Under weather report; Steven’s self-confidence; Moira’s rainy cookout (I love rainy days); Little Willow’s winged shadow as she passes overhead; Margie’s Xena; an Rachel’s photographic treat at the Annenberg Space.
Non-vicarious kickin’ pleasures of the moment:
1. The right word.
2. The wrong word, when it leads to surprising inspirations.
3. Belated b-day dinner of my own, with The Missus this week.
4. The X-Files episode “Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space’” (instant classic, and I think still hilarious).
5. Newly bathed and fluffy Pooch (although the scruffy version charms, too).
6. Recently finished a fascinating — really! — book on the “controversial” 1964 edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
7. “aletheia”
Have a great week, everybody!
Julie Larios said, on 7/6/2014 4:06:00 PM
What a wonderful new illustrator! We’ll be hearing more about her work in the future, I’m sure.
Steven – here’s to confidence!! Congratulations.
Since I wasn’t feeling too upbeat on the 4th (as has been noted, those SCOTUS decisions were rough) I have resolved to be more positive. Thinking about my kicks might help? Here they are:
1. Listened to the original London cast recording of Les Miserables with the volume way up…”Stars” is one of the best songs ever, and sung by a villain who thinks he is the hero of the story. Love that kind of complicated storytelling.
2. Found Rainier cherries on sale and bought an armload full, had enough to share, ate them ice cold. DIVINE.
3. Same as #2 above, but this time it was raspberries – big, plump, juicy, picked ripe, sweet, sweet, sweet.
4. Sat on the shore at Lincoln Park in .west Seattle and watched the ferry boats to Vashon Island go in, out, in, out at the dock. sun on the water, Olympic mountains on the horizon.
5. Renewed my subscription the Sunday New York Times. A year of good writing from them, and great reading for me, guaranteed.
6. Got an Advanced Reader Copy of EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN by the super-talented Lindsey Lane. Last saw it in manuscript form when Lindsey was my student at Vermont College of Fine Arts – so satisfying to know her talent is being recognized!
7. Turning 65 tomorrow, and my husband bought me a record player for my birthday!!! Listening to my vinyl LP’s – Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, Otis Redding, the Temptations, the Lettermen…oh, heaven!
Little Willow said, on 7/6/2014 6:15:00 PM
Hello to Brooke Boynton Hughes and her cool illustrations! So happy to hear that you are doing what you’ve always wanted to do. (And, as someone who thinks treehouses are neat and who thinks of the White Rabbit when I read “underground rabbit houses,” bonus kudos for those artsy early years.) Cupcake Cousins looks adorable. Congrats to you and your collaborators.
Jules: Hugs to your girls & husband & cat! YEAH, Wild Things website!
emmaco: Hope munchkin feels one hundred percent better soon. Yes to baguettes.
Steven: A week of wows for you! Best wishes with the next week, and the next.
Moira: Someday, I’ll film something in Portland, and I’ll say hi.
Margie: Woo hoo to the new electrical line, the flowers, and, always, Xena!
Rachel: Glad that you had a fun trip. Enjoy the spoils.
JES: That’s a fun episode. Hola to the pup and ‘ello to the lady!
Julie: Congratulations to your soon-to-be-published pal. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW!!!
My kicks from the past week:
1) Visits
2) Deciding it couldn’t hurt to ask, and asking
3) (Re)New project offer
4) Dreams that feel real
5) Light-emitting diodes
6) Out to Sea, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau (possibly viewing #12)
7) Writing when characters speak to and through me
Have any of you seen Kazuno Kohara’s newest picture book, The Midnight Library (Roaring Brook, June 2014)?
I’m taken with it, and I love to see her linocut illustrations.
I reviewed The Midnight Libraryhere for BookPage. So, if you’d like to read more about the book, you can head over there.
Today I’m following up with some illustrations from the book. The one pictured here to the left is toward the end of the book when the little librarian and her owls head upstairs to read one last book before bedtime.
And below is a bit more art.
Enjoy …
“Once there was a library that opened only at night. A little librarian worked there with her three assistant owls.” (Click to enlarge)
(Click either image to see spread in its entirety)
“A book of bedtime stories for three sleepy owls. Sleep tight!” (Click to enlarge slightly)
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
You’ll have to forgive me for not listing seven, separate kicks here, but I’ve got a stack of great books I’m reading (and I’m eager to start this new one from Gregory Maguire), so my one big kick is: Good books. And that, just like the little librarian, I’m going to go get comfy and read.
But do tell me: What are YOUR kicks this week?
9 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #387: Featuring Kazuno Kohara, last added: 6/23/2014
Must.have.The.Midnight.Library….owls and libraries? I am in!
Jules, I love your kick! Great books…that could be me every week.
My kicks:
1. My 40th year college reunion.
2. Completing 40 years of teaching, 35 in my district.
3. Dancing with abandon.
4. Listening to a great blues band Friday night.
5. Accepted into the Darcy Pattison Revision Retreat in January.
6. Kinders bringing me cards.
7. Receiving my first poem in the summer poetry swap (posted at Check It Out).
Have a great week.
jules said, on 6/22/2014 8:01:00 AM
Jone, wouldn’t you believe … well, I typed my kicks last night, and then discovered I had left all THREE books I’m reading at the pool yesterday. DOH. I was seriously bummed and just went to sleep. (But sleep, especially these days, is a kick too!)
40 YEARS OF TEACHING! CONGRATS! Congrats on the revision retreat, too.
Rachel said, on 6/22/2014 10:06:00 AM
Midnight library? Count me in too!
Jules – hooray for great books! And having the time to read them. That new Gregory Maguire looks so fun!
Jone – CONGRATS!! I am in awe. What lucky kids!
My kicks this week:
1) Last official week at work done, now I’m on vacation all summer til the next gig starts. Have not had a summer off since before law school, not sure I’ll be able to cope. (Just kidding.)
2) Two fun career milestones happened in last 2 weeks – also fun.
3) Joint goodby party 2 weeks ago with another coworker. Fun to talk to everyone and celebrate where I got my start, while looking forward to the future.
4) Kittens I rescued got adopted by a neighbor – hooray!
5) Work trip to Bend this past weekend. Always a good time, plus Bend is so sunny and beautiful, got to hike with a good friend, & go wine tasting with another good friend.
6) Finished Season 3 of Game of Thrones. I have a love/hate relationship with that show. Grrr.
7) My garden. Came home to first zucchini & tomoatoes. This summer I plan on reading in the garden….
7.5) USA World Cup game today! Go team USA!
Wishing everyone a sun-kissed happy week!
Margie Culver said, on 6/22/2014 12:01:00 PM
This book is going on my new order. It looks simply charming, Jules.
I couldn’t agree more with your wonderful kick. Stacks of books is my heaven on earth.
Jone: Dancing with abandon is simply the best. Congratulations on your 40 years with children.
Rachel: How amazing that you have veggies from your garden already. I have a single blossom on a tomato plant.
My kicks:
1. Much needed rain
2. Blooming perennial flowers
3. Scent of peonies
4. Good friends
5. Beautiful wedding yesterday
6. Watching the sunlight and shadows play across Xena’s sleeping form
7. Walks with Xena
Have a wonderful week everyone.
Little Willow said, on 6/22/2014 12:40:00 PM
Good afternoon, Imps!
Here are some great books I enjoyed recently:
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt
and I’m currently reading We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.
Jules: Thank you again for bringing our attention to THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY. I want a library. I don’t have enough bookshelves for all of my books.
Jone: Happy teacher-versary and reunion, and yay for dacing with abandon! (Without spoiling the Orphan Black finale, I’ll just say some people totally dance with abandon…!)
Rachel: Thanks for rescuing the kittens, and thank you for finding the kittens a good home! Enjoy your summer and your summer salads.
Margie: You have such a love for the outdoors and for loved ones in your kicks!
My kicks from the past week:
1) Push
2) Pulling through
3) Shows
4) Showing up
5) Books
6) Bookings
7) What’s next
jone said, on 6/22/2014 2:42:00 PM
Rachel, enjoy summer.
Margie, watching the sunlight and shadows play across Xena is simply wonderful.
LW, hooray for books and pulling through.
jules said, on 6/22/2014 7:09:00 PM
Rachel, whoa, things sound occupationally-exciting in your life. Congrats on a new gig, and it sounds mighty adventurous. So glad you get some time off. … So glad those adorable kittens have a home now. Thanks again for the video.
Margie: A stack of books is, indeed, one of the best things, and fortunately I got my stack of books back from the Y today! Glad you had a good week.
Little Willow: Getting ready to watch the Orphan Black finale now. … Congrats on bookings, and I loved We Were Liars.
Allison said, on 6/22/2014 7:54:00 PM
Oh boy am I glad I had a little time to stop by this week. I LOVE this book. Can’t wait to get a copy.
Marvelous! Cool! Fun! Did I mention I love it!
Good to do a quick scan and enjoy a few postings. Glad Everyone is thriving!
Love the summer reading plans!
My Kicks:
1. went to the awesome annual gospel workshop this weekend culminating in a wonderful concert today.
2. Our Tiny, who is now 16 months, started walking on Friday – she is now officially a toddler!
3. Our little is over pinkeye!
“The seal’s coat was silvery brown. She was eight feet long—as long as a long surfboard—and she weighed twelve hundred pounds — as much as fifteen Labrador retrievers. The people of Christchurch knew there was something very special about her. She was strong and powerful and regal — like Elizabeth, the Queen of England. And so they named her, Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas.” (Click to enlarge)
Good morning, all. First up, it’s Father’s Day, so happy Father’s Day to you dad-readers out there. And happy Father’s Day to all the father figures in our lives. (It just so happens that I wrote here on Friday about some great picture books about fathers — and even some grandfathers can be spotted in some of those pages.)
This morning, Caldecott medalist Brian Floca is sharing some sketches from his latest illustrated book, Lynne Cox’sElizabeth, Queen of the Seas (Schwartz & Wade, May 2014), and I’ve got some art from the book as well. And, since Atheneum Books for Young Readers just re-issued (in early June) Brian’s Five Trucks (pictured left), originally released back in 1999 by DK Publishing, I’ve got some art from that as well. And Brian has some early sketches from that book to share, too.
Lynne’s Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas opens with an Author’s Note about how Lynne once traveled to New Zealand (she is a world-renowned long-distance swimmer and writer and headed there to swim some lakes near Mount Cook), and it was there that she met a boy named Michael, standing along the Avon River near the city of Christchurch, who asked her if she was looking for Elizabeth. When she asked who it was that they meant, the boy explained that Elizabeth was an elephant seal, and both the boy and his sister told Lynne the story of the “Queen of the Seas.”
That story is the tale of this sunny picture book: Elizabeth lived not on the beach in New Zealand, but in the shallow waters of the Avon River in the city. The townsfolk named her after the Queen of England, and a young boy (named Michael, of course!) would frequently look for her and call out her name. Often, she’d manage to hoist herself up onto the road in town, Lynne writes, which caused great consternation for residents, as she’d already caused a traffic mishap or two. Volunteers decided to haul her out to the beach, where she belonged. Eventually, she returned, only to be taken back to the shore yet again by a boat crew. Yet she made the long journey back, once again, to the Avon River.
Floca’s palette, as you can see below after the sketches (as well as above), consists of warm greens, blues, and yellows, and Lynne’s storytelling is just as bright — it’s an entertaining story (and even closes with “Some Facts About Southern Elephant Seals Like Elizabeth”). It’s a loving story of community, and it’s also funny: As Sarah Harrison Smith wrote at the New York Times, “there’s something inherently funny in seeing commuters gawp and swerve around the huge, regal mammal.”
Five Trucks is, essentially, an informational book for children (calling all those children, boys and girls alike, who obsess over things that go vroom!) that describes the five airport vehicles typically seen on runways. Floca brings readers a diverse crew of men and women who work the trucks, and the spare, simple text makes this one a great beginning reader: “Floca offers a book that’s simple enough for a two-year-old (prime age for the young truck enthusiast), without being boring or simple-minded,” wrote Booklist.
Below are sketches and some final art from each book. Enjoy …
Some sketches from Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas:
(Click either image to see sketch in its entirety)
(Click either image to see sketch in its entirety)
(Click to enlarge)
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(Click either image to see sketch in its entirety)
(Click either image to see sketch in its entirety)
Various “welcome home” sketches (Click each to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Endpaper ideas (Click second image to enlarge)
Some final art from Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas:
(Click either image to see spread in its entirety)
(Click either image to see spread in its entirety)
Some sketches from Five Trucks:
Brian: “A sketchbook drawing of airport trucks, done when I got to Logan too early for a flight in 1996 (!) and the genesis of the book.” (Click to enlarge)
Brian: “Some photos of airport workings that I took when I got onto the tarmac at Logan to get some reference for the drawings. (In 1996, all you had to do to get on the tarmac with a camera and questions was find the right person, explain your intentions, and ask.)”
Storyboard (Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Brian: “A sketch showing the fuel truck, [which didn't make] the cut (too few pages) …” (Click to enlarge)
Sketches from an early draft of the book (Click each to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Brian: “A sketch for the new cover …” (Click to enlarge)
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) Right here, author David Sedaris says the following about bookstores:
Maybe I’m out of touch, but I’d rather go to an actual shop — preferably a small one — than to a harshly lit superstore, or, worse still, a website. I don’t want to buy my books and my toilet paper and my clothing all under the same roof. I want beauty in my life. I want charm. I want contact with actual people. It is, for me, a large part of what makes life worth living.
2) This:
Oh, the great WHIMSY. But I fall for it very hard, especially those lyrics.
3) Thus far, it’s been an absolute pleasure to read this prose outloud to my daughters, and we’re getting to the juicy-good parts:
4) Ditto for this. (We’re reading about four novels at once right now. Probably a bad habit.) This isn’t new, and it took us a while to get to it, but heavens, it is fun to read aloud:
This made me laugh, especially since Eisha always says my middle name is Hyperbole. It comes right after a pretty annoying adult excessively flatters the Incorrigibles at a party (with regard to their appearance):
As you may know, complimentary remarks of this type are all too often made by well-meaning adults to children who are, to be frank, perfectly ordinary-looking. This practice of overstating the case is called hyperbole. Hyperbole is usually harmless, but in some cases it has been known to precipitate unnecessary wars as well as a painful gaseous condition called stock market bubbles. For safety’s sake, then, hyperbole should be used with restraint and only by those with the proper literary training.
5) We’re watching season two of Orange Is the New Black. I thought season one was good, but season two … well, it’s remarkable. I am struck at each episode by all that Jenji Kohan gets away with. (This is a good thing.) And I am struck by how she has made so popular a show that tells the stories of underprivileged, incarcerated women, who are black, white, and about every other shade in between — and she pulls this off in a culture that seems most of the time to value young, white, middle- to upper-class, size-two women.
6) Oh, and I’m reading this right now. More on this book soon, but it’s definitely a kick:
7) I’m sorry if I sound like Annoying Braggy Parent here, but I love love love the simple design here of my ten-year-old’s ninja cat:
BONUS (and best kick) for Father’s Day: My husband. My girls are very lucky to have him for a father.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
10 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #386: Featuring Brian Floca, last added: 6/16/2014
Good Morning Imps!
Great to see Brian’s pictures here today. I especially like the way he handles the water Elizabeth is swimming in. And the comment about a book idea starting in 1996 gives some insight into the slow turning wheels of the publishing world.
Jules – I have a black belt in hyberbole but it’s probably for the best that I don’t work in finance.
We’re watching OITNB too. I think season 2 is better as well. To be fair, it probably would never have been made if the protagonist wasn’t a white, upper middle class, size 2 “beauty”. She is Jenji Kohan’s foot in the door to tell the “other” great stories.
Kicks
1. I got an illustration into the ICON (Illustration Conference) gallery show at the Land Gallery in Portland, Oregon! I’m already pretty excited to go, now even more so.
2. Youth Baseball season ended with a couple of great playoff games. I’m glad my son got to be on a team with such a nice group of kids.
3. Warm days
4. Rainy days
5. My wonderful husband who is out to breakfast with the kids right now.
6. My wonderful father that taught me not to boast, so I’ll leave it at that.
7. All the love I got when I posted good news on Facebook.
Have a Super, Awesome, Fantastic, Grand Week!!!
Margie Culver said, on 6/15/2014 8:36:00 AM
Hello everyone!
Thanks, Jules, for sharing all of Brian’s art today. I can hardly wait to get my copy of Elizabeth Queen of the Seas. I know exactly what you mean about The Mysterious Howling; it takes awhile to get used to the language and rhythm of the events but once you do..wow! I have the Hansel & Gretel book on order. I think the Ninja Cat is super!
Moira: You can’t beat warm days and rain. We desperately need it here.
My kicks:
1. Snow capped mountains
2. Painted Canyon in North Dakota
3. Courage
4. Knowing your limits
5. Sunday afternoon naps
6. Sharing an adventure with Xena
7. Walking with Xena
Jone said, on 6/15/2014 8:37:00 AM
Hi there. Love the work of Brian Floca. I think my great nephew would love Five Trucks.
Jules, love all your kicks especially the one about reading The Incorrigible Children. I thought that was a great book.
Moira, congrats on getting an illustration I to the ICON exhibit.
My kicks, 1-7: being in SoCal to see my brother graduate from the Southern California Health Institute. He’s reinventing himself after 30 years in the space industry. It’s an all family weekend.
Have a great week.
jules said, on 6/15/2014 10:12:00 AM
Moira: Yes. That’s true about the character of Piper Chapman. In fact, Jenji did a Fresh Air interview where she says this — that the character was her “Trojan horse,” a way to sell the show in order to tell the stories of all the other women. You gotta hand it to her for that. That’s a clever way to go about it, given how Hollywood can be. …. And I’m so excited for your ICON score! SO, SO happy for you!
Hi, Margie. Ninja Cat loves you back. Looking forward to reading your thoughts on Gaiman’s book.
Jone: Congrats to your brother! Enjoy your trip, too.
jules said, on 6/15/2014 10:20:00 AM
p.s. If anyone is interested, that song in my kicks comes from this children’s CD (or at least “family-friendly,” as they describe it). I see a purchase in my future: http://waltermartinmusic.com/. (My checkbook cries at me.)
jules said, on 6/15/2014 10:30:00 AM
And I see the CD cover and insert were illustrated by Marcellus Hall (http://www.marcellushall.com/). It just gets better.
Little Willow said, on 6/15/2014 10:32:00 AM
Good morning, Imps! Happy Sunday to all, and happy holiday to all of the parents out there.
Hello, Brian. I love the smile on Elizabeth’s face.
Jules: Kudos to real bookstores everywhere, and yay for Whimsy. Hello to your girls, to the Ninja Cat, to the real cats, and to Nutsawoo!
Moira, Moira! CONGRATULATIONS!!! I hope that the show is amazing. I’m so glad that you get to attend! So excited for you.
Margie: I’ve never seen snow in person. True story.
Jone: Congratulations to your brother.
My week has been so full and memorable. Kicking it up in semi-chronological order:
* My words and works were performed internationally – a myriad of pieces and genres, at unrelated festivals and venues – just so happened to be in the same week!
* I booked and shot two very different projects, a comedy and a tragedy
* Good stories
* The unexpected(ly good)
* Trusting
* Being fearless
* All the things
jules said, on 6/15/2014 4:56:00 PM
Little Willow, your first kick is making me misty-eyed, FOR REAL. That is SO COOL. Congrats!
Little Willow said, on 6/15/2014 7:34:00 PM
Thanks, Jules!
Rachel said, on 6/16/2014 7:22:00 AM
What a great story – I love the color palette too.
Jules – that ninja cat is very cool. Will check out the music later this week.
Moira – Congrats! I will try to go see the exhibit here in pdx.
Margie – naps and walks with Xena, so nice.
Jone – congrats to your brother, hope its been a great weekend.
LW – Congrats on all the performances of your work! That is so awesome!
My flyby kick – the 2 feral kitties I rescued are getting way more acclimated to people, so shouldn’t be a problem to find them homes. Jules, I am going to email you a video of kittens for your girls – they are funny.
“And Mama Bear, being a mother, looked at each one of her three little bears, hugged them all very, very tight, kissed the tops of their furry heads, and forgave them. Then she brought them inside for a warm supper.” (Click to enlarge)
Now, wouldn’t this have been the perfect post for Mother’s Day a couple Sundays back? Too bad I always do everything backwards.
This is art from David Soman’s Three Bears in a Boat, released just this past week by Dial Books for Young Readers. I reviewed this for BookPage, so if you want to read all about it, that link is here. I wanted to be sure to follow up with art. My very favorite illustration from the book is below, too.
Enjoy!
“Charlie and Theo smiled. And so just like that, the sly bears slide their into the sea and set sail. Their sail flew open like a wing, and the boat flashed across the water. Dotting the sea around their home were many other bears in boats. Surely one of them would know where they could find a blue seashell.” (Click to enlarge and see the full spread and the text)
“But the bears on the first boat did not have any idea where to look. The bears in the second boat were a little confused. And the bears in the third boat seemed a bit busy.” (Click either image to see the spread in its entirety with the text)
“They sailed until the island rose in a hump before them, and began to search for the seashell.” (Click to enlarge)
“Mama was waiting for them. ‘I’m sorry I broke your shell,’ said Theo. ‘Me too,’ said Dash. ‘Me three,’ said Charlie. ‘But look what we found for you!’ Dash held up the beautiful new shell.” (Click to enlarge)
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) Last weekend I saw my super cool nephew graduate from high school, and I saw a girl I used to babysit get married. MARRIED, I tell you. Time marches on.
I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop by Knoxville’s Children’s Festival of Reading, but fortunately I did have time after all. I had a Zachariah OHora sighting (no, that’s not the ghost of Shel Silverstein) …
2) I have been wearing out St. Vincent’s new CD, because it is very, very good.
3) This week Neko Case told someone not to “Peggy-Olson” her.
4) Teachers who get it.
5) I got an F&G of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen’s new picture book, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole (not out till October). I see so many picture books every week that it’s such a treat to see ones like this — funny and clever and one to pore over.
I hope to post about it closer to its release. I won’t be able to help myself. It’s a really wonderful book.
6) My daughters and I are reading some great novels aloud together.
7) School is very close to being out, so we’ll be reading even more.
BONUS: Thoughtful surprises from thoughtful friends in the mail.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
10 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #383: Featuring David Soman, last added: 5/26/2014
That picture of the three bears with the blue seashell and their mama gets me.
Jules, what a week you had. Love the reading aloud with your girls.
My kicks:
1. Saw Charlotte’s Web on stage w/ grandgirl last night. One of her friends had a small part.
2. Alternating pages of reading w/ grandgirl. We were reading Bunnicula.
3. Family Library Night.
4. Books from the public library.
5. Proposed changes in my job, more technology. I like new challenges.
6. Poems.
7. Walking.
Have a great week.
Margie Culver said, on 5/25/2014 7:57:00 AM
While waiting to use the scanner at the public library this week, I had an opportunity to read this book, Jules. It’s pure joy.
I really like the picture of you and Zach. It’s one of the best “selfie” shots I’ve seen. I think it’s great you and your girls read the novels aloud together. I recently finished Half A Chance by Cynthia Lord. It’s so lovely.
My kicks:
1. Red tulips the deer decided not to eat.
2. Robin’s eggs in my ivy planter by the door hatched. Little beaks eagerly await Mom and Dad bringing worms.
3. Sunshine
4. Blue Sky
5. Temperatures so warm you don’t have to wear a coat
6. Planting flowers and tomato plants
7. Walking with Xena
jules said, on 5/25/2014 10:09:00 AM
Jone, I like your attitude. I’d be scared about added technology if I had a library job, but I guess it would depend on what it’s for, too. … BUNNICULA!
Hi, Margie! So good to see you here. I’m happy to hear you can finally go without a coat, too. Your kicks are so lovely. It’s almost like reading a poem.
I’m not very good at selfies. It was Zach’s idea, but I’m glad he suggested it. I like the Nilson doll. Also, it was really enjoyable to chat with him, and I was thrilled to see everyone else too. Andrea and Brian gave us a nice blurb for our upcoming book, and it was good to have a chance to thank them in person. As Brian talked, too, I thought of how much he looks like his talented father.
Little Willow said, on 5/25/2014 10:41:00 AM
Good morning, Imps! That picture is going to make a lot of mama bears (and papa bears, and baby bears) give hugs today, I am sure.
David: Thanks for sharing your seafaring bears! I love the picture of the three of them in the boat, with that confident, cross-armed bear, especially. I also like the picture of the variety of bears all clumped together – so cute.
Jules: Glad that you had time to do all of the things and participate in all of the celebrations! While wearing out the CD, have you also been wearing the dress on the cover? That’s a futuristic ensemble. I hope your daughters have a wonderful wrap-up at the end of the school year. Enjoy the books.
Jone: Good luck with the new tech and new challenges! Yay for those on stage and those in the audience. We need both. Enjoy the books, too.
Margie: Ooh to the many colors in your kicks. Ooh.
My kicks for the past week:
1) Please send healing thoughts to someone I worked with and admire – someone strong who needs strength right now.
2) Closing weekend, so bittersweet: so happy to have been a part of this show, so sad that we’ve wrapped
3) Remembering
4) Preparing for the next project
5) Being picked
6) Being seen
7) Being heard
jules said, on 5/25/2014 11:48:00 AM
Little Willow, closing weekends can be rough. Sending good thoughts your way — and to your friend and colleague.
Jone said, on 5/25/2014 2:11:00 PM
Margie, I have Half a Chance on my TBR.
LW, good luck to closing weekend.
Rachel said, on 5/25/2014 3:31:00 PM
Beautiful sweet artwork this week – that last one with the 3 bears, the shell and mama bear is so warm and full of love…
Jules – what a wonderful full week you had! That selfie is awesome – you are very photogenic! Love that you read with your girls, here’s to a full summer of readin.
Jone – poetry, walking, and alternating reading pages with the grandgirl sounds like a lovely week.
Margie – your kicks are so full of spring. Hooray for walks with Xena.
LW – sending good thoughts to your friend. Closing weekends are hard, but glad it was such a great experience to make the ending so bittersweet.
I missed last week because I was traveling, so extra-full kicks this week for me:
1) Getting to see my niece graduate from college. Very very proud of her.
2) Getting to see one of my oldest friend’s daughter graduate from high school. Very very proud of her too.
3) Great weather in New Orleans for my visit, and so wonderful to see family and friends.
4)Po’boys, doberge cake, Oregon pinot noirs, oysters on the half shell, softshell crab, boiled crawfish, and all the other delicious food I ate while I was there.
5) California Chrome won the Preakness, so I won a dinner, and am 1 step closer to winning my big bet on the Triple Crown.
6) I am now addicted to The Americans tv series.
7) Being home again in Portland, and happy reunions with those who missed me here.
7.5) Softball practice for summer league – yay!
Have a beautiful week everyone!
Jone said, on 5/25/2014 6:11:00 PM
Rachel, sounds like family filled kicks and welcome home.
jules said, on 5/25/2014 7:34:00 PM
Rachel, so glad you had a good visit. The girls and I just finished a new children’s novel set in New Orleans,and it’s all about Hurricane Katrina. It’s no-holds-barred in its details:
So glad you had a good week!
Rachel said, on 5/25/2014 11:17:00 PM
Thanks Jone, its so nice to be back and working in my garden again.
Jules- that looks great, I will have to check that book out and then share with friends back home.
Hi, dear Imps. I’m going to be brief today. I’m actually typing this on Thursday night, since I’m heading out of town to a) see my nephew graduate from high school (I’m already teary-eyed about this, and I’m not even at the ceremony yet), and b) someone I used to babysit is all grown-up and I’m heading to her wedding. (Ditto on the tears.)
So, I’ll be skipping my kicks, though I always enjoy reading yours, so please do share. I do, however, have some art for you.
I’ve previously featured the work of Canadian author-illustrator Marianne Dubuc at 7-Imp — here and here. Her newest book, The Lion and the Bird (Enchanted Lion, May 2014), is a tender and moving story of friendship, first published in French in 2013 and translated by Claudia Z. Bedrick (intrepid leader of Enchanted Lion and possessor of exquisite taste). Maria Popova over at Brain Pickings writes that this book is an “ode to life’s moments between the words.” Oh, how I love that and wish I’d written it. That captures the book well. (You can read her entire post, also art-filled, about the book here, if you’re so inclined. She describes the book so wonderfully.)
The story is about a lion, who lives alone and one day finds a wounded bird. After nursing the bird lovingly, they become friends, and the bird stays on. Their friendship grows, but when Spring comes, Lion knows the bird must fly away. Lion adjusts to his loneliness, and then the following Winter, the bird returns.
But, as Popova notes in her piece, there’s so much to discover in the book’s artwork and the expert pacing of the story. I remember reading once in a theatre text in college that a play is interrupted silence. (I think it was a quote from a French playwright? I really should look this up.) Well, this story is interrupted silence. Dubuc does wonders here, not rushing the story, letting it breathe, inviting in child readers to be with Lion as he adjusts to his loneliness and melancholy after Bird leaves, as time marches on. A lot of the gentle pacing comes from Dubuc’s use of white space. (“White space—sometimes whole pages—speaks its own language of loss and hope,” writes the Kirkus review.) For instance, here’s very simply how we know that Bird has returned:
Even that tiny musical note is on the right side of a giant white double-page spread, and the page before that is white, too. Dubuc lets silence speak a lot here.
There’s a lot of emotion, Dubuc conveying a great deal with her soft lines and warm palette. So much that is left unstated is conveyed in the expressive faces, if not in very economical words. “Yes, I know” is all that Lion says to Bird, as you can see below, when he realizes that Bird must fly away for Spring, and after his friend leaves, Dubuc merely writes: “And so it goes. Sometimes life is like that.” The story sings with an earnestness that is never too loud or trying too hard. It’s simply lovely.
Here’s some more art. Enjoy.
(Click to enlarge slightly)
“The snow is cold and icy, but you’re snug and warm.” (Click to enlarge)
“It snows and snows.” (Click to enlarge)
That’s it for the art, but don’t toss and turn, worrying about Lion. Remember the illustration that opens this post? Yeah. That. They are reunited.
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
Again, my apologies that I’m not kickin’ today, but as you read this, I’m heading back home.
But do tell: What are YOUR kicks this week?
12 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #382: Featuring Marianne Dubuc, last added: 5/19/2014
“…interrupted silence”. I love this. I cannot wait to see this book in real life. Love the illustrations.
Jone said, on 5/18/2014 6:55:00 AM
The bird, the lion and the hat how cozy. Thanks Marianne.
Jules, hope your weekend was fun with family.
My quick kicks:
1 SCBWI. Oregon conference.
2. Roses.
3. Book club tonight.
4. Walking.
5. Poetry postcard responses.
6. Thunderstorm.
7. Writing critique.
Have a great week.
Carol Hampton Rasco said, on 5/18/2014 7:10:00 AM
This book is beautiful, thank you for sharing…my grandsons will love the story as well. And I just saw the wedding pictures, looks like a good time was experienced by all!
Kicks:
1. Arkansas permitted same sex marriage to proceed and my wonderful niece, her partner and their twins had a wedding ceremony…we are SO happy!
2. Spent an extra day with grandchildren as a plane was canceled!
3. Incredible book distribution in Indianapolis to kick off new corporate partnership; Kelly Starling Lyons was with RIF to share her book Tea Cakes for Tosh.
4. I didn’t have to take a plane after Wednesday…it had been four days of serious delays and/or cancellation. Whew.
5. Saturday I did little other than stay in bed, so luxurious.
6. Preparing to launch last 30 days before start of Macy’s Be Book Smart promotion for RIF…get ready to do your summer shopping!
7. Finishing up REALITY BOY by A. S. King. Sure has made me think even more about how all the reality shows are affecting the lives of the participants long run.
Have a great week all!
Jennifer K Mann said, on 5/18/2014 7:11:00 AM
I adore this book. It’s at the very top of my pile of books that inspire me. Thanks for sharing it here!
Jennifer K Mann said, on 5/18/2014 7:12:00 AM
I really adore this book. It’s at the very top of my pile of books that inspire me. Thanks for sharing it here!
Saints and Spinners said, on 5/18/2014 9:21:00 AM
Hi Jules! You have a full weekend, and I hope it’s splendid. It’s been ages since I’ve popped over here, and I will make the effort to do better. It’s a good practice to list and share things for which we are grateful. These past months have been hard in some respects, but full of good things, good friends, and good music, regardless. Carol, mazel tov to your niece!
My kicks:
1. Nickel Creek/Secret Sisters in concert last night.
2. “Red Haired Boy” on mandolin is coming along.
3. My daughter has had a good school year.
4. Weekly music jam gatherings.
5. Ukulele group lessons.
6. New boots.
7. That second cup of coffee might be coming around the bend.
Happy week, everyone!–Farida
Little Willow said, on 5/18/2014 9:47:00 AM
Hello to Marianne, to the lion, to the bird, and to the Imps!
Jules: I hope the graduation and the wedding were both fun, memorable events!
Jone: Hope the flowers and grounds got the water they needed, and the thunder didn’t scare anyone too much.
Carol: Congrats to their family!
Hi Jennifer!
Farida! Hi you! Good to hear from you. Ooh, that must have been an awesome concert. Hi to your family.
My kicks for the past week:
1) Words coming to life
2) Toe shoes
3) Rehearsals outdoors
4) Performances
5) Audiences
6) Savoring moments
7) Published!
JES said, on 5/18/2014 10:50:00 AM
Hello Kickers!
Nothing of substance to report today, except that I loved the way this book is described here. And I loved the phrase “interrupted silence” so much that I have gone on a multi-hour investigation to find its author. (I kept reloading this page, hoping Little Willow would supply the phrase’s source and put me out of my misery, haha.) Hence, my nothing to report…
…except that the phrase was evidently applied to theater by one Jean‐Louis Barrault, a French “actor, director, and mime artist.”
(I’m pretty confident that he was its author, but don’t have a specific citation.)
Oh, well, what the— it was a Sunday when I had nothing in particular to do!
Have a great week, all!
Philip Nel said, on 5/18/2014 2:33:00 PM
Jules:
Here are some kicks (to stand in for your absent ones):
1. Reading Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast! During the term, I fall behind. And then… I bing-read (and binge-look). Selected a few books for Emily, thanks to your lovely blog.
2. The deluxe edition of Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball, which includes four unreleased tracks from the original sessions, plus alternate takes, & a DVD on the making of the record. (I still have to watch the DVD, but have enjoyed the rest — great to have more from this beautiful album!)
3. Teaching myself more songs on the guitar (accompanied by my mediocre singing): in the past month, I’ve learned’ “Where Will I Be?” (from the above-mentioned record), and Cole Porter’s “Night and Day.”
4. Solidarity! Though fighting the fascistic Kansas Board of Regents has been a drain on my time, I’ve appreciated the community of many friends and allies, most recently evidenced by (Art Prof.) Dan Warner’s clever posters that consciously evoke mid-twentieth-century propaganda: http://www.philnel.com/2014/05/17/hldposters/
5. Love the new Benjamin Chaud book about the bears — well, it’s new in English, at any rate. Bear’s Sea Escape. http://www.chroniclebooks.com/bear-s-sea-escape.html
6. Anne Bertier’s Mercredi [Wednesday] is coming out in English! http://www.enchantedlionbooks.com/node/264
7. The spring semester is over at last! (Whew!)
jules said, on 5/18/2014 7:53:00 PM
Oh, I’m so glad you all came today. I’ll be back in the morning. I want to read your kicks when I’m not sleepy, and the weekend wore me out — but in a good way.
jules said, on 5/19/2014 9:18:00 AM
Hi, Lauren!
Jone, enjoy the conference! (Or is it already over?)
Carol: Congrats, as always, on all the good and important RIF work. … And go, Arkansas! That is great news, and congrats to your niece. … I’d like to read Reality Boy. Last night on Cosmos, Neil deGrass Tyson said the earth “radiates stories,” and I thought a) that is SO COOL but b) we’re radiating a lot of reality shows, now aren’t we? OUCH.
Hi, Jennifer!
Farida, those are some good kicks. Music, friends, family. I’m particularly happy your daughter’s had a good school year.
John, I love LOVE LOVE that you researched this. I do remember the name Barrault — from waaaaay back. I can almost see that college textbook in my mind. It’s a great phrase, huh? THANK YOU for looking that up!
Phil, so glad you found the blog helpful! And, ooh, thanks for reminding me about the new edition of Wrecking Ball. …. Continued luck on your fight against fascism. … I saw the new Chaud book just last week. … Happy end-of-term, Phil!
jules said, on 5/19/2014 9:21:00 AM
LITTLE WILLOW! I had to save your kicks from spam again. I wish spam would stop that.
I love “words coming to life.” And PUBLISHED too. CONGRATS! Big, big ol’ congrats!
It’s also the first Sunday of the month, so today I welcome a student illustrator. Her name is Elizabeth Lilly, and she’s here to tell us all about her work, as well as share some of her art.
So, without further ado …
* * *
Elizabeth: When I was a kid, I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I mostly just loved reading, so when I was eight I decided to be a librarian. How great would it be to be surrounded by books every day?
In high school, I was drawing rabbits and animating dancing grapes while my friends were all applying to Ivy League schools, with promising lawyer/doctor-type futures ahead. I applied to be an architect, went to a prestigious architecture program, and was miserable.
Abuelita Gallina (Grandma Chicken)
After two years of crying over elevation drawings and chipboard staircases, I left and transferred to MICA [Maryland Institute College of Art] as an animation major and finally settled in the General Fine Arts department.
Starting over in Baltimore was lonely, but soon I started to feel at home, as I wrote my own stories and made images to go with them. Crumbled brick buildings, rats in the train stations, geese that waddled between gravestones — everything in my new city seemed to swim with stories.
This year, my last year in school, I took my first illustration class, a book illustration class taught by the fantastic Shadra Strickland, and everything made perfect sense. I loved the thrill of telling a story with images, of composing pages, of making words and lines and colors all work together.
Nicaragua Bus (Click to enlarge)
Now I’m working on a new story about Geraldine Giraffe, who has a hard time fitting in (literally) when her family moves from a giraffe town to a human one. I’m excited to show it to publishers this summer, and I’m working with a friend to make an animated version of the story as well.
Character work (Click to enlarge)
Thank you, Jules, for featuring my work!
* * *
Be sure to explore Elizabeth’s website, if you’re so inclined. Some of her narrative illustrations have a definite Thacher Hurd vibe. Best of luck to her in her career!
All artwork is used by permission of Elizabeth Lilly.
* * * * * * *
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) The Tennessee Renaissance Festival — jousting, lutes, pirates, pixies, and people generally (and gloriously) letting their freak flags fly.
2) The We Need Diverse Books campaign, which launched this past week. One of the best photos/statements I saw is here at author-illustrator Grace Lin’s blog.
3) I presented at the 2014 Tennessee Library Association conference on Friday, which went well, and I got to have breakfast with a dear friend, in town for the conference.
4) This trailer cracks me up, and I love my Jemaine Clement sightings:
Nice to meet you, Elizabeth Lilly. You have an awesome name. Thanks for sharing your art and your journey!
Jules: Glad that your speaking engagement went well AND that you got to visit with a friend. Double bonus!
As I type this, it’s midnight and I’m watching a new episode of Orphan Black. I don’t have TiVo or DVR or Hulu or whatnot, so if I don’t see a TV show live, I don’t see it. And I’m performing at the time when Orphan Black airs, so I’m very glad that the channel reruns the episodes at midnight, when I get home from the theatre!
My kicks for the past week:
1) Feisty
2) Spunky
3) Energy
4) Relatable
5) Patterns
6) Seats
7) Breathing
emmaco said, on 5/4/2014 2:16:00 AM
I enjoyed the artwork today but want to know what happens to the giraffe!
What a lovely mix of kicks, Jules, a ren fair, interesting work, dessert, book…what a bunch of kicks should be
LW I thought you were posting early! Are the seats in kick 6 full of people at your theatre? I like how you start your list with energetic kicks and end with breathing which feels very calm.
1. I am not sure I have been here since I was in the UK (illness has struck everyone in the family down at least once each since then, not great fun when combined with jetlag and baby crankiness over yet more timezone change). But we had a great time!
2. Especially catching up with friends and talking as though it had only been a day since we left
3. Cornwall was even more beautiful and interesting than I had imagined (I had only been there once for a day in the pouring rain with my friends when we were twenty, and nearly everyone had a cold, one of us so badly she had to stay in the car and sleep…so I don’t really count that visit).
4. I was able to finally get the two days of daycare I need for the baby, and it was at a good place, and in enough time that he has been able to slowly work his way into it before I return to work in a week.
5. I know I’m lucky to have a flexible workplace that’s letting me say how much I want to work, and how much at home vs in the office
6. The first cold snap of autumn! We went from 20 min – 27 max the other day to 9 min and 20 max which is cooooold in our underheated houses. But it is fun having a change in weather, feeling cozy under the doona (duvet? Comforter?), and also babies are so snuggly in winter pjs.
7. My sister dropped off a huge bag of lemons from her ridiculously prolific lemon tree, and I just pulled a lemon cake out of the oven. Smells yum!
Shadra Strickland said, on 5/4/2014 6:15:00 AM
I can’t wait until Geraldine is in the world! I am madly in love with Elizabeth’s linework.
Jules, What We Do in the Shadows…haaaaaaaaa! On my list.
My kicks:
1. Finishing my last week of teaching! Hoorah!!
2. Being invited to Poets and Prose today to see picture book panel that includes Greg Christie!
3. Finally buying patio furniture for spring.
4. Having my favorite cover sketch approved in lieu of the one I thought my editor would choose.
5. Yogurt with strawberries, bananas, and granola
6. The supportive outpouring for the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign
7. Finding out last night the “White Water” will be in film production this summer.
Jules said, on 5/4/2014 7:36:00 AM
Little Willow: “Seats.” I love it. Seats are good, though I realize there may be lots more meaning to your “seats.” Special reserved theater seats? … Sometimes your kicks are like story prompts, and I love it. (Also: What Emmaco Said About Your Kicks, too) … Orphan Black! I’m ready for the next episode.
Emmaco: Lemon cake from your sister’s lemon tree. This may be my favorite kick EVER … So glad you had a good trip, and thank goodness everyone is feeling better. Did the beautiful wee babe get sick, too?
Shadra, that trailer. I KNOW, RIGHT? So funny. … Do you mean your last week of teaching ever? I hope not. I hope you mean the semester. … White Water will be a film? I had no idea. Congrats! Enjoy the panel today.
Jone said, on 5/4/2014 7:45:00 AM
How fun are these illustrations, especially Geraldine. Good luck, Elizabeth Lilly.
Jules, that’s so great about Peter Brown. I love his books. Tiramisu, yum.
LW:feisty, spunk, and breathing great words.
Emmaco: glad you had a good trip. Yay for lemon cake.
Shadra, here’s to being finished with teaching.
My kicks:
1. Oregon Writing Festival: first time presenting to 4th/5th graders.
2. A box of young reader series books arrive…Bink Na d Gollie, Dragonblood, and Chet Gecho are some of the books.
3. Grand girl’s cat had kittens born.
4. Sunshine.
5. Walking at the Portland Farmer’s Market.
6. Spring sunshine.
7. Responses from the poetry postcard project recents.
Have a great week.
jules said, on 5/4/2014 7:49:00 AM
Jone, I love kick #1. Sounds like it went well. … I love my poetry postcards so much. They are always such a ray of sunshine in our mailboxes, those of us who get them.
Tarie Sabido said, on 5/4/2014 8:13:00 AM
Hi, everyone!!!!!!!
Little Willow said, on 5/4/2014 9:33:00 AM
emmaco: Sending healthy vibes to your family! Glad that you had a good visit otherwise, and that you found a good daycare. Enjoy the cake! Yes, theatre seats. Thanks for acknowledging the kick order and feelings.
Shadra: Have fun at the panel. Yum, yum, yum to yogurt with strawberries, banana, and granola. Yum.
A big YAY for the WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign taking off the way it is!
Jules: Yes, theatre seats. I like full houses. Yesterday’s episode of Orphan Black could have been two episodes, with as much as they covered – I really was yearning for more depth and time in some of those scenes – but the last bit, YIKES!
Jone: Yay for the grandkittens! How was th presentation?
HI TARIE!
JES said, on 5/4/2014 9:50:00 AM
Hello, Kickers!
Kickin’ fun artwork this morning. Thanks, Elizabeth Lilly! I think my favorite are the various giraffe illos — especially the ones where (she?) is draped over furniture, looking like a colorful shawl. Or some kind of grain-based spaghetti shot out of a cannon into the living room.
(And people, you need to visit her Web site. Some great projects there, too!)
Jules, I love visiting here and seeing all your grown-up professional activities… juxtaposed with stuff like that trailer. (“SO… MOTCH… FAHN!”)
And Goldfinch, still. Le sigh. Still, I promise not to be heartbroken if you end up not finishing it.
Hey, Miz Willow. Seats: what everyone else said. But also……… patterns. Mmmm. So allusive, your kicks every week!
emmaco! Cornwall! Cold snaps! (You understand, I’ve got to whisper that last exclamation around here, lest I be locked away.)
Good to see you, Shadra. I kept thinking to myself when I saw your name in Elizabeth’s writeup, “Hmm… where do I know that name?” (Hadn’t clicked on the link she provided, duh.) … and then of course the lightbulb went on. I’d missed your own Kicks Sunday here (a couple months before I first visited 7-Imp). But then, oh my, that image from Bird… Your complimenting Elizabeth’s linework is high praise!
Hi, Jone — it did not escape notice that you bracketed the word “Portland” with TWO references to sunshine.
Why hello, Tarie, you ephemeral imp. Per what I know of your schedule, I’ll just thank you for setting aside time for the extra exclamation points!
Kicks here:
1. Derby Day yesterday…
2. …even with the bloated hangover today!
3. I get these automated email notices from NASA, alerting me to upcoming opportunities to see the ISS fly overhead. So far, I’ve been prevented by weather (and, shall we say, inertia) from actually experiencing this. But each little notification is like a mini-kick of anticipation.
4. That moment when a long story suddenly demands chapterizing.
5. Binge X-Files re-runs, on DVD.
6. Binge John Denver re-listens.
7. Mentioned this on FB a little while ago: found a Web site which evidently collects magical-seeming photographs of one kind or another. It’s all in French, which I can’t read, but I love the subtitle: “Là où l’asphalte et les certitudes finissent.” Per Google Translate, this equates to “Where asphalt and certainties end.” I don’t even care if that might be an awkward over-literal translation, I love that phrase so much.
Have a great week, all!
Rachel said, on 5/4/2014 11:20:00 AM
Very fun illustrations this week – love Geraldine! Thanks for sharing your work Elizabeth!
Jules – what a fun and busy week! Can’t wait to hear what you think of The Goldfinch. (love that trailer!)
LW – Love your kicks this week, especially the first 3!
Emmaco – snuggly babies and lemon cake! Mmm, lemon cake.
Shadra – hooray for your last week of teaching, and buying patio furniture is so fun in anticipation of enjoying it in warmer weather.
Jone – wasn’t the weather this past week wonderful? Farmer’s Market, kittens and sunshine is a lovely week.
John – Derby Day! Were there hats and mint juleps involved? I abstained in favor of home projects & watched at home with friends, but now have a Triple Crown bet in the works. Love your translation of the French, can you share the link to website?
My kicks this week:
1) Gardening in the warm sunshine.
2) Cooking with dancing breaks in the kitchen.
3) My poetry postcard! Jules is right, it is like getting sunshine in the mail.
4) Reading The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden. Heading to New Orleans soon, and I always read a book set there to get me in the mood to go home.
5) New curtains! A simple thing, but they make me so happy.
6) Business lunch with a new friend.
7) Giving presents that were well-received.
7.5 ) The Blazers & Damien Lillard’s last second 3-pointer! Amazing!
8.) The Timbers’ last second win!
Have an amazing week everyone!
JES said, on 5/4/2014 11:38:00 AM
Hi, Rachel – dare I ask about the Triple Crown bet???
No hats, which I believe to be a good thing, but plenty of juleps. Also Hot Brown sandwiches to feed THAT Deadly Sin.
Didn’t include the link in my original comment ’cause I already had a couple links and didn’t want to awaken the automated “he’s sp*mming again!” guardians. But the specific page I linked to on FB is this one. (The specific post/image is the one headed “Cathédrale végétale.”)
Author/illustrator Elizabeth Rose Stanton visits 7-Imp today to talk about her debut picture book, Henny, which was published by Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster in January. The painting above, called Ignition, is not from that book, but I like it and it makes me laugh.
Henny is the story of a chicken who has arms, and below Elizabeth tells us how she came to this premise, what reactions have been (the creeptacular painting below is my second favorite), and she also tells us a bit about what she’s up to next. I thank her for visiting and for sharing lots of art.
Henny, by the way, is packing her bags and learning her French. Her story will be published in France by Seuil Jeunesse in 2015. Bon voyage, Henny.
Here’s Elizabeth …
Elizabeth: I’m often asked how I thought up the idea of writing a picture book about a chicken with arms.
(Click to enlarge)
It all began a few years ago after a bout of strenuous doodling. I do my best thinking when I’m drawing, and one day I was thinking about (which means I was drawing) birds. What a shame, I thought, that some birds have wings that are relatively useless—birds like ostriches and dodos—when out popped a sketch of a bird with arms. Much more useful, I thought. I found myself getting quite carried away with the idea.
First thoughts about birds with arms
Then I started thinking about chickens. What about a chicken with arms? Much more useful, I thought. I had so much fun imagining what a chicken could do with a pair of arms that, soon after, Henny was born. I became so intrigued that I drew her in every imaginable scenario in every handy medium — from pen and ink to gouache to colored pencil. By the time Henny was published, I had more than a few fat binders and numerous sketchbooks overflowing with her.
Early Henny doodles
Early Henny cover idea
Study sketches for Henny
Then came time for the final art. It happened that Henny was acquired by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books based on a rough dummy, rendered entirely in pencil, so I had to decide what to use for the final art. Having been trained as an architect and scientific illustrator and having been a portrait artist, I was very used to working in pencil, pen and ink, pastel, and gouache.
Pen and ink, colored pencil
Gouache, colored pencil
Shortly before the book offer, I (serendipitously) inherited a generous supply of watercolors, brushes, and what seemed like an endless supply of watercolor paper from a distant relative. So I thought, why not?
All of the final art for Henny was rendered in pencil and watercolor on cold press watercolor paper.
First rough watercolor sketch of Henny
“Soon Henny begain to imagine all the other things she could do.” (Click to enlarge)
“She didn’t like being different.” (Click to enlarge)
“Sometimes Henny followed Mr. Farmer around. He was always very busy.” (Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
So now that it’s been a couple of months since Henny’s book debut and I can step back from it all a little, I have to say how much I am enjoying reading and seeing some of the reactions to my unusual character. Some of the most frequently used words I’ve read in comments and reviews about her are: adorable, weird, funny, lovely, quirky, sweet, and hilarious — and someone even said she was creeptacular.
I just can’t resist drawing Henny as creeptacular:
I love all these observations, because I think it shows there’s a complexity to Henny’s character that’s getting people thinking and feeling on multiple levels.
But I have to say that the most satisfying responses have been from the kids. They seem to take it in stride that Henny was born different. Even if they initially think Henny is a bit odd, by the end of the story her personality seems to win them over.
“… she tried to act natural … and fit in.”
At the moment, I have no plans for a Henny sequel, but I find I just can’t stop drawing and painting her. She’s been such a fun character and, after all, her story is about possibilities and using your imagination …
Henny being regal
Henny, waving like the Queen
Henny in her debut attire
So now, cue the pig:
My next book, also with Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, is Peddles (due out early 2016). Peddles is still in the works, but let’s just say it’s a story about a little pig with some BIG ideas.
(Click to enlarge)
Meanwhile, I’m continuing on with my strenuous doodling. I have a standing goal to draw something everyday and post it. I have to admit I don’t always make it, but I like the challenge and it’s certainly led me to come up with some interesting character and story ideas — so stay tuned.
Sketchbook and some works-in-progress
Character ideas from my sketchbooks:
Beginnings of some story ideas from my sketchbook:
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) Traveling.
2) Getting home when you’re weary of airports and small talk on planes with extroverts — and when you really want big hugs from your daughters.
3) Big hugs from the daughters.
4) My co-workers (from one of my many contractor jobs and the reason I flew to Massachusetts this week). We work virtually, so meeting up once a year, face to face, is always fun.
5) The I-miss-you notes my eight-year-old snuck in my luggage, which I was supposed to pretend not to see when I was packing.
6) Though I wish they’d let a woman host a major late-night talk show from time to time, COLBERT!
7) I knew that Nickel Creek covered a Sam Phillips’ song on their new CD, but before I even ordered it, Little Willow emailed me a link to it on Grooveshark. (Thanks, LW!) It’s even her Poetry Friday post from this past week.
So gorgeous, this cover, and Sam is such a fabulous songwriter:
What are YOUR kicks this week?
10 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #377: Featuring Elizabeth Rose Stanton, last added: 4/13/2014
Oh Henny, you are pretty creeptacular. What fun. Thank you Elizabeth for introducing us to her.
Jules, welcome home. It’s always good to return isn’t it?
Love the notes hidden in your suitcase.
My kicks:
1. Guest posting at Kirby’s Lane on April 1( this would have been last week’s news but was gone).
2. Guest posting at Author Amok on April 9.
3. Writing poetry every day.
4. Spring break.
5. Sunshine.
6. Reading.
7. Going to Willamette Writer’s House today.
Have a great week.
Samantha R. Vamos said, on 4/13/2014 7:49:00 AM
Love “Henny” and Elizabeth -both fabulous. Thrilled to read about “Peddles.” Yeah, Elizabeth! I have been admiring the bunny sketches (all) as well as that of the fox.
Jules, I have never received notes in my luggage. That is so sweet. Welcome back.
Kicks:
Enjoying final weekend of spring break and a sunny hike with my family.
Taking the Amtrak Cascades from Seattle to Vancouver, BC and exploring with my son.
Finishing a DVD of photos with music (reminds of great memories and love sharing with family).
Finally reading Kathi Appelt’s beautiful novel, “The Underneath.”
Spring in bloom – especially Japanese Maples and Azaleas (both vibrant shades of red), and a special lilac bush.
Braces off (that’s still a kick 3 weeks later!).
And discovering President’s Choice Chocolate Chunk cookies in the market in Vancouver (a treat from our Chicago days!)
Little Willow said, on 4/13/2014 8:55:00 AM
Super-fast fly-by, and I’m catching sight of a rocket rabbit and animals in tutus as I scroll at the speed of light! Hello there!
Jules: Glad that you are safe and sound, hugged and home. So sweet about the notes she wrote for you. COLBERT! Thanks for sharing the music.
Jone: Rock the guest posts and poetry.
Samantha: Congrats on the successful removal of the braces! Woo hoo!
Everyone: Enjoy the spring sunshine. (And wear sunscreen.) (And listen to the Nickel Creek – Sam Phillips cover Jules reposted!)
My kicks for the past week:
1) Stumble-through
2) Offers of assistance
3) 1:11 (with phone call)
4) Announcements
5) Inclusion
6) Future
7) Moments
Rachel said, on 4/13/2014 9:41:00 AM
Oh my goodness, I LOVE Henny! And I am also deeply in love with the lizard/gecko in the polka dot dress and the monster in the tutu and the rocket rabbit. Elizabeth Rose Stanton, thank you for sharing these fabulously funny and ridiculously wonderful characters. Looking forward to seeing and reading more of your art and books and sharing them with the kids in my life.
Jules – I miss you notes in your suitcase just slays me. Your daughter is so thoughtful and sweet. Glad you had safe travels and arrived home to hugs. That cover was beautiful, thanks as always for sharing your music picks.
Jone -congrats on all the guest posting, hope you are enjoying the sunshine and spring break.
Samantha – that train trip to Vancouver and exploring same sounds like great fun. Congrats on the removal of braces! Hooray for sunshine and hiking!
LW – Thanks for sharing the music with Jules so it arrived here to be shared with us! Love all your kicks, but really love the way 4-7 build up as you read them….
My quick kicks:
1) Weekend away in Hood River last weekend. It was wonderful and fun.
2) Champagne and blackberries for breakfast during same weekend – yum!
3) Just started reading Laini Taylor’s latest: Dreams of Gods & Monsters.
4) Getting to go to Oregon’s Innocence Project Launch Gala and hearing Barry Scheck speak – inspiring.
5) Connecting with good people.
6) Yesterday’s coffee date with a good girlfriend, followed by us hitting up another friend’s garage sale and scoring some sweet stuff, and meeting sweet kids.
7) Sunshine!
Have a wonderful week everyone!
JES said, on 4/13/2014 10:03:00 AM
Hello Kickers!
That lead-in image is a grabber… and the ones which follow are just as good! Hard to say which I like best, although I laughed (and am still laughing) at the one of Henny following Mr. Farmer, her hands locked behind her. Thanks for sharing them all (and your commentary), ERS!
Jules, I always thought “Extroverts on a Plane” was a much scarier concept than the one Samuel L. Jackson’s movie was about. So glad you survived, and I hope you didn’t have to (openly) employ any ninja powers to do so. They can be tough adversaries.
Jone: daily poetry — hooray!
Hi Samantha! Never heard of President’s Choice Chocolate Chunk cookies before, but I see they’re available on Amazon. (Currently only five packages left though!)
LW: oh, you mysterious woman with your kick #3.
Kicks here:
1. Last weekend’s NJ trip was GREAT!
2. Blog posts that start out simple until you “just gotta check ONE THING first”… and proceed to turn into multi-post projects.
3. New (to us) board game: Ticket to Ride.
4. I know I told you about this on FB already, Jules, but this song — and performance — just killed me: Tattooed Heart, by the previously unknown (to me) Ariana Grande.
5. And speaking of music, that Nickel Creek arrangement of “Where Is Love Now” is beautiful!
6. Poochwalks.
7. Old photos.
JES said, on 4/13/2014 10:04:00 AM
P.S. Have a great week, everyone!
JES said, on 4/13/2014 11:05:00 AM
Rachel, missed you in passing on the cyberhighway.
Champagne and blackberries!
Also, are you affiliated with the Oregon Innocence Project??? (The Missus is assistant director of the FL project… we get to see Scheck every year in New Orleans!)
Rachel said, on 4/13/2014 12:01:00 PM
John – the OIP is a joint project here in Oregon between my firm and a nonprofit based out of Lewis & Clark Law School: http://www.oregoninnocence.org/
but that is the extent of my affiliation (so far, anyway). We are all super excited that this is finally happening here in Oregon. (And I believe I did know that about the Missus but had forgotten…)
Rachel said, on 4/13/2014 12:02:00 PM
Oops! Meant to also say glad the NJ trip was so great! And hooray for poochwalks! I will check out the music link later….
Little Willow said, on 4/13/2014 3:09:00 PM
JES: Extroverts on a Plane is a FANTASTIC title. Write something with that, please.
It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means I welcome a student or new illustrator. Today, Christine Allen visits. Christine, who lives in Colorado, studied painting and is transitioning into illustration. She tells us more about herself below, so let’s get right to it.
I thank her for visiting …
* * *
My Schooling/Training and Transition into Illustration:
I received my BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I studied painting. I also studied at Parson’s The New School for Design and Yale School of Art and Music. All exceptional experiences, all challenging and fulfilling. Following all of this study, I had a bit of a crisis, a loss of excitement and energy when it came to painting. I began to realize that, despite identifying as a creative person, I was at that time very rigid in my thinking. It was painting or nothing. As I began to lift the walls, so to speak, and go (not to sound hokey) where the energy took me, I came to children’s books. And as often happens when one looks back, it seemed exceedingly obvious that this connection had walked with me all along the windy road and back to where I began.
What I Am Working on Now:
I am currently playing around with circus images. The imagery is rich. The animals are unsettled and haunted by distant memories of life in the wild. I am also painting animal gods that look to be from somewhere in China.
All images here are used by permission of Christine Allen.
* * * * * * *
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
I’m going to keep it short today, since I’m going out of town later this week for work and have my work cut out for me (for before I leave).
I’m grateful Christine visited today, as I enjoy seeing her artwork.
I really like the energy of Christine’s pictures. I especially like the bear. Love to see the circus animals. Thank you so much for sharing.
Jules – Safe travels out of town. Coming North?
I’ve been intrigued by The Interestings for a while. I’m going to have to put it on my list.
2. Excellent report cards from the kids. I try not to make too big a deal but I can say, “Woo Hoo!” here.
3. The sun has made an appearance more than once this fine month of April.
4. The taxes have been shipped off.
5. I’m working on a fun promo piece for my husband’s business that will go in the Little League yearbook.
6. I’m stacking up paintings like cord wood in the studio. I have a plan to re-purpose the rejects.
7. Game of Thrones begins again.
Jone said, on 4/6/2014 7:20:00 AM
Hi, this is a quick fly by. I really liked getting to know Christine and her art work. Beautiful. Plus The Bat-Poet is a favorite.
Jules, I will look for The Interestings.
Moira, glad you got some sun.
I’m on spring break and visiting friends this weekend.
Have a great week.
Little Willow said, on 4/6/2014 8:17:00 AM
Good morning, Imps!
Hi Christine! Thank you for sharing your images and inspirations.
Jules: Have a safe trip. Hope all is well.
Moira: Congrats to the kids! Woo hoo, definitely. Congrats on the site revamp.
Hi Jone! Enjoy the visits.
My kicks for the past week:
1) First watch
2) Re-watch
3) Recuperative sleep
4) Memorizing
5) Pockets
6) Books
7) 2048
Margie Culver said, on 4/6/2014 2:44:00 PM
I adore the image of the girl among the flowers. Thank you for sharing your work with us, Christine.
Jules: Have a safe trip and an enjoyable time with your work.
Moira: I love the look of your new website.
Enjoy your spring break, Jone!
Little Willow: I am a huge fan of pockets too!
My kicks for this week:
1. Sunshine
2. Higher temperatures
3. Melting snow
4. Safe travels
5. Spotting a gliding hawk
6. Sound of Xena snoring
7. Walks with Xena
jules said, on 4/6/2014 3:46:00 PM
Moira, your website looks GREAT! I’m jealous that you can watch Game of Thrones now. I have to wait for DVD. Oh, and I’m going up to Concord for work. Really wish I could visit Boston again and see folks, but there’s not a single moment for it. This is a non-children’s lit-related trip. Boo.
Jone, have a good Spring Break!
Little Willow: 2048? Ah, the mystery! Also, yes, pockets are under-rated. That reminds me of probably my second favorite poem ever: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177521.
Hi, Margie! So happy to hear you have sunshine, and I hope Xena is feeling well.
Christy said, on 4/6/2014 4:49:00 PM
Thank you Moira, Jone, Little Willow, Margie and of course Jules! I appreciate the feature and the encouragement. -Christy
Little Willow said, on 4/6/2014 6:19:00 PM
Jules: The game 2048 is addicting.
Hi Margie & Xena!
Little Willow said, on 4/6/2014 6:20:00 PM
More to Jules: That is a lovely, lovely poem. Thank you for sharing.
“‘Why are you doing that?’ asked Chepito as his mother stood at the stove, cooking eggs and frying beans. … ‘These eggs and beans will make you really strong.’ …” (Click to enlarge spread)
Today’s featured book won’t be out till June. Yes, June! Sorry to be posting about it so early — I try not to make a habit of this.
Why Are You Doing That? (Groundwood Books) is a picture book for very young readers, written by Elisa Amado and illustrated by Manuel Monroy. Elisa is an author and translator, born in Guatemala. Manuel is one of Mexico’s most celebrated illustrators. It’s a companion to their first picture book, What Are You Doing? (2011).
In this book, a young boy, named Chepito, explores his environment one morning—from his mother, cooking breakfast, to his neighbors, flattening dough and milking cows and feeding chickens—all the while asking in his sing-song way (as if he’s a bird), “Why are you doing that … What for? What for?” All the patient, accommodating adults answer him; this is a gentle read about curiosity and rural communities and not only where food comes from, but also how we nurture our bodies and the animals that feed us. It even closes with a short glossary.
Monroy evidently started out with color pencil and watercolor drawings, and then he went the digital route from there. The illustrations are warm and affectionate. Please note, however, that they appear a bit brighter here on the screen than they do in the book.
Here are a couple more spreads. Enjoy.
“There was his neighbor, Manuel, digging in the ground. … ‘Look at this nice elote,’ Manuel said as he peeled back the husk.” (Click to enlarge spread)
“Chepito ran around the corner. He saw Doña Ana throwing corn to some chickens. … ‘What for? What for?’ sang Chepito. ‘So that they can grow strong and lay good eggs like the ones you just had for breakfast.’” (Click to enlarge spread)
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) Hands down, my biggest kick of the week was an opportunity to chat with Barry Moser about Appalachian children’s literature, as a favor for some friends at UT in Knoxville, who are planning an upcoming exhibit about that very topic. I got a picture afterwards. It was a pleasure to chat with him.
2) And the night before, I heard him and author Ann Patchett speak at Vanderbilt about writing and typography and design and illustrations and books and such.
3) And that reminded me to pick up Ann’s latest book, which I’ve been wanting to read for a while now.
4) I’m mildly to moderately obsessed with Rufus Wainwright’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel,” which I only listened to about 77 times this week. Not this particular rendition below, but still …
“Well, never mind / we are ugly, but we have the music” …
7) Sean Lennon! New sound! (It’s the first song there, called “Too Deep.”) Well, it’s Sean Lennon with Charlotte Kemp Muhl, and they call themselves The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger.
This book looks to be perfect anyone who’s experienced the endless questions of toddlers.
Jules, Barry Moser and Anne Patchett in one week! Woot. I will be on the look out for her new book.
My Kicks:
1. Students.
2. Poems.
3. Poetry postcard illustrations.
4. Simplicity.
5. Tulips.
6. Play rehearsals.
7. Grand girl.
Have a great week.
Rachel said, on 3/30/2014 9:45:00 AM
I like the rhythm of the questions and the warm bright colors – definitely perfect for toddlers.
Jules – what a great week! I had not heard of Ann Patchett’s latest, definitely going in my TBR pile.
Jone – Hooray for tulips. and even all the rain (and hail) we’ve been having to help them grow.
My quick kicks:
1) A good result in a several day trial this week.
2) Winning motions the next day in a different case.
3) Cocktails with coworkers to celebrate.
4) Date night last night with Thai takeout and the cute/fun movie, “This Means War.” A romantic comedy where things also blow up and there are chase scenes.
5) Time to relax.
6) Reading Rae Carson’s “The Bitter Kingdom”.
7) Last week’s episode of The Good Wife. Total shocker, but so well done. Looking forward to seeing how the characters deal with the aftermath.
Bonus kick: Sun is out today, so time to work in the garden!
Happy Sunday everyone! Have a wonderful week!
5)
Little Willow said, on 3/30/2014 11:15:00 AM
Good morning, Imps!
The world has been certainly saying hello this week, hasn’t it? To those in earthquake areas and rainy sections, stay safe!
Kudos for the spotlighted book and curious protagonist. Three cheers for those who are thoughtful and curious.
March is the seventh anniversary of readergirlz, so we’ve been posting mini-interviews and guest blogs from authors all month long at the readergirlz blog. Go check them out if you haven’t already! My post goes up tomorrow.
Jone: Did students illustrate the poetry postcards?
Rachel: High-five for the good results! Woot! Have fun in the garden.
My kicks for the past week:
1) I continue to sit on some good news. The news is squirmy and wants to shout from the rooftops, but it can’t yet, so…we wait.
2) Hearing two of my pieces out loud for the first time yesterday
3) Finding and reading the play ALICE by Laura Wade
4) Rehearsals
5) Auditions
6) Inspiration
7) Steady
Margie Culver said, on 3/30/2014 5:19:00 PM
My Sunday is complete now that I’ve stopped at Seven Imp. It is easy to imagine reading Why Are You Doing That? aloud. This questioning is so normal readers will easily identify with the character plus the illustrations are indeed warm and comforting.
Jules: You really had some week! But I loved your inclusion of planetariums. It’s been so long since I’ve visited one I’ll have to see if I can change that.
Jone: You have tulips? I still am sinking in the snow up to my knees in the yard. The only tulips we will have for awhile will be from the flower shop.
Rachel: Time to relax sounds like bliss.
Little Willow: Hooray for inspiration!
My kicks:
1, Warm temperatures
2. Melting snow
3. Sunshine
4. Blue sky
5. First robin of spring sighted today
6. Audio books
7. Walks with Xena
jules said, on 3/30/2014 8:45:00 PM
Jone, so far, her book is great. Who’s illustrating your poetry postcards? And is it too late to sign up for one?
Rachel, congrats on your work kicks. Hope you enjoyed your gardening today.
Little Willow: Can’t wait to hear about kick #1!
Margie: WHEW, you saw a sign of spring. I know you’ve had a harsh winter (though, for all I know, harsh winters are normal for your neck of the woods).
Have a good week, all.
Jone said, on 3/30/2014 10:06:00 PM
Jules, students are doing the illustrations. Email me your address for one (I have plenty, I could send one to each of your girls, send names).
Rachel, I missed the hail yesterday.
LW, yes the students are doing the illustrations. Totally student created project.
Margie, I am soo sorry that you still have snow!
Allison said, on 3/30/2014 10:18:00 PM
What charming illustrations and a lovely idea. Just in time for my Tiny. I look forward to the book. Thanks for the treat!
Great Kicks, Everyone! Glad I had a few minutes to stop by.
Mine:
1. beautiful weather in LA this week
2. sweet good bye party for my Little’s Teacher’s Mom who has been volunteering wonderfully in their classroom all year.
3. 2 weeks til my brother and his family arrive from NYC with their kids.
4. earthquakes – I know this sounds weird, but the little ones help prevent, hopefully, The Big One.
5. Homemade pesto for dinner tonight
Have a great week!
jules said, on 3/31/2014 7:55:00 AM
Jone, thanks! Just emailed you.
Allison, have fun with your brother!
Kat said, on 3/31/2014 7:04:00 PM
I love these illustrations! Warm and sunny, to offset the seemingly neverending winter here on the east coast.
My kicks:
1. Warm weather. Any warm weather.
2. Despite the dreariness, my indoor herbs and potted pussy willows have been flourishing
3. Finishing up a CNA program! Bodily fluids here I come
4. Oreos
5. Girlfriend got a raise
6. Earl Grey tea
7. I had another oreo.
jules said, on 3/31/2014 8:10:00 PM
Kat, I think you should eat an Oreo for me, too. Deal? Deal. (I did, though, just have some Ben & Jerry’s. Mmm.)
Do you mean you FINISHED your program — or will be soon? If the latter, good luck!
This morning, we’re going to meet a dog, who is—in the words of illustrator Katherine Tillotson—a little more than a scribble and a smudge.
Shoe Dog (Richard Jackson/Atheneum Books for Young Readers), written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Katherine, hits bookshelves next week. It tells the story of one very enthusiastic dog, adopted from a shelter, who loves to chew shoes. His owner—whom McDonald calls She, Herself—scolds the dog, but he repeatedly gets into trouble. Shoe Dog most certainly loves his cozy and warm home, where he’s so happy to be, but he struggles to behave. No worries. She, Herself eventually comes up with just the right solution, involving a cat. Of sorts.
Katherine is here today to tell us how she created the illustrations for this story — and what inspired her to do so. The story, particularly the artwork, are nothing short of “totally ebullient,” as the starred Kirkus review puts it. Shoe Dog is all action, energy, and bounce—I mean, right? Just look at him up above there—and it’s fascinating to read how Katherine put him together, as well as to read about the tools she used for everything that surrounds our naughty, but loving, protagonist.
So, let’s get right to it. I thank Katherine for sharing.
* * *
Katherine: When I begin work on a new book, it is always with small scribbly page layouts, but when I began work on the book Shoe Dog, I never expected that a small scribble would make his way to the final pages of the book.
A couple of my very early, very scribbly sketches:
(Click each to enlarge)
When Shoe Dog originally landed on the page, he was a bull terrier. You can see him here in a couple early dummies for the book.
(Click each to enlarge)
In the final illustrations, Shoe Dog still holds onto a smidgeon of terrier, but he is now little more than a scribble and a smudge. His essence.
I used crayons, a square graphite pencil, and charcoal to build the illustrations.
I will have to back up a little to describe the technique. My friend and crit-mate, Christy Hale, introduced me to a wonderful book, Creative Rubbings, published in 1967. I found the techniques described in the book irresistible.
(Click to enlarge)
Shapes were cut out of tag board, and then a crayon was used to rub an impression, much as we place a penny under a piece of paper and rub it with graphite to create a flat rendering of that penny. I loved the idea of using crayon rubbings to illustrate the world inhabited by the scribbly Shoe Dog.
I experimented with rubbing all sorts of textures …
(Click to enlarge)
…but mostly I cut out shapes and then made rubbings. These are how the environments—the house, furniture, stairs, shoes, etc.—were constructed.
(Click to enlarge)
Black and white sketches helped me determine value before I rendered the final illustrations in color.
(Click each to enlarge)
The computer is a wonderful tool for collage, and Shoe Dog is basically collage. I scribbled and made crayon rubbings and then combined all the hand-made marks by using the computer.
Here is some of the final art [without the text]:
“Dog wanted a home. A real home. A place full of hundreds of nose kisses, dozens of tummy rubs. A place as warm as soup and cozy as pie.” (Click to enlarge)
“A place with room to run …” (Click to enlarge)
“BAD BAD DOG! She, Herself said. That night, Shoe Dog slept downstairs on the cold, cold floor with only a mop for a friend. Shoe Dog did not want to go back to the Land of Sad Puppies and Scratched-Up Cats and One-Eared Bunnies. No!“ (Click to enlarge)
And lastly the cover, front and back:
Thank you so much for asking me to show and tell. I had such fun creating the illustrations for this story!
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
1) I really love how an old, obscure book from 1967 gave Katherine such inspiration.
2) Because my oldest was home for three days this week (adenoid surgery), I got to see an awful lot of her.
3) Painting clay.
4) A day out with the family yesterday to see Muppets Most Wanted. Very funny.
5) I got nice and unsolicited feedback about 7-Imp this week, which I really appreciate. In this day and age of rampant social media, I often stop to wonder if my blog is still relevant (I think this is a natural question for any blogger today; I promise I’m not just self-deprecating for fun), so to get compliments, ones that are truly informative, can be energizing.
I love this little dog!
Thank you, Katherine for sharing your process. Your work is lovely.
Jules – Long form blogging is still relevant when it is high quality and informative which Seven Imp most certainly is. Keep on keepin’ on.
kicks
1. Buying more art supplies because I am really enjoying working on paper with pen, brush, ink and watercolors.
2. I set up my new scanner. It has amazing clarity and I am excited to put it to good use.
3. I kind of purposely broke my website. http://moiraswiatkowski.com/
I am going to add some of the new work and want to fix up the place a bit. It’s kind of like taking a sledge hammer to a wall where you’d like to put a window. You’ve got to fix it one way or another.
4. I’m using Instagram to post my current work. I find it the least black-holeish of the social media right now which means more time to draw and paint.
5. I have been binge listening (is that a thing?) to old podcasts from Escape from Illustrator Island at the Illustration Age website. http://illustrationage.com/podcast/
6. Sneaking in the studio in the morning after the kids leave and before going to work.
7. Lots of great visits with food, fun, music, art and books this past week.
I hope you all have a great week and may the road rise up to meet ya.
shannon said, on 3/23/2014 7:09:00 AM
I love this scribbly dog!! So cute <3
Jules, I hope your oldest is recovering well and feeling much better; 7IT is truly inspiring to me; and I can't wait to get my hands on When We Were Liars!
Moira, I'll be eagerly watching to see how you rebuild your website.
My Kicks:
1) A beautiful weekend in SC with my brother to start our Spring Break. Such fun to walk around the state house grounds and talk about history.
2) Some gorgeous Spring-like weather finally!
3) A wonderful visit with my cousin and her family. Our kids got along amazingly well and the conversation flowed.
4) The Goldfinch – Only 10% in but enthralled so far
5) My kids go back to school tomorrow. Family time is awesome but I've got to get some work done.
6) Planning our vacations for this year and getting them on the calendar.
7) My nephew's team made it to the Sweet Sixteen and we're going to see him play next weekend!
Margie Culver said, on 3/23/2014 7:27:00 AM
Wowser! I sure am glad I have this book on order. Thank you for sharing your process with us Katherine. Shoe Dog is one adorable pup.
Jules: Glad you had a wonderful family outing.
Moira: The thought of more art supplies sounds wonderful
Shannon: Planning for vacations sounds like so much fun! It’s great to have those fun goals.
My kicks:
1. No big snowfalls this week.
2. Sunshine
3. Hearing more birdsong
4. Finished magical book A Snicker of Magic
5. Beautiful new picture books
6. Walking with Xena
7. Seven Imp on Sundays
Jone said, on 3/23/2014 7:36:00 AM
Shoe Dog looks like a book I need for the library. The dog is adorable.
Jules, glad eldest is on the mend. 7 imp is relevant and I am thankful that we have a Sunday meeting place. There’s been a discussion about how many of the blogs that first participtated in Poetry Friday still participate.
Moira, good luck with your new website and have fun with the new art supplies.
Shannon, I have The Goldfinch on my TBR list. Yay for spring.
My kicks:
1. Participating in Ed DeCaria’s March Madness Poetry Tournament. Lost but so fun.
2. Saturday play rehearsal at school with a real sound system. A dad has volunteered is equipment and time.
3. The fifth grade boy who asked “how is fair librarian was” but then realized he meant favorite and proceeded to tell me he’s been at many schools.
4. And the fifth grade boy who was asking me about my favorite books, favorite books on tape, and what should he check out.
5. Oldest grand girl has email now and emails me.
6. More than 3/4 done with the Slice of Life Story Challenge at Deowriter. Thirty-one days of writing.
7. Weeding the roses and battling the blackberry vines.
Have a great week.
Jone said, on 3/23/2014 7:37:00 AM
Hi Margie, enjoy the sunshine and walks with Xena. I agree, Sundays at 7 Imp are the best.
Little Willow said, on 3/23/2014 8:10:00 AM
Good morning, Imps! Hello to Shoe Dog, the adorable scribble and smudge that he is, and to his creator, Katherine. Thanks for sharing your artwork and your process with us! I like Megan McDonald’s stories. I’ll have to check out this collaboration. I like the textures.
Jules: Sending hugs and healing thoughts to the post-surgery munchkin. I look forward to reading We Were Liars. Have you read Don’t Think About It yet? Yay for the nice feedback! Misty Copeland, ballerina and ABT member, tweeted my review of her memoir and I squealed.
Moira: I am now singing Sledgehammer. Thanks, Peter Gabriel. Good luck with current projects and forthcoming illustrations! I always like seeing your work.
Shannon: Congrats to your nephew’s team, and good luck to them! Glad that you enjoyed your visit and your breaks.
Margie: A Snicker of Magic is in my to-read pile. What kind of birds do you hear most often? What does Xena make of the birds?
Jone: Yay for communication and recommendations. And, of course, poetry.
My kicks for the past week:
1) Read through
2) Rehearsals
3) Helping out
4) Good news
5) Good books
6) Sleep
7) Getting to the _pointe_
Sally said, on 3/23/2014 8:38:00 AM
If I don’t have the time to read any other blog, I read yours for every new post…and to look back at posts from the past! It is unbelievably relevant to so many readers! You have such a wonderful way of sharing what you love, and have introduced me to many new illustrators and a lot of amazing music. Keep the compliments coming, IMPS!
Cheryl White said, on 3/23/2014 10:42:00 AM
Jules… Your blog is my go to and what I learn from it has been shared with colleagues from North America to the Middle East. Your entries are at the root of my choices when I have created book orders, most recently for a school library on the other side of the world. We had the luxury of the entire order being picture books and again that was informed by your wonderful blog. I cannot wait to read about a newly released work and it is so inspiring to be allowed in to the working worlds of the illustrators and writers. Merci, Merci, Merci.
Rachel said, on 3/23/2014 12:32:00 PM
Shoe Dog is adorable and so energetic and full of personality. This is definitely going to be a gift for some upcoming birthdays. Katherine, thanks for sharing your wonderful smudgy creation and his story!
Jules – hope the oldest is recovering well. And 7Imp is my one never-miss-it blog. I am forever referring friends with young kids to your site!
Moira – yay for good food and good visits. Loving the art on Instagram!
Shannon – congrats to your nephew – have fun at the game! I loved The Goldfinch so much I have given it as a gift to 5 of my favorite people so far.
Margie – no snow, sun, birdsong and walks with Xena sounds like a great week.
Jone – this weather has been great for working in the garden. I am loving the sun too. Fingers crossed more sun after rain comes back Tuesday…
LW – congrats on the tweet-out of your review! Sounds like another non-stop week for you!
My kicks this week:
1) Sun & time to work in the yard and garden.
2) New couch!
3) Friday night’s dinner of Bluefin tuna with shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, brussel sprouts and habanero sauce – yum! And a nice Oregon pinot gris to go with it.
4) Small milestones.
5) Spring cleaning & a trip to Ikea.
6) Finished Winter’s Tale. Didn’t love it, but wished it would’ve realized its potential.
7) Early morning coffee with a good friend.
Have a wonderful week everyone!
6)
Margie Culver said, on 3/23/2014 4:36:00 PM
Hello there, Little Willow
In the winter it’s the chickadees which have been singing loud and strong. They are so cheerful even on the coldest days. This morning I am pretty sure I heard some finches. The birdsong is not noticed by Xena. She takes it in stride unless its a huge group of geese flying overhead. This time of year large groups of birds pass the area on their way to their spring home.
In The Color Book, to be released by Tara Books next month, Sophie Benini Pietromarchi explores color with child readers in a multitude of ways. “If you ask me,” she writes on page one, “I would have preferred to color quietly, instead of talking. I’m marking this great white page with blue ink, but ideally, I would rather not have written any words at all. Color speaks for itself better than words can — you can ‘feel’ color, and it goes straight to your heart.” But despite this, she notes, she wrote the book to invite children to “get to know colors” — by playing with them, contemplating their subtleties and meanings, considering the emotions that they evoke. It’s what she calls a color dance.
It’s a book both poetic and practical. She opens by relaying the feelings she remembers from her childhood — all based on colors. She then explores what colors are capable of by creating a character for each one (the Red Dragon, Mrs. Brown Snail, etc.), and she further discusses colors and moods by devoting an entire chapter to them. In the book’s second section, “The Basics,” she discusses such things as primary colors, complementary colors, and contrasting colors. And she closes the book by suggesting readers create their own books that explore color; her suggestions for readers’ color books are detailed, and child readers could easily follow along.
Pietromarchi, who both wrote and illustrated the book, uses collages, photos, and found objects in nature to lay it all out, and with an infectious passion for art, she invites readers to make connections and create art meaningful to them.
Here are a few more spreads …
“Yellow is a Bird of Paradise — wearing a flowery scent. Her eyes are two glowing lanterns, and she lives in a castle of straw with a thousand rooms. …” (Click to enlarge and see full text)
“Here’s a sunny, laughing face. And the surrounding colors are equally happy — cheerful, strong and direct.” (Click to enlarge)
” … I was thinking of Ms Yellow who carries a lemon in her yellow bag; or a startled blue goat whose milk is made of ink …” (Click to enlarge and see full text)
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
My daughter, who turned ten years old this week, is having a birthday party sleep-over, so needless to say, I can hardly focus now. (Our house is tiny. It’s LOUD.) Consider it a minor miracle if anything I typed above makes any sense whatsoever, so I’ll forego kicks this week, except to say I’m extra grateful to have had the pleasure of my daughter’s company for ten whole years now.
Love the collages for The Color Book, and so happy that the talented Kate Berube has signed with an agent!
Early this week as I have an early morning tomorrow.
Jules – hope the loud sleepover was super fun for the 10 year old! (And that you have an easy recovery.)
My quick kicks:
1) Cut the grass for the first time this year – yay spring!
2) Date night. It was great. That is all.
3) Finally painted my hallway this weekend – very happy with the finished result – color is Platinum Band – totally works with my color palette.
4) Beer, pizza, and a friend to help me paint.
5) Lobster mashed potatoes from date night dinner. Heaven.
6) Tv show Parenthood. Love it even though it makes me cry.
7) The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders – very fun if you like Wes Anderson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSEzGDzZ1dY
Have a wonderful week everyone!
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Margie Culver said, on 3/16/2014 6:15:00 AM
I will be adding The Color Book to my next order. I already have a couple of people in mind who will love this book. Thanks to Sophie and Jules for sharing.
The noise of a house filled with a ten-year-old birthday celebration sounds wonderful. Hope all was glorious.
My kicks:
1. My Mom is getting better.
2. More snow to cover up all the brown landscape.
3. The beauty of a full moon after midnight
4. Picture books
5. Kidlit friends
6. Reading and writing
7. Walks with Xena
Steven Withrow said, on 3/16/2014 7:21:00 AM
Can’t wait to read The Color Book–what polychromatic effulgence!
I turned 40 on March 10, and aside from the sudden urge to bellow at the crescent moon, I’m taking it well.
Here’s a new poem for nature’s femme fatale:
Spyder
Patient spider,
plain-sight hider,
eavesdrops
down her
slender thread.
She’s a lover
of the undercover,
and any bug
to cross her
ends up dead.
Thanks for sharing The Color Book. We need more of these. And congrats to Kate for signing an agent.
Jules, enjoy the festivities of 10 YO invading your home. How fun.
Rachel, it’s been a wonderful few days in Ptown hasn’t it? We need to mow the lawn too.
Margie, the full mon at midnight and snow, bet it was lovely.
Steven, happy birthday.
My kicks:
1. Oldest grandgirl is here for the weekend.
2. We saw a production of Alladin last night. Fun! One of my students was in it.
3. Walking Buster yesterday.
4. I’ve written everyday for 15 days in the Slice of Life Story Challenge.
5. Typing student poems from the author visit.
6. Reading.
7. Tomorrow is the beginning of the March Madness Poetry tournament. I will have 48 hours to write a poem and then get votes.
Have a great week.
Jessica Young said, on 3/16/2014 8:23:00 AM
Yay for loud 10-year-old sleepovers and the brave mamas who host them! And yay for colors and Sophie and Kate! Love their work!
Little Willow said, on 3/16/2014 9:09:00 AM
Pretty colors, Sophie! Thank you for sharing.
Good morning, Imps! Happy mid-March to you all.
Jules: Happy birthday to your decade daughter!
Congrats, Kate!
Rachel: Yay, spring.
Margie: Glad that your mom is improving.
Happy belated birthday, Steven!
Jone: Kudos for the ongoing writing and reading.
Hi Jessica!
My kicks for the past week:
1) Two of my plays had professional readings this week. One was a historical drama inspired by Anna Pavlova…
2) …the other was a modern-day workplace comedy inspired by The Office and Mindy Kaling.
3) Range
4) Filming on location with a lovely fictional family. The film is now wrapped.
5) A play I wrote was named a semi-finalist and is getting a professional reading in May
6) A monologue I wrote was selected for performance (I’m not performing it; it’s on the opposite coast) and the project is raising funds for a very worthy cause!
7) Dreams
JES said, on 3/16/2014 9:57:00 AM
Hello Kickers!
That looks like a fabulous book by Sophie. Will admit to being more than slightly bowled over by the blown-up two-page spreads, especially when I saw the page numbers at the bottom of one spread: 132 + 133. WHOA: a big book, huh???
Really liked both the little story and the gentle look of Kate’s work, too.
I’ll just offer general Hola!s to all Kickers in general, since I’ve not (to my shame + chagrin) been much in evidence around here much recently. Always very, very happy to see 7-Imp, y’know. (Which explains my frequent stealth flyovers.)
Recent kicks:
1. Big writing days.
2. Big question-answering days.
3. Prospect of big phone-upgrade day.
4. Impending big-travel days (in a couple weeks) (not really big in terms of distance or exoticness, just ‘home’ to NJ to visit family).
And some more specific ones…
5. Chinese — even ‘Chinese,’ in quotes — takeout. Mmmmmm.
6. Hey Little Willow: Leverage! Yes, still knocking me out!
7. I’d heard so much about the horror film Cabin in the Woods that it was atop my horror-film queueueue. I will say only that it was worth the wait. Very gross, true. I wouldn’t give 5 seconds to any of the films it satirizes (the Saw genre, e.g.). But oh my: very surprising and funny: very, very funny. (And btw, he didn’t direct it, but Joss Whedon produced and co-wrote it. Drew Goddard, a Buffy writer, co-wrote and directed Cabin.) The more you think you might be interested in watching it, the more strongly I’d advise you not to seek out details in advance. Including trailers.
Have a great week, all!
kate berube said, on 3/16/2014 11:34:00 AM
Oh wow, The Color Book looks gorgeous! Can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Thanks for all the celebratory words, jazz hands and spirit fingers, Jules and friends!
my kicks:
1. Getting featured on here again, yay!
2. The cherry blossoms that are peaking over the back fence
3. The weather being warm and dry enough for weed pulling and other fingers in the dirt activities
4. The Korean feast my love cooked up yesterday (and the leftovers I’ll be having for lunch today)
5. New Martha Grover drawing for my walls that I traded some of my work for last night
6. My good health
7. My good friends
Toni said, on 3/16/2014 12:24:00 PM
Thanks for introducing me to Sophie Benini Pietromarch’s gorgeous work. I love the look and the feel of this book!
Jazz hands and spirit fingers makes me want to write a book with this title….hmmmm
Hi Kate!! So happy to see a sneak peek and can’t wait to see more of your wonderful artwork.
my kicks… trees in bloom all over the place and the smells in the air! My 23 year old son got a job offer this week and he is one quarter from graduating, yay! Ditto Kate: good health and good friends and family!
shannon said, on 3/16/2014 12:32:00 PM
Jules- I hope the birthday party/sleepover was a sparkly dream come true!
Rachel- Yum!! Lobster mashed potatoes- great date night!
Margie- Well wishes for your mom’s continued recovery.
Steven- Happy happy birthday month!
Jone- Enjoy your grandgirl weekend- special times
LW- Lots of things to celebrate in your life this week!
JEW- Safe and happy travels
kate- Congratulations on your feature!
My kicks:
1) Our presentation went very well- in fact, my professor called it a “master class” for the rest of the class.
2) I’ve gotten to spend this weekend visiting with my brother.
3) Some beautiful Spring-like weather
4) I cooked dinner for my family every night this week.
5) My daughter loved that I substituted for her class on Friday.
6) Made it through a difficult week with my son and I think I handled the parenting fairly well.
7) My nephew helped his team win the AAC basketball championship and is headed into March madness again!
It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means a student illustrator will share some artwork this morning. Today it’s Jaime Kim, who is one of the winners of this year’s SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Student Illustrator Scholarship. This means, I believe, that she will soon head to New York City to meet picture book artists, editors, and art directors, so what a great time to feature her work.
Jaime is a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art, is originally from South Korea, and has lived in the U.S. since the age of 18.
She tells us more about herself below, too, so let’s get right to it, and I thank her for visiting.
Jaime: There once was a little girl who could not sleep very well, because she was afraid of the dark. Then, one day her fear went away after she received a complete collection of picture books as a gift from her parents. Her fear went away when her mother read a picture book to her, and she could sleep easily at night.
This is a story of my childhood, and this is how picture books first became part of my life.
Reading or making picture books is a kind of meditation for me; I feel relaxed when I do so.
New characters
I am majoring in Illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). MICA has such a big illustration department that every semester I feel excited about choosing my classes. Among them, Shadra Strickland’s Book Illustration and Advanced Book Illustration courses have convinced me that children’s book illustration is my future field.
I love to make whimsical and dreamy illustrations, and acrylic paint is one of the best materials for me to convey those kinds of moods. Most of my works are created with mixed media, and I always re-touch texture and color through Photoshop. Sometimes I make all the layers separately in a traditional way, then scan and combine them in Photoshop, one by one. That process takes a long time but helps me to make better colors.
(Click to enlarge)
I am thinking about making a series of illustrations based on children’s poems for my BFA thesis. It was my first poem illustration (image above) which won me the Society of Children’s Book Writer and Illustrator (SCBWI) student scholarship. Poems are a great source of inspiration for me to create whimsical images. I always feel excited to making an imaginary landscape or dreamy mood, based on poems.
(Click to enlarge)
As you can see from these pieces above (Goldilocks and the Three Bears), I am interested in re-designing traditional fairy tales and re-making them in a modern style of illustration.
(Click to enlarge)
I did this piece above (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) for the SCBWI Illustrator Intensive program.
All artwork is used with permission Jaime Kim.
* * * * * * *
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
I think I can summarize seven kicks here by saying that I saw a very entertaining show this week, Hurray for the Riff Raff opening up for Shovels & Rope at The Cannery in Nashville. Hoo boy, it was wonderful all-around. I’m now in the process of getting all of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s older music, because they’re just so good. (See below, though that’s not the full band there.) And Shovels & Rope really put on quite the show.
p.s. Hurray for the Riff Raff = Best Band Name EVER.
p.s. Shovels & Rope sang this Springsteen cover:
Incidentally, Jack White produced that with a Tom Waits cover as a B-side. About the songs he wrote, “This is the perfect soundtrack for two doomed souls dancing in the glow of a jukebox in a greasy spoon diner.” I love that. That summarizes Shovels & Rope well — in general, I think.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
10 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #371: FeaturingUp-and-Coming Illustrator, Jaime Kim, last added: 3/3/2014
Jaime, hi! Whimsical and dreamy illustrations are my FAVORITE. ~^o^~ I sent you a friend request on Facebook and followed you on Instagram. (I see we are both Blackjacks kekeke.) ~^o^~
Jules, hurray for good music and for getting to listen to good music LIVE!
Things I am grateful for:
1. Jogging. Working out.
2. Expectant looks from my students.
3. Knowing that my friends are waiting for me in a restaurant.
4. Meetings to organize things like National Children’s Book Day and the National Children’s Book Awards.
5. Instagram. Line.
6. Tumblr. YouTube.
7. Knowing that my brothers are waiting for me at home.
Margie Culver said, on 3/2/2014 6:58:00 AM
I really enjoyed Jaime Kim’s artwork today. The expressions on her character’s faces as well as the faces themselves are interesting and unique.
Jules: I am so glad you had this marvelous musical experience. These moments linger for years and years.
My kicks:
1. Cold laser treatments for Xena
2. Tulips at the grocery store
3. Amaryllis are still blooming
4. Surprises in the mail
5. Lively kidlit chats online
6. Warm house
7. Short walks with Xena
Jone said, on 3/2/2014 7:35:00 AM
Jaime Kim’s artwork is fun. I especially like the piece that won the SCBWI award.
Jules, glad this week was filled with music for you.
Margie, hope Xena is doing well. Glad you can take walks with her.
My kicks:
1. Day two of having author, Susan Blackaby at school.
2. The dad who volunteered his sound expertise to the play.
3. Working with classes on follow-up poetry lessons from Susan.
4. A silver pendant arrived from Laura Hamor with my one little word for2014: believe.
5. Five days of school.
6. Giving a copy of Because of Winn-Dixie to grandgirl.
7. Belated kick: two weeks ago, I was the guest author to a third grade book club at another school. First time the school had a real author…I shared my little haiku book, Solace in Nature.
Have a great week.
Shadra Strickland said, on 3/2/2014 8:45:00 AM
Jaime is such a creative artist. It is a pleasure to work with her. She makes us all proud. And I love her intro story. So sweet!
My kicks:
1. Binge watching Breaking Bad yesterday on the couch (I needed a break!).
2. Pork Porterhouse with bacon and apple bread pudding at Alchemy on 36th (my fav. Bmore restaurant)
3. Hearing that my next book sold Japanese rights!!!
4. Surviving a week of teaching after SCBWI
5. Hearing Arthur Levine sing Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” onstage.
6. Cleaning my house and studio to prepare for work.
7. Wrapping up my taxes!
Little Willow said, on 3/2/2014 11:44:00 AM
Good morning, Imps! Happy March to you all!
Don’t forget – March 4th is National Grammar Day.
Thank you, Jaime, for sharing your artwork and your stories.
Jules: Glad that you enjoyed the music.
Tarie: Hello to you and your friends, family, and students!
Margie: Hope the treatments are going well for Xena.
Jone: Congratulations on the author visit. That must have been such a fun experience. Believe!
Hi Shadra!
My kicks for the past week:
1) Table reading
2) Confirmation
3) Audition
4) Application
5) Dry clothes
6) Singing
7) Selecting
Moira said, on 3/2/2014 12:23:00 PM
Flyby kicks today
Had a great time in NYC last week. I left feeling inspired to get home to my studio and on to new artistic adventures.
Tim said, on 3/2/2014 12:59:00 PM
Wonderful to see your work here today Jaime! Your portfolio stopped me in my tracks at the SCBWI Winter Conference. There is a particular drama in the contrast of the color to black and white in the Goldilocks series that really captures my interest. Has a great depth to it!
Tim’s Kicks…
1)Pulling my first all-niter in a long time to finish dummy & color samples for a prospective project.
2)Pouring coffee in my eyeballs to get through meeting.
3)Confirmation from publisher of going to contract.
5)In talks with three prospective agencies weighing the options.
6)Invitation from a different publisher to meet up & talk shop.
7)Hosting a dumpling party with good friends.
emmaco said, on 3/2/2014 3:16:00 PM
Jaime’s art is lovely, I love hearing how all the art you show here is made Jules. I’m glad you enjoyed the show!
Tarie you sound busy in a nice way! And what a nice kick number 7.
Margie surprises in the mail are so nice that I think postal delivery needs to continue forever just to allow for this pleasure
Shadra you have reminded me to check on my taxes, so thanks!
Jone sharing books is always such a pleasure
LW I am intrigued by your kick number 5. Are wet clothes often a problem where you live? Or are you just happy you are lucky enough to have warm dry clothes?
Tim a dumpling party sounds like a great idea!
1. Surprise visit from my husband’s aunt and uncle who have been off driving around Australia with their caravan for months. (Is this an American thing too? We call the hordes of retirees with caravans grey nomads).
2. Camping trip for a long weekend last weekend at the beach – despite challenging weather (super hot and then rainy and chilly) it was fun.
3. Some excellent naps from the baby this week felt like an unexpected present
4. My youngest niece’s first birthday party – a sausage sizzle in a bushland park – was great fun for everyone of all years
5. Great farmer’s market yesterday with some good bargains (and treats too of course…suspect the latter might cancel out the savings of the former actually)
6. Lots of stone fruit frozen before it goes out of season
7. I know some readers here will understand my excitement at the news that Neko Case is performing in Brisbane this week! Of course I am going despite my fear that I will not be able to stay awake so long after my bedtime. (I am already feeling cranky at the support band for taking up time)
Little Willow said, on 3/2/2014 6:33:00 PM
Emma: We had some very heavy rainstorms. I was soaked and had to change clothes. Eat a peach for me, please!
jules said, on 3/2/2014 9:41:00 PM
Tarie, ooh! I love kick #4 — and #7. I don’t know which is better. Okay, yes, no question: Brothers are better.
Margie: Cold laser treatments? I hope Xena’s okay. Actually, I’m not sure what those are, but it just doesn’t sound good.
Jone, guest author. Excellent. And you’ll have to let us know if your granddaughter likes the novel.
Shadra, here’s to resting up. I wish I could have heard Levine sing.
Little Willow, I think “dry clothes” is the first ever such kick. I love it. Also, break a leg, as always, at your audition. I hope “confirmation” means of a role.
Hi, Moira!
TIM! Agents! Deadlines! Publication! Congrats! I did not know this. Woot and woot again!
Emmaco, your niece is ALREADY ONE?! And NEKO! You are in for a treat. Speaking of concerts, one of my first thoughts when Shovels & Rope came out was one of concern: “I’m going to experience hearing loss tonight,” I thought. AND thaaaat would be when you know you’re old, if that’s one of the first things you think. (Still, it was worth it.) …. I’ve never heard the phrase “grey nomads,” to answer your question. By caravan, do you mean something like an RV?
“I walked over and under and around to where Mom and Dad waited. ‘What now?’” (Click to enlarge spread)
Morning, everyone. Author/illustrator Adam Rex is visiting today to tell us a bit about his newest picture book, Moonday, released by Disney-Hyperion earlier this month. Moonday tells the goosebump-inducing story of the moon lowering itself into a young girl’s backyard, putting all the town under its sleepy spell. Was it real or a dream? That’s for readers to decide.
I really like Adam’s paintings for this story. No need to describe them; you can see them on display here. And the writing? The writing is superb. This one makes an outstanding read-aloud, best for (but not excluded to) a cozy one-on-one read with your favorite child. It possesses a rhythm and cadence to savor. Kirkus gave this one a starred review. I just read the entire review, and they put it this way: “Gentle rhymes, recurring consonance and almost subliminal rhythms make murky, dreamy paintings vivid and the surreal story sleepily spectacular.”
Yep. What they said.
Here’s Adam. I thank him for visiting …
* * *
Adam: Here’s the first image I tackled. It ended up being kind of a proof of concept piece. I thought it was going to be the cover, too.
“It was in our backyard.” (Click image to enlarge)
[Here's] the process for this piece:
“At school we slumped in desks and slept through lunch. I looked through my heavy lashes, through the window, through lean trees to see my blue moon staring back at me.” (Click to enlarge)
My earliest sketch was just a thumbnail, which I then overlaid with some crude perspective lines to pint out and use as guides to refine the drawing.
(Click to enlarge)
That got me here, and this is what my editor saw when I put together a dummy of the whole book.
Looks like I basically sketched this whole thing in Photoshop with my Wacom, actually. I’m doing that more and more, but I didn’t do it much back then.
(Click to enlarge)
Shot a lot of photo reference. This poor kid ended up filling in for the whole class.
All of the images for Moonday got rendered in vine charcoal on paper, with my photo reference as a guide.
(Click to enlarge)
Then I tinted the drawing in Photoshop …
(Click to enlarge)
… and colored it on a different layer.
(This is actually the same [image as the one from earlier]. But I had a narrative going, so …)
(Click to enlarge)
Shot a lot of photos of me …
… and my wife, too. We’re the mom and dad. Had to borrow a kid.
Here’s another photo …
…and the accompanying sketch …
(Click to enlarge)
…and the finished piece:
“That was when the tide came in. It trickled into our backyard. The tide came in, smooth and thin, and settled underneath our moon.” (Click to enlarge)
I had to draw a number of views of the same building, so I actually built a little 3-D neighborhood in Google SketchUp. I made the buildings in the foreground, but not in the background. (The background buildings didn’t actually end up in the book anyway.)
(Click to enlarge)
More random sketches:
(Click either image to enlarge sketch)
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Final art for sketch above: “Then I started a yawn that swayed up the block, crossed two policemen, rounded the square, and followed me home.” (Click to enlarge)
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
When I was a child, I would have been utterly spellbound by Moonday.
1) I love how challenging my piano lessons are (even if I was all, “THERE IS ANOTHER HAND POSITION TO LEARN ALREADY?” on Thursday of this week). As I discussed with a friend the other day, piano lessons are working lots of different parts of my brain. And that is good.
2) Dinner with friends, followed by free bluegrass in Nashville.
3) My girls and I have been dancing around the house to this slammin’ tune below. When my second grader comes home with worries and anxiety (which seems to be a theme this year), I listen and hug her and do the “there there now, it’ll be okay”s, and then we get up and dance, too.
Come on, y’all. None of this “but I’m dance-challenged” will be accepted here. Put on your best dance face, and let’s do it:
4) I’m reading the newest novel from my very favorite novelist (for grown-ups), and I love to linger over her sentences.
5)Calling Caldecott is back for 2013! I learn so much, reading that blog.
6) On the first song on Neko Case’s new CD, the guitar growls like a tiger at one point.
7) Hey, why am I still typing? As I’m composing this post (Saturday), it’s a gorgeous early Fall-like day, so I’m outta here. The park calls my name.
P.S. The unabashed goofy-ness of this book trailer has endeared itself to me. Plus, I really like that book, as I mentioned earlier here at 7-Imp.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
11 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #348: Featuring Adam Rex, last added: 9/16/2013
Good morning! Thank you for sharing not only Moonday but the process. I love the photos that Adam used to create the various scenes. What a story.
Jules, glad you are enjoying your piano lessons and the fall days. Who’s your favorite grown-up author you are reading?
My kicks:
1. Full week of school in the books.
2. Lunch and shopping with a college friend yesterday.
3. Husband’s family reunion today.
4. Poem written and sent off for the summer poetry exchange (thank goodness it’s still summer up it’s late).
5. Listening.
6. Reading The Story of Fish and Snail to classes. They loved it. Written by Deborah Freedman.
7. CYBILS participants announced tomorrow.
Have a great week.
Little Willow said, on 9/15/2013 7:58:00 AM
Good morning, Imps!
Thanks for dropping by, Adam! Always nice to see the process from start to finish. Thank you for sharing.
Ah, now I know why I was able to sleep decently last night: it was the Moon.
Jules: Go Jules go! Sending reassuring thoughts to your awesome 2nd grader, and hugs to both girls. Keep on dancing! Have fun at the park.
Jone: Listening is key. Hope he has fun at the reunion. Yay for the classroom. Congrats on the poem.
My kicks for the past week:
1) Audition
2) Play submissions
3) Research
4) Receipt
5) Recording
6) Performing
7) Preparing
shannon said, on 9/15/2013 8:28:00 AM
Hi Julie!
Love Adam Rex and this book looks captivating. I will definitely be putting it on Lily’s Christmas list. I think she would love dreaming over it!
And who’s the author, huh? Like I don’t have enough on my TBR list!
I’ll play– my kicks:
1) Watching my adorable son celebrate his 12th birthday riding gokarts with two of his closest friends! Amazingly enough, I actually like friends and enjoyed spending the day with them. What a gift!
2) My 70 year old father-in-law rode his motorcycle down to surprise Morgan for his birthday. My husband had a great time riding gokarts with his dad. Such fun to watch!
3) Sparkly blue toenail polish!
4) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell– finally
5) My kid’s ipod that is full of 80s pop, nerdy youtubers, and 70s rock.
6) Sleeping in the sun– I’m really a lizard at heart!
7) cooking for friends
jules said, on 9/15/2013 8:29:00 AM
Jone, have fun at the reunion, and hello to Chuck. How was the first full week? My favorite author: Alice McDermott.
Little Willow: Break a leg with those play submissions. I think this is the first time “receipt” has ever been someone’s kick. I like that.
jules said, on 9/15/2013 8:32:00 AM
Hi, Shannon! I passed you in cyberspace. Did you see me wave?
Happy birthday to Morgan! That is very classy of your father-in-law, too. … I think I’m a fellow lizard. Or cat. As mentioned above, it’s Alice McDermott whose novels I love (to answer your question). Have a great week (and what are you cooking?) …
JES said, on 9/15/2013 9:32:00 AM
Good morning, Kickers!
Adam Rex is one of those names I learned first at 7-Imp and ALWAYS look forward to seeing what he’s wrought. The opening image above rather bent my mind — in a good way — and the whole process was fascinating. (“Had to borrow a kid”: ha!) Adam’s verbs are great: the sneeze that swayed up the block, the tide trickled in (smooth and thin, yet: THIN)…
So happy you’re liking the piano lessons so much, Jules! When they finally taper off (if they do) (even if they don’t), it’d be pretty cool to find out how what you’ve learned has changed how you listen to (or plain-old hear) music.
Hope the family reunion is fun, jone. (Y’all hosting, or being hosted?)
Little Willow: what Jules said about “receipt.” Also, I like that when I read down the first letters of your kicks this week I see a Bronx cheer.
Hey there, shannon. The youngster’s iPod sounds pretty kickin’!
My kicks:
#1 has to be a fabulous surprise package in the mail, from a friend I know only online. It’s a musical treat I’ll be listening to for, well, years. Nothin’ beats good music. (Preaching to the choir here, I know.)
2. British sitcom, via Netflix: The I.T. Crowd. Tech goofy.
3. Finally saw Safety Not Guaranteed last week. Exceeded all expectations, which is saying something.
4. This idea for cleaning up the oceans is so good that it almost breaks my heart that we might not actually do it.
5. Good science fiction. Good science fact.
6. Stephen Fry.
7. A side-effect of the fact that the Earth spins on its axis: the way sunlight moves across the living-room floor, causing The Pooch to pull up stakes every now and then to follow it.
Have a great week, everyone!
Bill Carman said, on 9/15/2013 9:33:00 AM
Thanks for Adam. He’s always a treat. Funny and smart and good.
Denise said, on 9/15/2013 12:46:00 PM
Oooo I’m a sucker for moon books and this one looks just the mooniest. The tide-came-in spread with the moon done up like a paper mache project over a white balloon is so captivating. And, like JES, I enjoyed the text; I noticed the lulling quality: “drifted to sleep and was lifted to bed”. Thanks Mr. Rex for sharing your process (and Jules for sharing the book) with us.
Jules – I’m dancin’ with you (and love the idea of dancing away anxiety blues with your 2nd grader.) I’ve been dancing off the pounds… another much-more-fun way to go about such things.
Jone – what a great phrase/concept: “the summer poetry exchange”. And so nice to have touchstone college friends one still shops and has lunch with.
LW – best of luck with your submissions. And hope your research fetched needed fodder.
Shannon – sparkley blue toenail polish. (!) I had my first manicure/pedicure this week (finally redeemed a salon gift certificate I got 5 years ago for being a baseball Team Mom.) I was descended upon by a trio of chatty (to each other and not in English) Vietnamese ladies who did themselves proud; wow. Quite the revelation. I picked a natural-tone polish… but next time (yes, I think I’ll treat myself again sometime) perhaps I’ll go for a bolder color. Might take a while to work up to sparkly blue though. ha-ha.
JES – Safety Not Guarateed just moved up my stack. And that Dutch engineer kid’s TED talk about plastic/his invention… He’s so full of himself and his project – it reminds one what kind of chutzpah it takes to change the world. Good for him; on the side of the angels–and the dolphins.
Hi Bill.
My mid-September kick list:
1 – shared one of those “strikes you as so funny you can’t stop laughing” waves of laughter that goes round until everyone is teary-eyed and exhausted from cracking up, with mom and brother.
2 – the birds, mice and squirrels that frequent my birdfeeder and ground underneath it.
3 – recalling/dancing old routines with my college friends, prepping for our upcoming reunion.
4 – hit a goal on my diet-down challenge (-30 lbs) yea.
5 – figuring out the whole i-pad,-phone,-cloud, “synch up, download, pick-a-bale-of-cotton” quagmire of directions s-l-o-w-l-y. (Why can’t I just drag a file over to/from my computer?)
6 – Finished another chapter in my middlegrade. Moving on.
7 – Signed up for advanced novel class @UCLA, (took it once before.) Good for the craft and soul.
And now we’re off into fall… Have a good week kickers!
jules said, on 9/15/2013 8:12:00 PM
John, that last kick is perfect, quintessential John. And thanks for the link. AMAZING.
Hi, Bill!
Denise: I want kick #1 to happen to me. And THIRTY POUNDS? Congratulations! And congrats on kick #6, too!
Allison said, on 9/15/2013 11:35:00 PM
Wow – love the moon and this book. I especially love the how-he-did-it stuff. Can’t wait to see the whole book.
Great kicks from everyone! GREAT song “Come to My Party” – a mistake to start listening at 11 pm when I should be asleep! SO excited about Calling Caldecott also! (is one of my kicks too!!!)
It is great to be back. I had to take off August to prepare for my picture book workshop and then travel HOME (sigh!) to New England – had a fabulous time.
My Kicks:
1. Calling Caldecott blog is back – and with gusto!
2-7 Earth Wind and Fire at the Hollywood Bowl (in Los Angeles) this past weekend. Just awesome.
Have a wonderful week!
Allison said, on 9/15/2013 11:36:00 PM
Yup, best not to post at 11:30 at night. This late at night I’m not at my best. I think I counted 5 uses of the word great in less than 100 words – pathetic. Sorry everyone!
Happy Sunday to all. Illustrator Jamie Hogan is visiting today to talk about her latest illustrated book, written by April Pulley Sayre and released back at the beginning of this year. It’s called Here Come the Humpbacks! (Charlesbridge, February 2013), and it tells the story of a humpback whale calf and its mother, as well as the dangers they face during migration.
The image above is from one of Jamie’s sketchbooks. It has nothing to do with April’s book (way more on that below); I just like it.
Let’s get to it, since Jamie talks a bit about creating the illustrations for this book and what’s next for her. (I wish we were chatting in person on the beautiful island where she lives in Maine.)
* * *
Jamie: I have a thing for seven. Is it cosmic or coincidental that my last 7-imp [visit] was in July of 2007?
It so happens I’ve now illustrated seven books. A couple of them have been published in other countries, too. No small thrill for one who lives on a rock about three miles around.
(Click to enlarge)
The main thing is, I live on an island in Maine. Three miles out to sea, in fact. I began drawing pastels of seascapes and boats after moving here 21 years ago. Getting to the ferry on time punctuates my life.
I was ecstatic to be asked to illustrate April Pulley Sayre’s story about a humpback whale and her calf, Here Come the Humpbacks!. I learned so much doing research for the book. It also meant using a lot of blue pastel — and dreaming about whales right out in the water beyond my cluttered studio.
(Click to enlarge)
When I take the ferry to Portland, there are always tankers in Casco Bay.
I drew them for the story, since shipping lanes are one of the hazards for humpback whale migration.
(Click to enlarge)
Here’s one of the sketches I provided. I typically draw around the text areas in pencil. I waited almost two months for approval of sketches, because they needed to be verified by marine scientists for accuracy. That’s non-fiction for you!
(Click to enlarge)
I transferred my sketches to a sanded pastel paper –in this case, a deep red. I let some of the red show through in order to create a color vibrancy with all the blue.
(Click to enlarge)
With soft pastels I’m able to layer over colors, like painting with pigment.
(Click to enlarge)
I left the jelly fish for last! Here’s the final illustration, in which the humpbacks travel many miles — over trash and turtles.
(Click to enlarge)
I worked on the cover illustration absolutely last. I showed seven sketches, of course! This was my favorite. I liked the whale being too big for the book jacket.
(Click to enlarge)
The publishers liked this one best:
(Click to enlarge)
They asked that both the mother and calf appear on the cover, so I did this revision and added a lobster boat on the back.
(Click to enlarge)
Here’s the final book jacket cover, designed by Martha Sikemma at Charlesbridge:
(Click to enlarge)
All during this time, which was about six months, I also was drawing in a sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project 2013 as a fun alternative to my deadline. I drew people and places in Portland, such as Kirsten Cappy, below, sitting pretty in front of a Portland restaurant, Bresca.
She’s also the whiz behind Curious City, who helped me plan a really fun book launch that included a 40-foot inflatable humpback whale, named Istar. Istar just barely fit in the Portland Public Library’s auditorium. This is Curious City intern, Delany Honda, making sure everything is ready.
(Photo by Greta Rybus)
It was truly awesome.
(Photo by Greta Rybus)
I illustrated cards for a migration game that went all around the room, in which kids pretend to be a baby whale going on the journey that happens in the book.
Should I be surprised that kids really like blowing bubbles like baby whales do?
(Photo by Greta Rybus)
The highlight of my summer was finally going on a whale watch in Nova Scotia. And we saw humpback whales! I gave a copy of my book to Petit Passage’s friendly nature guide, Suzanne, who immediately shared it with this family on board for the ride back to port. Absolutely made my entire YEAR.
Now that I’m back in my studio, I’m just starting on another book for Charlesbridge, this one titled John Muir Wrestles a Waterfall by Julie Danneberg. It takes place in Yosemite. All I’ve done so far are preliminary thumbnail sketches, enough to need more reference. I’ve gotten twelve books from the library about him and, yesterday, watched John Muir in the New World, a pretty cool documentary. I had my neighbor, Peter, pose for me out in my daughter’s little pine clubhouse in the backyard.
She’s sixteen now and has no use for it, but it suddenly felt to me like just the right spot to be unplugged. Maybe I’ll do my sketches out there!
I grew up in the White Mountains and visited Yosemite during my years living in San Francisco. I’ve worked before with the designer for this book, Whitney Leader-Picone (a California native), on Nest, Nook & Cranny (Charlesbridge, 2010) by Susan Blackaby and A Warmer World (Charlesbridge, 2012) by Caroline Arnold. We have fun together, and I am eager to draw tall pines and waterfalls!
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.
* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *
Sorry to be brief, but my seven kicks today are wrapped up in the fact that it’s my husband’s birthday this weekend, and we’ve been celebrating. I was so busy celebrating I almost didn’t get to this post. (Blogging should never get in the way of life, mind you, so I made sure to celebrate first, but I’d also never let my kickers down. So, here I am. In the nick of time.)
What are YOUR kicks this week?
Quick note: Here’s a Publishers Weekly article about the fundraiser author/illustrator Joe McKendry and his wife, Susan, put together shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing. Many artists have signed on to participate. In case anyone is interested in contributing, all the info is at that link.
10 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #347: Featuring Jamie Hogan, last added: 9/9/2013
Love seeing Jamie’s work, especially since I just returned from Maine. Didn’t see any whales, but learning about her book is the second best thing.
Happy Birthday to Blaine!
emmaco said, on 9/8/2013 4:21:00 AM
These books sound fascinating as well as beautiful. And I love Jamie’s studio!
I hope your celebratory weekend is going great, Jules!
My kicks:
1. Election day here yesterday. Although I’m not happy with the outcome, the actual voting was a pleasure as always, due in part I’m convinced to our compulsory voting. Basically everyone in the whole neighbourhood turns up at the local school where there is a sausage sizzle and bake sale. Brilliant!
2. Lunch with family where my mum & stepfather got to see Rowan’s beautiful big smile for the first time
3. The Brisbane Writer’s Festival was on this week, and I made it to three sessions, two of which Rowan attended – and between us my husband and I only missed around ten minutes.
4. The panels were great.
5. I actually had time to make dinner from a recipe tonight, albeit a simple one. Mac and cheese! From a magazine article on American diner food as this dish is something most Australians would never have had, and I’ve never made it before.
6. Rowan has just fallen asleep so I am leaving my kicks here to go get my sleep too
adrienne said, on 9/8/2013 6:10:00 AM
Happy birthday, Blaine!
I love so much about this post–Jamie’s illustrations, the Sketchbook Project (reading 7-Imp all these years has made me think that maybe I should try keeping a sketchbook for a while), and that lovely photo of the girl amazed by the whale. Excellent all around! I love, too, that they fact-check nonfiction illustrations. It never occurred to me that they would.
Some kicks:
1. Yesterday I went to the dollar theatre with friends and watched The Heat, which was opso, so much funnier than I expected it to be.
2. And then we went out to dinner.
3. I got a new toy for my cats, who are kind of elderly, and they played with it like wobbly kittens. We had a lot of fun with that.
4. I made a delicious peach cobbler this week, which I served with vanilla ice cream I also made. It was perfect.
5. I am getting the carpets in the lbrary professionally cleaned today (right now!), which is something I’ve been working for a year to get done, so WHEW!
6. The nights are coolimg off, the days are shorter but not yet short, and there were a bunch of yellow leaves on my car when I went outside this morning.
7. I got my first bag of apples of the season at the apfarmer’s market yesterday.
Jone said, on 9/8/2013 7:45:00 AM
Love Jamie’s work, especially her illustrations in Blackaby’s work.
Jules, happy birthday to Blaine. Chuck’s bday is today.
Hi Jama.
Emmacco, how wonderful you parents go to meet baby Rowan.
Adrienne, peach cobbler, yum.
My kicks:
1. Students arrived on Wednesday.
2. Oldest grandgirl spent the night Friday.
3. Shopping with oldest grandgirl.
4. Reading.
5. Writing group.
6. Fresh tomatoes
7. Cooler evenings.
Have a great week.
Lori Nichols said, on 9/8/2013 7:58:00 AM
Lovely! I especially like the photo showing Jamie’s neighbor in her daughter’s pine clubhouse.
Some of my kicks:
1) Amazing girl scout trip to Atlanta seeing the mosaiculture “topiaries” http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org/events-classes/events/imaginary-worlds
2) Ordering and getting Leonard Marcus’ THE MAN WHO COULD NOT STOP DRAWING, RANDOLPH CALDECOTT
3) Riding a smaller duplicate of the London Eye in Atlanta yesterday (it’s a traveling exhibit going from city ot city.)
4) Time with old friends
5) Meeting deadlines
6) daughter’s creativity: attaching wood blocks to the wall with carpenters tape to create a vertical, stair step house for some of her small animals.
7) Our new treehouse library finally opened after renovations and it’s so lovely.
Have a great week everyone and thanks Jules and Jamie.
Little Willow said, on 9/8/2013 8:23:00 AM
Good morning, Imps!
Hello to Jamie and the lovely array of critters. I too like the picture of the little girl amazed by the inflatable whale.
Happy birthday, Blaine!
Happy birthday, Chuck!
emmaco: Sleep well.
Adrienne: Hug the cats for me, please!
Lori: The stair step house sounds awesome, as does the treehouse library.
1) New year
2) Yes
3) No
4) How it’s done
5) Sent and submitted
6) Gif-ted
7) Amelioration
Rachel said, on 9/8/2013 9:27:00 AM
Loved this posting, so jealous of Jamie’s island life. Her illustrations are lovely, I especially liked the gorgeous underwater migration spread, even with the trash! It’s so tranquil and fluid looking. What a fun book launch, that photo of the little girl’s wide-eyed amazement is breathtaking.
Happy birthday to Blaine! Happy celebrating Jules!
Hi Jama!
emmaco – how wonderful Rowan smiled for your parents. How did the mac n cheese come out? Glad you’re getting sleep.
Adrienne – that peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream sounds amazing. Have not seen The Heat yet, but its on my list.
Jone – fresh tomatoes – yum.
Lori – that stair step sounds pretty cool, as does the tree house library.
LW – your kicks are more cryptic than usual this week, but I really like the sound of kick #4.
My quick kicks:
1) A fun brunch with friends.
2) Saw “In A World” and really really liked it.
3) The Portland Thorns winning the NWSL championship!
4) Peyton Manning’s 7 touchdown passes.
5) Made cinnamon vanilla monkey bread this week – it was a big, yummy, gooey, sticky success.
6) Taking Cole to the river to swim.
7) A fun night of wine and cheese with a friend.
Have a lovely week everyone!
Moira said, on 9/8/2013 11:09:00 AM
I’m so excited to see Jamie’s beautiful images here today. I’m a big fan of Jamie and a big fan of humpbacks.
Jules-Happy Birthday to your husband. I hope you’re all having fun.
emmaco- It cracks me up to hear about Mac n Cheese being an exotic dish. It’s a pretty regular item at our house. Lobster Mac n Cheese is popular at the restaurants around here.
Adrienne -Nothing beats those fresh apples. I won’t eat those sawdust tasting ones available in the Summer around here. I’ve become an apple snob.
Jone -I hope you like shopping better than me. I’m sure it was good since you had your girl with you.
Lori -Hooray for meeting deadlines!
LW -Sent and submitted sounds good.
Rachel – Mmmmmonkey bread
Kicks
1. Kids had a fairly smooth transition to back to school. Although we’re a bit tired from the early wake up time.
2. Bought a dress despite hating trying things on.
3. Walking
4. Making left turns in the post-summer season is so easy.
5. Coffee
6. Cleaning out closets
7. Getting ready for more company
Have a great week.
Denise said, on 9/8/2013 11:42:00 AM
a fly-by; (needed at Mom’s house.)
Oh, I’m so intrigued by the blue pastel work atop the RED paper. (!) Had never seen that before. Jamie Hogan’s drawings/book inspired me to take a ferry ride and whale watching. Thx!
One quick KICK to share: (scene from an corny, overwritten/acted movie “Step Up 4 Revolution” that never-the-less has some great dance sequences; the mob concepts, art direction and choreography are all wow-some.) In this scene, a new dancer is being courted to join a flash mob dance crew by letting her experience one of their surprise events in a modern art museum:
I’ve featured a lot of student or brand-new illustrators lately and have yet another today. It’s the first Sunday of February, and the first Sundays of each month are devoted to the new folks, so I keep my promise today.
And I’m happy to welcome Colin Sutherland, whom I’d be pleased to tell you all about, but I’m going to hand 7-Imp over to him so that he can tell you about himself. He’s also sharing some art, of course, and my personal favorite is pictured above.
[Note: Colin and I would both like to point out that Bear Hunt, pictured below in this post, is—in Colin’s words—”a little graphic and upsetting.” Consider yourselves notified, dear Imps.] (more…)
17 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #316: FeaturingUp-and-Coming Illustrator, Colin Sutherland, last added: 2/8/2013
Jules, thank you so much for your help while I was following the ALAYMA on Monday!
Kicks:
1. My kind kind kind graduate thesis adviser.
2. My online friendsssssss.
3. Attending the launch of a picture book created by university students. University students talking about their favorite picture books for the winnnnnnn!
4. People telling me that I look like I’m a celebrity. Hahaha!
5. Being a guest speaker for a children’s literature class.
6. Meeting kidlit writers.
7. Planning a children’s festival OMG I AM SO EXCITED.
Denise said, on 2/2/2013 11:45:00 PM
Enjoying Colin Sutherland’s artwork on this third day in February (What happened to January? I’m still writing 2012 in my checkbook.) I especially like that downview of the three foxes on the game trail and the intriguing broken fence below the farmhouse.
Jules – thanks for sharing Jon K’s interview and Mini Grey’s new website (I have a crush on her Traction Man) and, of course, all the fine music. Enjoy your editorial meeting; bundle up for Boston.
I’ve been AWOL the last couple weeks because I’ve been traveling on Sundays. Two weeks ago, I gave a rhyming picture book workshop at the SCBWI Conference in Florida. Last weekend, I was at my Mom’s house updating her software and playing computer tech (which my sons find laughable—since they are usually my techs.) But hey, I did a pretty good job.
2. My son is 4 for 4 now on college acceptances. Odds are there are still a rejection or two coming his way… but it’s so nice (and a relief!) that he got good news first, from colleges he’s truly interested in. He checks our mailbox every day (it’s nerve-wracking.)
3. Got some positive feedback on my workshop. Always good to hear. Enjoyed the trip and the Miami bookstore Books & Books.
5. Finished “Code Name: Verity” and really enjoyed it. So unique in the way the story unfolds. Reminded me a little of “The Book Thief”.
6. The ALA announcements; and the resulting new stack of books I look forward to reading.
7. The remote-control software I put on my Mom’s computer allows me to help her read/send e-mail, visit her family/friends on facebook and look up answers to things she’s interested in without her having to master new feats on her computer. So when I’m not there, I can still be of real assistance to her. Help her stay social. It is just the best thing since sliced bread!
Have a great week kickers and lurkers and Jules. :- )
Moira said, on 2/3/2013 3:43:00 AM
Just popping in for a pre-breakfast “Hello”.
I’m writing this from my brother’s couch in NYC. I’m off to the last day of the SCBWI Conf.
Wish you all (y’all) were here.
Jone said, on 2/3/2013 6:29:00 AM
Thank you for sharing Collin’s work. I like his perspective.
Jules, the news about Sendak was interesting as we’re the ALA awards.
Tarie, good luck w/ the children’s festival.
Denise, have missed you. It appears we were in Florida the same time. Love that your son has many college choices.
Moira, hi there.
My kicks:
1. Being accepted into a poetry novel workshop at the Highlights Foundation.
2. Having Helen Frost one of the instructors at said workshop.
3. Being back at school.
4. Friends over to celebrate my birthday last night.
5. Time with friends.
6. A collaborative effort with illustration a d haiku will be featured at the Asian Celebration in Eigene.
7.saw a friend off to China this morning.
Have a great week.
Susan Gal said, on 2/3/2013 8:40:00 AM
Great post Jules! Looking forward to seeing more of Colin’s work.
Love the Jon Klassen interview. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the SI Original Art Show in NYC last October. He’s a thoughtful and talented guy.
Since I live in the Bay Area, I guess I have to say Go 49′ers!,
but I’d much rather do the Time Warp again….
JES said, on 2/3/2013 8:44:00 AM
Hello, Kickers!
I was determined to come by 7-Imp this morning, having missed (except belatedly, read-only) the last couple Sundays’ glories here. (Especially happy to have read a couple weeks ago of emmaco’s upcoming family news. We look forward to experiencing second-hand the likely impenetrabilities of Australian baby talk: the mind reels.)
It may go without saying that I love Colin Sutherland’s work. My own favorite may be Canopy’s trees, filled with the ghosts of birds, but The Hat made me laugh. As for the bear-hunt image: yes, disturbing. But it’s also a complete story, compressed into a single frame, and very nicely done. He seems to be approaching the career, the business, and the art of picture-book making very thoughtfully. It doesn’t hurt that (per his Web site) he likes “comics about the apocalypse, children’s books, and gourmet corndogs.”
Jules, I really like Jon Klassen’s thing (whatever it is) about animals their hats, especially missing hats. And boy, great musical selections today. I’ve said it before but in your (haha) spare time you really need to write more about music. (For you to declare a given CD as the best of a given year sure makes ME sit up and take notice.)
Denise! Good to see you! Thanks for the link to the Super Bowl commercial playlist. Now I shall be able to appear cool and knowing tomorrow at the coffee machine at work. And that’s such great news about your young man!
*waving* Hi, Moira!
Happy (belated?) birthday, Jone!
Kicks here, umm…
1. A cloud of bloggish-rethinking ideas.
2. Cool, sunny days.
3. Blowing softly on ash-covered embers to watch them glow. (You may read that metaphorically if you wish.)
4. The quora.com Q-and-A site, which blows my mind every week with new information and/or the generosity of those who offer it. Example: computational neuroscientist (!) Paul King’s answer to the question, “Why do we sleep?”
5. The romantic-comedy science-fictionish movie TiMER charmed me much more than I’d thought it might. The central premise (Wikipedia: “a device that counts down to the moment you meet your soul mate”) is a bit of a stretch; it’s never really explained-explained. But if you just accept that it works in the movie’s world, and force yourself to stop asking questions about it, the film does a very nice (and sometimes even laugh-out-loud) job of poking around the social complexities such a thing might bring about.
6. Making computers do exactly what you want them to do (and their not breaking down on the way there).
7. A couple of years ago I made my first Kickstarter donation, for a new game. They just released part 1 of 5 and (for me) it’s very, very satisfyingly complete and… enigmatic.
Have a great week, all!
Little Willow said, on 2/3/2013 9:04:00 AM
Good morning, Imps! Welcome to February.
Nice to meet you, Colin. Hello to your pup as well. That picture of the dog in the studio is adorable.
Jules: Have a safe and fun trip to and from Boston! Glad that you finally get to meet your editor in person.
Tarie: You are a celebrity in your own right. Have fun speaking, sharing, and planning!
Denise: Continued congratulations to your son, and to you on your accomplishments and endeavors.
Jone: Happy birthday! Congrats on the acceptance.
Hi Susan!
Welcome back, JES! I have yet to see TiMER, though I’ve been intrigued by the premise since its release. Go Emma.
My kicks from the past week:
1) Musical reading
2) Filming! I spent all day on set yesterday. So grateful.
3) Reading new plays
4) Knowledge
5) Research
6) What that is
7) What it could be
This week is tech week for another musical, this one based on a classic children’s novel. You all would dig it.
Dianna Burt said, on 2/3/2013 9:41:00 AM
Hi,
My first time saying anything on 7-Imp. I was blown away by the awards this week!
My kicks are:
1. Taking a Caldecott class from KT Horning - get caught up on all the ‘old’ winners & honors.
2. Thanks for the Darrell Scott intro - he’s awesome, we need some of his CDs
3. Been thinking about writing and illustrating my own book, so thanks for the interview with Jon Klassen, I needed the ‘keep it simple’ advice.
4. Reading “Drummer Hoff” by Barbara Emberley, illustrated by Ed Emberley, for the first time! LOVED it!
5. “Shadow” by Marcia Brown - I love collage, and I’d never seen or read this title before either.
6. During my library’s Mock Caldecott, I found this tltle: “Out on the Prairie” by Donna M. Bateman, illustrated by Susan Swan, and I keep reading, looking at the gorgeous collages and loving it. It’s a piggyback to “over in the meadow” song, but great informational text for young readers. It has notes in the back with more info.
7. Started using a HappyLight, to help with Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Have a terrific first week in Feb. 2012
Dianna Burt
Denise said, on 2/3/2013 9:45:00 AM
Checking back in.
Tarie – I’m sure your children’s festival will be wonderful. Congrats on your students’ launch.
Moira – Hello wave to you, NYC and the conference.
Jone – Yea for your workshop acceptance. Enjoy it and good luck with your poety novel.
Susan – Hi.
JES – Seems we’ve played hooky at the same time; good to see you too. #3 is intriguing. And I totally get the Kickstarter rush of a worthy bet playing out.
LW – Will have to find out more about your upcoming musical… sounds right up my alley.
Little Willow said, on 2/3/2013 10:34:00 AM
Welcome, Dianna!
Thanks, Denise. Email reply coming soon.
jules said, on 2/3/2013 11:06:00 AM
Tarie, I like all your kicks, but I especially want to attend your festival. And I agree with what Little Willow said about your celebrity status.
Denise, congrats on your bang-up computer tech job. I am really amazed by this notion of remote-control software. What the what? Really? That’s new to me, but sounds intriguing. Does it allow for privacy, or is that wonky? Is that a dumb question? And, oh wow, congrats to your son! Wait, that warrants another exclamation mark: ! … Not at all surprised that you got good feedback on your workshop. And thanks for the links, which I’ll explore in a moment here.
Moira, have (more) fun at SCBWI! Thanks for thinking of us to pop in and say hi.
Jone, happy birthday again, and congrats on the workshop!
Hi, Susan! And I’ll do the Time Warp with you.
John, you’re making me giggle with the Australian baby talk bit. I CANNOT WAIT to hear about this baby! … You’re right about the story swirling around Bear Hunt. Intriguing, indeed. … HOW MUCH DO I LOVE KICK #3? And thanks for the movie rec. (I’m intrigued and mystified by kick #1, but I wont’ pry!)
LW: I love “what that is” as a kick. And filming all day! As always, I live vicariously through you.
Welcome, Dianna. And with regard to kick #3: Go for it go for it go for it. … I’ll have to look for the Bateman book. Don’t think I’ve seen it. … And now I’m as intrigued by a Happy Light as I am by remote-control software. I learn so much from you impish kickers.
Denise said, on 2/3/2013 11:23:00 AM
Jules — the remote-control set-ups are completely private (between you and the remote computer you set the software up on. Password/software protected.) You can access your own computer from afar… actually SEE the desk top screen. Move about and grab any files or docs you need. Very cool. It’s the same software/technology that the Support Techs use when you call hp or apple or whomever. I’m using “GoToMy PC” which costs $9 a month. But there are several good providers out there. As for helping an elderly relative who is computer illiterate–it’s simply INVALUABLE! And using it now, I can see it would be great for personal use when I’m on the road; great to have complete home-computer access. Like I said: best thing since sliced bread. ha-ha!
Allison said, on 2/3/2013 1:31:00 PM
Hi Jules and All!
very interesting illustrations. Thanks for sharing them - some are quite lovely, others a bit scary.
My sound is not working on the computer I’m sitting at, so I can’t enjoy a single one of these links until later. I’m adding listening to my kick list.
Mostly this week our news is mixed this week. Our darling foster daughter of 8 weeks was reunited very suddenly with her biological father and grandmother. We are sad to not have her with us, but her family worked very hard to get her back and they love her so much and wanted her even more. While we miss her sweetness, we are hoping they will care for her with the love and gentleness she deserves.
Kicks:
1. can’t wait to listen to all these links from Jules
2. going to watch the Superbowl at my parents’ place. They now are a 3 minute walk through the green.
3. 70 degrees and warm, soft blue sky today in Los Angeles
4. So glad the Caldecott wait is over. Now to study the books again and more carefully.
5. recovering from bronchitis and a sinus infection
6. starting to plan with my dear friends and collegues our next artist nurturing conference next summer in Maine. Some great ideas are rolling around!
Trust you are all well and happy and in art!
Farida @ Saints and Spinners said, on 2/3/2013 2:01:00 PM
I’ve been remiss in my 7Imp visits, and am glad to read everyone’s good news and cheer! As some of you know, I have been an “accidental homeschooler” for two months. My husband and I are planning on our daughter attending a public school in September, but in the meantime, we’re the teachers. With that in mind:
1. Homeschooling has kicked off a new interest in American history for me. Growing up in the Washington, D.C. area meant that I was surrounded by historical artifacts and records, but I wanted to study the Greeks and the Brits instead! I’m grateful now for all of the field-trips and family trips to historical places (the House of the Seven Gables was a favorite). So much of the time, I just remember feeling hot, sticky, and resentful that I wasn’t in Greece or England. Ha.
2. We went to a bakery and I got a peanut butter nanaimo bar. I didn’t share. Bonus!
3. There is a person in my running training group who is willing to do extra miles with me.
4. Adrienne’s FB posting of the unicorns in Canada (and subsequent comments) have me snickering even now.
5. Speaking of unicorns, the Cakespy cookbook is filled with them, as well as trompe l’oeil food concoctions. The family has an idea for a bakery called Trompe L’Oeil, in which we serve soups, bagels, salads, and other items all made out of sugar.
6. I had a lovely visit with my uncle this past week.
7. Someday, I will be done with homeschooling.
Stacey said, on 2/3/2013 2:31:00 PM
Such fun to read so many fun kicks! Yeah for kickers
1. Trip to the city yesterday to see Annie with our girls. Pure joy.
2. Reading Tell the Wolves I’m Home. Amazing read.
3. Skiing today at our small local mountain. Fresh snow and warm weather…
4. The girls performance in their school’s lip sync on Friday night.
5. That we are getting closer and closer to spring.
6. That at least I can look forward to seeing Beyonce tonight (not a big Super Bowl fan!)
7. Winter light through bare winter branches.
Jules said, on 2/3/2013 4:36:00 PM
Thanks, Denise. Intriguing.
Allison, glad you’re feeling better. I’m so sorry you lost the foster child, but she was lucky to have you all while she did. I also hope she gets good care in the hands of her biological family.
Farida, glad your visit with your uncle was good. I wish you luck with the homeschooling and with the public school. … How many miles are you and your running buddy running? Also, I would not share a peanut butter bar either.
Stacey: My youngest would love to see Annie. I should look for it to come to Nashville. … I like winter light, too, but I think I’m ready for spring.
“There was an Old Man with a beard, / Who said, “It is just as I feared! / Two Owls and a Hen, / Four Larks and a Wren, / Have all built their nests in my beard!” — (Edward Lear) (Click to enlarge)
Lately I’ve been featuring quite a few student illustrators or illustrators new to the field, haven’t I? I guess it’s because, as I noted the other day, it’s still January, and I still have a lot of new F&Gs and picture books to go through, and until then, I’ll shine the spotlight on the young ‘uns. Plus, I really enjoy seeing their work.
Today, I welcome Israeli artist and illustrator Gabriella Barouch, who works digitally. I emailed her, after seeing the artwork she shares here today, to clarify: “You mean that you start out with pencil on paper, right? And then you muck around with the art, using your computer?” Nope, she said. It’s all digital. Even her sketches. (more…)
17 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #315: Featuring Gabriella Barouch, last added: 2/6/2013
Some gorgeous images here today, Jules. It’s a public holiday here tomorrow so I will read all the links and listen to the songs tomorrow.
1. Crazy wet weather here in Queensland, with high winds and torrential rain sweeping the state after a tropical cyclone visited the north west. It’s like our delayed wet season has arrived all at once. Thankful we are safe and dry (unlike some people, unfortunately). (and at least the bushfires I talked about recently have died down…so it’s one disaster at a time!)
2. Before the weather turned completely crazy, and was just nicely raining, I was delighted to be able to use a beautiful umbrella I got for my birthday last July but have barely had a chance to use since. Love walking to and from the station in the rain, and a gorgeous umbrella makes it even more fun.
3. A surplus of passionfruit led to some cooking of passionfruit curd this afternoon, yum.
4. Australia Day lunch with friends yesterday followed by board games
5. Seeing ultrasound pictures of my new niece who is due to arrive in a month or so
6. I managed to pop into the giant Lifeline Bookfest after work one day and snagged some bargains. I also donate books back to them (they do great work with free counselling services) so I like the feeling of possibly bumping into my books there.
7. After a day of running in and out of the rain (unavoidable chores and visits) we remembered we had some home-made spaghetti bolognaise in the freezer we can eat for dinner. Perfect.
Susan Sorrell Hill said, on 1/27/2013 3:43:00 AM
Masterful and unique work, Gabriella! Thank you for sharing her this week, Jules: I agree: definitely would be a delightful asset to children’s books. And all digital? Oh my pencils…
jama said, on 1/27/2013 5:59:00 AM
Gabriella’s work is stunning. Bears, teacups and a teapot? *swoon* Very hard to believe it’s all digital.
Love today’s music — I saw CM once! And Time Taunts Me is really lovely. I like picturing your scary faces, J.
Belated Congrats, Emmaco, on the impending arrival! I can just picture you with that pretty umbrella, too. Passion fruit curd? Have mercy!
Cannot wait for tomorrow!! Fingers crossed for my fave PBs.
jone said, on 1/27/2013 7:10:00 AM
As Susan said, “oh my pencils,” to Gabriella’a work. I can’t imagine all digital. I loved the the illustrated Edward Lear’ poems, especially the owls cuz’ I love owls.
Jules, I took oldest grandgirl to Frankenweenie and cried. Loved that line as well.
Emmaco, sounds like you survived the rain. It looked dreadful. Congrats on the new niece.
Jama, I look forward to tomorrow as well.
My kicks:
1. Florida (which was why I missed last week).
2. Visiting my aunt and uncle in Key West. Uncle has cancer and is 83 so it was bittersweet.
3. Dinner with a cousin I hadn’t seen in over 50 years.
4. And the evening was so comfortable with cousin, we were up until the wee hours of the morning.
5. Walking the beach.
6. Returning home.
7. Grandgirl, “I’m dying for a sleepover, grandma.”
Have a great week.
Margie Culver said, on 1/27/2013 8:17:00 AM
It’s hard to believe so much delicate detail can be done digitally but what elegant illustrations. The bird/hands…oh my.
The interview between Erin E. Stead and Chris Raschka was spellbinding. And I always enjoy the Steads award selections.
Jules: I think I need to see Frankenweenie.
Emmaco: I was worried about all the heat and fires but now you’ve the wet. Do take care.
Hello Jama!
Jone: Children without even knowing it, can utter such sweetness…love the sleepover comment
My kicks:
1. Sunrises and sunsets because it means no clouds
2. Skype visit with students in another state doing a Mock Caldecott
3. Warm temperatures finally arrived
4. My plow man came back from Florida
5. Walks with Xena
6. Beautiful full moon last night
7. Anticipation of the ALA awards
Tarie Sabido said, on 1/27/2013 8:34:00 AM
Gabriella, looking forward to your illustrations for children’s and/or YA books!
Jules, thank you for sharing the Shaun Tan interview. I had missed that. And I hope we can (virtually) fangirl together tomorrow!!!
Emmaco, sounds like you had a lovely week. I especially like kick #4. :o)
Susan and Jama, hiiiiiii.
Jone, WHOA and Yay! to kick #3, and awww to kick #7.
Margie, Skype visits are cool!
My kicks:
1. Watch an amazing K-pop concert. Four hours! Six hot acts! Including my obsession: Exo.
2. New friends made at the concert!
3. KakaoTalk (a messaging app) and all its cute emoticons.
4. My cousin moved in with me and my brothers. :o)
5. Children and teens blowing my mind Every. Single. Day.
6. Coffee and a stack of pancakes while finally read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. Frankie is my new role model!
7. Monopoly Deal.
Little Willow said, on 1/27/2013 10:05:00 AM
Welcome, Gabriella! Thanks for sharing your work with us. I like the owls and mice and kitty especially.
Howdy, Imps! Hope January is treating everyone well.
Hi Jules! Hi Eisha!
emmaco: Kudos for donating books.
Jone: My thoughts are with your family.
Margie: Hi Xena!
Tarie: I dig The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Go, E. Lockhart!
My kicks from the past week include:
1) Good books by good people
(The final volume in The Waking trilogy by Thomas Randall is now available, and they’ve re-released all of The Menagerie books by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski a la e-books!)
2) Soup and vegetables
3) Rehearsals
4) Costumes
5) Singing, always
6) Laughter
7) Movies
Adrienne said, on 1/27/2013 11:15:00 AM
Gabriella is expanding my beliefs about what digital art can be and do. Wow. Special thanks for sharing these, Jules.
I have yet to see Frankenweenie. Must get to that.
Emmaco, I will be thinking of passion fruit curd for the rest of the day.
Little Willow, As always, your Kicks make me want to run and DO something.
My Kicks have been time off work this week and a weekend trip to visit a dear friend in Durham. I am now on an absurdly long layover at JFK, which has given me an excellent opportunity to sit in an out-of-the way sunny spot and catch up on Kicks. So it’s a good day.
Rachel said, on 1/27/2013 11:20:00 AM
Oh my, the detail is incredible, I love the owls too, but also the portrait of Edward Lear and his cat.
Jules - have not seen Frankenweenie yet, but now it’s on my list. The Ben Harper is good! I’ve got Lyle Lovett on now so I’ll listen to Lost in the Trees later.
emmaco - a beautiful umbrella in the rain is a wonderful thing.Passionfruit curd, oh my! Lunch and board games with friends sounds delightful. Sounds like a great week!
jone - what a lovely and full week. That quote from your grandgirl must have been so sweet to hear.
Margie - sunrises and sunsets and walks with Xena sound wonderful. And wasn’t that moon amazing?
Tarie - fun concerts are the best. I’m a fan of Frankie Landau-Banks too - love that book!
LW - soup and veggies and good books are a great winter combination! The movies and rehearsals and singing sound about as full and fun as I imagine your weeks to be!
My kicks this week:
1) Made butternut & acorn squash soup from scratch for the week - perfect for the cold.
2) My nephew liked the Bone books I got him for Christmas - always nice when you get the gift right. (Thanks LW for the recommendation!)
3) Did a presentation at a local college for work yesterday - it was fun & the students were enthusiastic & had great questions.
4) Soccer game yesterday afternoon - another really fun good game, but boy am I sore today! The good kind of sore though. We won.
5) Watched “The Secret in Their Eyes” last night. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2010 & it was a beautifully told, intensely lovely, dark, haunting & hopeful story.
6) Slow morning today with coffee, happy Cole, & Lyle Lovett playing in the background.
7) The pep talk from this Kid President - what an awesome kid! http://youtu.be/l-gQLqv9f4o
Hope everyone has a week full of smiles!
Little Willow said, on 1/27/2013 2:42:00 PM
Adrienne: Have a safe trip home!
Rachel: I’m so glad to hear that he liked the books. Hurrah! Did he read the whole Spark trilogy?
Susan said, on 1/27/2013 3:09:00 PM
Really appreciate the Top 7 list. Recognizing the beauty in these little things really makes the big things all the more powerful.
Stacey said, on 1/27/2013 6:17:00 PM
I’m here late this week but just want to say hi and as I read on Twitter today, “Happy Newbery/Caldecott Eve!” I can’t wait! Hope all kickers have a great week and I promise real kicks next week
emmaco said, on 1/27/2013 6:23:00 PM
I spoke too soon about being dry - water has been seeping out of the ground into the area under the house (cement storage area mostly) overnight. But it’s not too hard to sort out and we have actually had SUNSHINE today.
LW donating books is really a selfish act to make sure that I am not crushed by the piles of them around the house.
Tarie I love Frankie Landau Banks! A great role model
Rachel acorn squash sounds so cute! I think we have something similar but with another name. I will just start calling it acorn pumpkin (we tend to call nearly all squash pumpkins) anyway.
jules said, on 1/27/2013 7:51:00 PM
Emmaco, I am scared for you, what with the crazy weather there. Thank goodness you all are okay.
Hi, Susan! Yes, she says it’s all digital. Wild, huh?
Jama, I thought of you when I saw the teacups image.
Jone, so glad you had a good visit with family. Enjoy the impending sleep-over. My girls think sleeping over at Granny’s or Grandma’s is the best thing.
Margie, which book won the Mock Caldecott? I’m so excited for tomorrow!
Tarie, yes, fangirl we shall. I like how you made that a verb. I LOVE FRANKIE. I do. I do. I want to hand that novel to every high school female I meet. Feminism 101. … Your cousin moved in? I bet you all have so much fun together.
LW, I like kick #1, in particular, though—as Adrienne said—your kicks always make me want to get up and go go go, too.
Adrienne, safe travels, and let me know what you think of Frankenweenie. Piper is so Victor.
Rachel: LYLE! … Congrats on the soccer game score. Also, a good friend tells me my oldest would like the Bone books, and I want to get her the volume of all of them together. … Thanks for the movie tip. I just added it to the Netflix queueueueeuue. … Thanks for the video. I agree about the boring in the world.
Hi, Susan.
Stacey, Caldecott Eve! I’m so excited!
Sarah Melling said, on 1/28/2013 3:46:00 PM
Thank you ever so much for introducing us to Gabriella Barouch…those images take my breath away. I can’t fathom how they are done digitally; I think that some magic spell is involved. What a treasure she is.
jules said, on 1/28/2013 6:20:00 PM
Glad you enjoy the artwork, Sarah.
Exquisite Nonsense | quietestnoise said, on 2/3/2013 8:12:00 PM
[…] reading 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast, I came across a post about an Israeli artist, Gabriella Barouch, and her illustrations for a book […]
Ah well. I am declaring it means only good things.
Today at 7-Imp I welcome a debut author/illustrator, named Angela Dominguez (pictured left with Hugo), who is originally from Mexico City but now lives in San Francisco, where she also teaches at the Academy of Art University. Angela’s debut picture book will be released this March from Dial Books. Let’s Go, Hugo! tells the story of a bird who prefers walking to flying. He’s not trying to be different for the sake of it; he’s actually afraid of flying. Not that Dominguez opens the book this way. “Hugo was content to live on the ground,” she writes, but we readers ease into the notion that he’s really beset by fears.
Things change when Hugo meets Lulu, the same day he’s building a model (on the ground, of course) of the Eiffel Tower. When Lulu tells him they can fly to the Eiffel Tower and see the real deal, Hugo’s got all kinds of excuses as to why he won’t go. Just when things start to feel really hopeless for Hugo (since Lulu does what she can, but nearly gives up on him) … well, I can’t give the entire story away, but if you’re interested in reading it, it’ll be on bookstore and library shelves, come Spring.
The illustration note on the copyright page indicates that Dominguez uses “Canson paper, ink, [and] tissue paper … on illustration board.” Angela’s here today to tell us a bit more about this and her work, so let’s get right to it. I thank her for visiting. (more…)
29 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #313: Featuring Angela Dominguez, last added: 1/18/2013
And I do remember that book in kick #5, so nice to hear it has won an award.
I missed your post on Friday starting Jonathan Bean, what a fantastic range of images. I will re-visit tomorrow and enjoy at leisure.
1. Friends over for a lazy breakfast today
2. And it wasn’t too hot outside for us to sit outside for most of the time – it has been crazily hot here recently. But seeing as nothing is on fire nearby I try not to complain about wilting plants etc!
3. Speaking of which, did you see these amazing photos from the fires down in Tassie?
4. My wonderful husband figured out a fast way to get music off my old ipod and onto my new one after I said I thought I would just keep using the old one forever, even if it meant I had to charge it each time. (I was in a tired state of mind…)
5. Ants were busy moving down from our roof into a potted plant (see I remembered that you don’t say pot plant in the US!) and although I was very tempted to discourage them with a flood of water, it was too amazing seeing all the little pupae being carried along. Plus they were so organised.
6. Baby sat my 2.5 year old niece after work during the week, and we had a wonderful time watering plants (she was very taken with my tiny watering can), collecting an egg out of the coop and then eating it for dinner, and reading books together. She loves telling her own stories from books to us now, very cute.
7. So so close to a version of my revised journal paper to back to the journal
Adrienne said, on 1/13/2013 6:19:00 AM
I love Hugo! I’m looking forward to seeing the book.
Oh, Jules, I feel for poor Piper! I don’t blame her screaming. Dental work is terrifying.
That Andrew Bird clip is, indeed, lovely, and that SNL sketch cracks me up. I have to start incorporating “Don’t This American Life me” into conversation.
My kicks:
1. I got notice on Friday that HPL will be receiving a $5000 bequest.
2. I had a great meeting with the library board this week where we had a good discussion about our mission and vision. I’ve been laying the groundwork to start redoing these things and moving into branding and strategic planning, which, I know, sounds awful, but it’s actually moving us into important and productive discussions and giving us focus. It’s exciting to see that happening.
3. I bought a new dress, which is always fun.
4. I finished Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson, which made me laugh a lot.
5. My mom and I went to the Eastman Museum yesterday, which is right up the street now. It was a lovely day and a lovely walk, and it was good to hang out with my mom.
6. Last night, friends came over for dinner and helped me hang pictures. I’m still getting settled in my new place.
7. This is totally out of the national news now, but in the wake of the firefighters being murdered here on Christmas Eve, there remains so much positive energy and acts of kindness here in our community. People are determined to try to minimize others’ suffering and are doing something about it. It is a fitting living memorial to two men who believed in minimizing suffering.
Margie Culver said, on 1/13/2013 8:42:00 AM
Thanks again, Jules, for introducing us to another delightful character, Hugo. I’m looking forward to this book and other work by Angela Dominquez.
Jules: I completely enjoyed your highlighting of Jonathan Bean.
Emmaco: I like your heart; watching the ants moving and letting them carry on with their lives.
Adrienne: I’ve put the Eastman Museum on my list of places to visit.
My kicks:
1. My amaryllis bulbs are starting to grow.
2. Boxes of new books arrived
3. New yellow shoes
4. Two days with sunshine
5. Spotting a bald eagle flying over the lake
6. Star-filled skies
7. Xena sleeping across my feet
Jessica Young said, on 1/13/2013 8:53:00 AM
Love Hugo and Lulu! They look like they’re having a fantastic time! And I love how she is inspired by such a wide variety of experiences and art.
Just listening to that beautiful song right now. Thanks so much for posting that link.
Yay for story-telling and new dresses!
It’s been a Kick-y week:
1/ Aforementioned book launch. SO overwhelmed by the sense of community and shared purpose of this group of amazing people, and so happy to celebrate their successes!
2/ Watching my 7yo get two baskets at her game this week and seeing her satisfied smile.
3/ Having lots of projects going, and desperately wanting to work on them.
4/ Realizing that I have 13 days off from work for spring break, and aspiring to tackle those projects with wild abandon.
5/ Introducing favorite people to one another and wondering what good things may transpire.
6/ Napping with cuddly 9yo and listening to the rain. Watching him sleep all curled up beside me and hearing his sweet breathing.
7/ Going to African dance and shaking it as best I could on four hours’ sleep.
Tarie said, on 1/13/2013 9:27:00 AM
Hi, everyone!!!
Kicks:
1. My brothers.
2. My cousins.
3. Sweet and friendly children.
4. Respectful students who are serious about improving.
5. Connecting with teens over K-pop.
6. A Christmas and New Year vacation spent just eating, playing Uno and Monopoly Deal, and sleeping.
7. Friends.
Bonus kick is this exchange:
Kidlit Writer: Hahahah! You’re so funny. You’re really like a character from a book.
Tarie: Which character am I like now? =P
Kidlit Writer: A character I’m going to create. Hahahah.
Little Willow said, on 1/13/2013 9:37:00 AM
Fly by! I will be back later with responses.
Check out this fun meme I found via Kiba:
You find yourself in front of seven identical doors. A voice from above tells you, “These seven doors lead to seven different places: Narnia, Neverland, Wonderland, Hogwarts, Camelot, Middle Earth, and Westeros.” Which door do you go through? Why that door? What happens?
Hi everyone! It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to kick here. So glad to see everyone. Especially glad to see Angela’s work. Let’s Go Hugo looks delightful. Thanks for sharing your sketches.
Emmaco: How wonderful a day it sounds for you and your 2.5 year old niece. Nothing beats collecting eggs from the coop!
Adrienne: I love nesting and getting a home set up with pictures. Sounds like you have wonderful friends!!
Jessica: Not sure what sounds better…napping with 9 year old or going dancing!
Hi Little Willow
Jules: So sorry your daughter had a rough dentist visit. Have you read Vera Goes to the Dentist by Vera Rosenberry? She gets up and leaves the dentist chair and runs around the block! My kinda girl that Vera!
My kicks:
1) Pilates classes helping with my back woes.
2) My daughter has started asking for her allowance in dimes so she can save her money more easily!! Someone told her that a liter coke bottle filled to the top = $2000. (?) Don’t quote me here.
3) I finalized my first picture book art and now I just need to send it on and work on the jacket! YAY! This should really be #1. It was such a great experience.
4) My 8 year old was sick this past week, which is NOT my kick , but we just happened to get a few Bewitched episodes from our library and we both sat and laughed three mornings away. It’s funny to see so many in a row…I think the plot is exactly the same in each one!
5) My daughter bought 2 copies of WONDER for her middle school library after watching some bullying happen to a *different* student at her school. Perhaps we should purchase a few Each Kindness books for our elementary too…
That’s all for now. Happy 13th everyone. Thanks again Jules for the post…and Angela for sharing.
Lori
JES said, on 1/13/2013 10:52:00 AM
Hello, Kickers!
I hope Angela Dominguez either knows how to do animation herself, or knows someone else who does. Her artwork (including some of the simple black-and-white illos at her site and blog) seems to be already in motion. (And what a wonderful variety of influences she cites. THAT’S a cocktail party it’d be fun to crash, or just eavesdrop on.)
Three Times Lucky sounds like a definitely fun and non-boring read, Jules (for adults as well as kids). I just read the Kirkus review of it, from last May, which mentions the protagonist’s name — sixth-grader Mo LeBeau (!), “a latter-day Philip Marlowe” — and quotes the first sentence (”Trouble cruised into Tupelo Landing at exactly seven minutes past noon on Wednesday, the third of June, flashing a gold badge and driving a Chevy Impala the color of dirt”). Wow! Easy to see why somebody would want to read the *second* sentence, and the third, and…
I may need to steal the word “screamy.” (I think it was Eisha who introduced me to the word “stabby”; “screamy” is right up there in the same appealing lexicon of the stars.)
Such great kicks from everybody today, even the flyer-by…
emmaco, that extended moment when little kids (like your niecelet) start telling stories is wonderful, isn’t it?
(Btw, I hadn’t seen those fire-related photos, but YIKES. I did see some satellite imagery of Australia this week, though, which emphasized the infrared — the *hot* — end of the spectrum, and gave me the willies.)
Great news about the bequest, Adrienne! It’s definitely not a good time to be seeking or hoping for donations for arts/cultural institutions in many places, which must make the 5K especially welcome.
Hi, Jessica! My shining moment of scholastic athletics was a two-minute pity stint in a single 8th-grade basketball game when I ran up and down the court a few times and prayed no one would pass the ball to me (my prayers were rewarded); I can barely imagine the excitement your 7-year-old must have felt.
Tarie!!! Your bonus kick, like Jules’s “screamy,” may just have to be something I steal from today’s kicks.
LW — I’m not sure what door I’d pick (I kinda wish there were one to 221B Baker Street)… probably Middle Earth, as long as it landed me in The Shire or Rivendell. Or maybe Treebeard’s upper branches. Somehow, before clicking on your link, I managed to guess which one *you’d* pick. Heh.
My kicks:
1. Improv/automatic writing
2. We just signed up for Hulu, expressly to FINALLY watch Downton Abbey’s season 2. Saw the first two eps last night. (I feel like the kid in the old Lay’s potato chip ads: “Betcha can’t eat one…”)
3. Varied, many-layered work assignments
4. Finding out that an upcoming big-and-new technology won’t be nearly as unpleasant and ugly and distruptive as feared.
5. Turning on the Christmas-tree lights one, last, time before taking the tree down.
6. Newly begun stories, even when followed by the word maybe.
7. Suddenly realizing you’ve been asleep for a minute or two, on a night when it’s okay to just hit the mental Pause button for a moment, get undressed and under the covers, and then hit Resume without losing the train of sleep.
Have a great week, all!
JES said, on 1/13/2013 11:07:00 AM
P.S. Lori — $2000 may be optimistic. I found a couple of sites that calculated the volume of a dime, and then — I remembered your bottle as TWO liters — ran the division myself and came up with less than 6000 dimes (or $600). And that more or less assumes that the bottle is completely filled with dimes — no air between them, which is impossible. So in a ONE-liter bottle, maybe $200? Yeah. Maybe your figure was off by just a decimal place.
jules said, on 1/13/2013 12:47:00 PM
Emmaco, she is two-and-a-half years old already? Seems like she was born yesterday, as cliche as that sounds. It has been warm here, too, and it’s not supposed to be. It’s January, for crying out loud, and we had our air conditioning on yesterday. I get cold in seventy-degree weather, but even I think that’s depressing (for winter).
Adrienne, congrats again on the money. SO DESERVING. That is a lot of great money to spend, too. Kick #2 makes me cheer, too. Your last kick gives me hope for the world, and I’m glad you had good, quality time with your mother.
Jess: Yes, she is inspired by a wide variety of artists, both contemporary and long-gone and both in children’s lit and not-children’s-lit-at-all. Or, what John said: Cocktail party, please … I love all your projects and your eagerness to write. Again, you’re the hardest-working author I know.
Tarie, that is a great exchange. Also, I love Uno. And the other day in the middle of dinner, my seven-year-old wondered aloud if Spanish speakers yell “ONE!” during that game when they have one card left. … Your students are lucky, Tarie. I say that all the time, but it’s oh-so true.
Little Willow—I mean, Tink—that was fun to read. (I wish I could leave comments over there … I can’t get it right.) Good choices. I’d have to choose Hogwarts first, or my daughters would kill me for the missed opportunity … Hope your day is good, LW.
Lori: No, haven’t seen that Rosenberry book, but I’ll look for it. …Congrats on kick #3! OH MY GOSH, exciting. And I love your daughter for doing what she did.
John: Yes, the book is wonderful and is also a big Newbery contender right now. (What’s that? How many days till the big ALA Awards announcements and the CALDECOTT IS ANNOUNCED? Why, it’s just 14 days away!) I read this book, John, for a book club meeting tonight (I normally don’t do book clubs, ’cause I read on my own slow schedule and I also don’t like being told what to read! But I couldn’t pass this group of smart, smart people up), and I had a serious disconnect with the other book we read (just never got invested in it), but really, really love Three Times Lucky. … I GOTTA WATCH DOWNTON ABBEY ALREADY. (Good news: I read this week that West Wing made it to Netflix. Want to start that, too.) … I like your kick #6.
Moira said, on 1/13/2013 12:49:00 PM
Happy 13, 13!
I just finished reading, “French Milk” by Lucy Knisley so I was in a Paris state of mind when I read this post. The images are lovely. Thank you for sharing.
Jules - Love the links and I do remember kick #5. Happy to hear it being praised. Sorry about the scary trip to the dentist.
emmaco - Stay cool.
Adrienne - Stay warm.
Jessica - Yay! Lucky ‘13
Tarie - Happy New Year!
LW - I think I would feel safest in Wonderland.
Lori - Kick #3 (which should be #1) Hooray!! Can’t wait to see it.
JES - I am glad the Patriot’s game will be over before the start of Downton so I don’t have to wait another day to watch.
Kicks
1. braids
2. Legos
3. 30 Rock
4. drawing
5. basketball
6. family near by
7. I placed my order for some new promotional postcards. If any of you would like to be added to the mailing list, I’d be happy to send you one. Just send me your snail mail address to [email protected]
Go Pats!
jules said, on 1/13/2013 12:53:00 PM
Margie, spam ate your kicks! I just saved them, though. So sorry, on behalf of 7-Imp.
Moira and Margie, back soon ….
jules said, on 1/13/2013 1:26:00 PM
Margie, you always have such good, rich kicks, which remind me that the best kicks are the most elemental things. I’d like some yellow shoes, too. I like yellow. One day, I want a yellow house (exterior).
Moira: We purged the daughters’ room this weekend, a painful activity (only for me, evidently), but the girls gladly gave away, like, 95% of their dolls. They’re all about LEGOs now and just wanted to make room for them. LEGOs, LEGOs, LEGOs, they are all things LEGOs. … Also, I’m glad your family is nearby.
This makes the 13th comment. Fitting.
Little Willow said, on 1/13/2013 1:48:00 PM
Happy 313rd Kicks, Imps!
Hello to Angela - and Hugo, and LUlu - Pleasure to meet you. The book looks like fun. Digging the storyboard and sketches. Best of luck with your forthcoming titles. I particularly like the sound of Mary Had a Little Llama.
Jules: Sending comfort to the little one. Glad that the community is so supportive! Listening to/watching the Andrew Bird performance now.
emmaco: I hope you are not sweltering. I heard about the heatwave and couldn’t fathom the 122+ degreees. Enjoy the journals, the friends, and the feasts!
Adrienne: I hope it’s starting to feel like home for you.
Margie: What do your new yellow shoes look like? Yay for stars and sunshine. Hi to Xena.
Jessica: Congrats on the book launch! Sounds like you had a verry happy week. Introducing folks is always fun. Enjoy.
Tarie: I knew that was your post/your list just from the first item! I know someone who loves K-pop. She played I Got a Boy in my store this week.
Lori: Welcome back! Sending healing thoughts to your injured back. Congrats on finalizing your PB art. Healthy vibes for your kiddo, too, and kudos for your book donations.
JES: Indeed - it would be Wonderland for me, no contest! Good luck with the writing.
Jules: When I had it open to all comments, no sign-in, no captcha, then I get spam galore - we’re talking ten to twenty comments a day of spam, some really horrible stuff. So I changed the setting to that which requires proof of intelligence, and now I rarely get ANY comments at all. Oy. I hope people still read my blog. I can totally picture your girls squealing and wearing striped scarves to honor their houses…
Moira: Yes! re: Wonderland. And, also, braids.
My kicks from the past week:
1) Music (I now own all of Brooke Fraser’s albums)
2) The release of the book Bone: Quest for the Spark, Book Three by Tom Sniegoski and Jeff Smith http://bit.ly/Y1A3Si
3) The re-release of Meets the Eye by Christopher Golden
4) Performing in a reading of Can’t Hardly Wait
5) Good people being acknowledged
6) Rehearsals
7) Preparation
jone said, on 1/13/2013 4:03:00 PM
Just a fly by to say hi to all kickers today. Limited Internet as I am at my daughter’s house. Oldest grandgirl is in seventh heaven. Our water main broke to the house so we don’t have water. Hopefully it can be fxed tomorrow….yikes.
jules said, on 1/13/2013 5:29:00 PM
Sorry to hear that, Jone, but yes, it’s good news for the granddaughter! Enjoy it. Hope things get fixed soon.
jules said, on 1/13/2013 6:36:00 PM
LW, the spam-catcher also tried to eat your comment. (Sorry!)
Yes, we still read your blog! And I understand about the pesky spam. I wonder why you got *so much* spam? That’s A LOT.
What is Can’t Hardly Wait? I’ll have to look it up.
Jone: Hope the problem is resolved soon! You’re so lucky to have family you can stay with and that you’re still safe and sound, even when temporarily displaced.
Tarie said, on 1/13/2013 9:35:00 PM
Little Willow, I love “I Got a Boy”! It’s from Girls’ Generation. Please tell your friend that I am watching Girls’ Generation in concert this Saturday!!!
Allison said, on 1/13/2013 10:40:00 PM
Hugo - SO Charming!
Andrew Bird - good grief, this is wonderful.
Ira Glass - brilliant
Kickers - awesome all! What good lives.
I am nearly delirious from lack of sleep caring for 5 week old darling foster baby we call B. Keep forgetting to stop by on Sundays, but catching bits of kicks and other posts when I am up in the night with her.
My Kicks:
1. Baby B is growing and thriving - we are thrilled.
2. Precious Aunt and Uncle visiting this weekend
3. incredible evening of story telling and reminiscing (uh-oh, too sleepy to remember how to spell) with long time, dear friends and family tonight - the atmosphere was joyously sacred.
4. My big Little has gotten out his baby doll to dress in Baby B’s clothes and he cares for his doll the way we do Baby B. It is hilariously touching.
5 to 7. Snazzy goodbye lunch on Sat. at Ethiopian restaurant for a friend moving to Madison. Also very touching to be on a room of people committed to fostering and adopting children from around the world and from our city who needed a chance to trhive and now have been given that chance. The world is full of so many kind and generous people carrying out acts of love and kindness every minute. Never mind what the news says - we will continue to thrive.
NIghty-night.
Rachel said, on 1/13/2013 11:17:00 PM
Hugo is so adorable and I love his enthusiasm.
Jules, congrats on the 313th kick’s post!
emmaco - lazy breakfast with friends sounds amazing.
Adrienne - I loved Jenny Lawson’s book too - parts made me laugh out loud. Glad your community is staying so positive and pulling together.
Margie - spotting a bald eagle is so magical.
Jessica - matchmaking favorite friends is so fun.
Tarie - your vacation sounds pretty perfect.
Lori - hooray for you and your daughter - so incredibly thoughtful!
John - I wanted to to tell you I loved your comment a few weeks ago about me being surrounded by kids, friends and dogs sounded like my kind of atmosphere (paraphrasing here) - it is, and I love that you know that from me kicking here for a couple of years. Have to check out Downton Abbey - and yay for complex work assignments.
Moira - yay for braids, basketball, and family near by.
LW - I would pick Narnia. It was one of my first of all those series, and I have a serious soft spot for Aslan. Thanks for the write up on Bone - I just bought the series for my nephew!
Allison - so happy baby B is growing and thriving!
My quick kicks:
1)Cole’s yearly at the vet’s - he’s lost a couple of pounds and is super healthy after 1 year with me!
2) A fire in the fireplace while it’s freezing outside.
3) Lots of big work accomplishments this past week - not a lot of sleep involved, but well worth the outcomes at the end.
4) An apology two years later from someone I care for deeply. I had already forgiven them, so very glad they were finally ready to ask for it and receive it.
5) Goodbye drinks with a good friend moving out of state - so proud of them for taking a huge leap into the unknown.
6) Laughing at myself for being a dork - put my xmas tree in the car to take to recycling, but they’d closed up for the day so it turns out I just took my old tree for a ride in the car.
7) Have all the episode of The West Wing now to dive into - friend who is moving brought them to me to borrow - I may just take some time off of work to watch them all!!!!
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Rachel said, on 1/13/2013 11:20:00 PM
Last kick - I am so loving the new series Nashville and am really into the music as well. This video made me think of you and your daughters Jules!
LW it’s only that hot in places hardly anyone lives, most of our cities are more like 95-105 (Though I’m not sure that would be much comfort to those living in the ridiculously hot areas…)
Such nice kicks as always. Commenting on just a few…
Adrienne, if you’re hanging pictures already you sound pretty settled in! From what I’ve seen on your blog your new place looks very interesting - hope the settling in continues to go well.
Allison glad to hear baby B is doing well! 5 weeks, wow, best wishes to you! And a lovely final kick.
Rachel, enjoy West Wing - a friend of mine managed to get through all the series very speedily after I lent them to her when she said how much time she was spending nursing her baby on the couch!
Margie Culver said, on 1/14/2013 8:12:00 AM
Jules: That spam must have been hungry. Thanks for making it give up my kicks. Have a great week.
Little Willow: Here is the the link to my new yellow shoes. They were a splurge to be sure using some Christmas money. I like to think I’ll be walking in sunshine. http://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/code/56480.do
jules said, on 1/14/2013 8:35:00 PM
Oh, more kickers! I’ll be back tomorrow, promise!
jules said, on 1/15/2013 6:58:00 AM
Allison, ohhhhhh, congrats on Baby B. I hope you enjoy every moment and also get as much sleep as possible. What a lucky child. I like the reminder in your last kick.
Rachel: My heart just grew three sizes at the news about Cole. OF COURSE he’s thriving with you! Also, I envy your fireplace. Kick #4 is really, really nice. … Did you see that I read that West Wing is on Netflix now? I want to dive in, too. … Your tree story made me laugh outloud. (Still haven’t seen Nashville. I’m a bad Nashvillian! And, wow, those girls can sing.)
Margie: Nice shoes!
Rachel said, on 1/15/2013 7:09:00 PM
Jules - hope you put West Wing in your queueueueue…..I am doling episodes out to my self as rewards.
And those little girls are Lennon and Maisy Stella - their parents are the duo The Stellas.
Thanks for the sweet words about Cole, I’m pretty stoked he’s doing so well, he’s a sweetheart.
Little Willow said, on 1/18/2013 6:38:00 PM
Tarie: Have fun at the concert! I am sure she would be extremely jealous and beg you for details.
Allison: Yay for you and your family! Very sweet that he is showing care as well. Best wishes to all of those generous hearts!
Rachel: I hope your nephew digs the Bone: Quest for the Spark trilogy! So glad that Cole is doing well. Your 4th kick - wow. And Aslan.
emmaco: Hope you can stay cool in that heat.
Margie: I challenge you to sing, I’m walkin’ on sunshine - Whoa, oh! in a public place while you are doing just that.
Instead of featuring a brand-new picture book today or an up-and-coming illustrator, I’ve got artwork from one of my favorite picture book artists, Elisa Kleven.
The new year is upon us, and when I thought about sharing artwork as we edge up on 2013, some art that would buoy our spirits, I immediately thought of her.
Elisa sent me a handful of illustrations, and it was hard to choose which to share (for many reasons, I’m going to keep this post relatively short and sweet this week), but I chose the one above, and these two: (more…)
31 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #311(New Year’s Edition): Featuring Elisa Kleven, last added: 1/2/2013
CONGRATULATIONS JULES!! Woot woot! What wonderful news about your manuscript!
What perfect illustrations for this post too- they are so joyful and warm.
That evening of sleepovers with wine pizza and movies sounds pretty great too.
I watched the link to the Christopher Nieman piece and was moved to tears - so sweet and genuine - all of it.
My kicks this week:
1) Had a small party with friends this weekend at my house. Lots of wine, beer, food, kids and parents and dogs - it was nice to have my house so full of laughter.
2) Introducing different friends to each other - more Firefly fans connecting! And some geeking out about the sequel to Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog.
3) Finished Season 1 of the West Wing. Cannot wait to start Season 2.
4) Reading Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.
5) Planning wine tasting trips.
6) My friend and her 5 year old singing “Sisters” for all of us. They’d just watched White Christmas and she loved the movie as much as her mama.
7) Taking some time off this week. I love the holidays, but get a little melancholy too, so I like to spend some time alone to reflect, recharge and get inspired about life and all the things headed my way in the coming year. Jules, I’m with you, New Year’s Eve is over-rated, but I am deeply in favor of mimosas on New Year’s Day. I’ll raise my mimosa glass in your direction to toast your manuscript success, and subsequent book success.
Happy New Year everyone - been such a pleasure to spend another year of Sundays kicking with all of you - wishing all of you all good things in 2013.
Little Willow said, on 12/30/2012 12:14:00 AM
Good morning, Imps! Happy holidays!
Hi Elisa. Your name is awesome. Your peace piece is pretty.
Jules & Betsy: Congrats, and good luck with the copy editing!
Jules: Something fun to do on NYE: Celebrate everyone’s accomplishments, things they are proud of doing this past year, and writing down favorite things (colors, song, movie, sport, food) then comparing them next year to see what’s changed and what’s stayed the same! Glad that you & yours are doing well.
Rachel: That’s the best song in that movie - or at least the most fun!
My kicks from the past week:
1) Visiting family!
2) Writing
3) Leverage*
4) Breathing
5) Layers
6) Scrabble
7) Music
* For those of you just tuning in, I love the TV show Leverage. I watched it from the very first episode until the last - the series finale aired on Christmas evening - and I enjoyed every second of it. Please give the show a try - rent/buy the DVDs/episodes, whatever method you prefer - if you like one or more of the following things:
Bad guys getting their comeuppance a la Robin Hood
Justice (see above)
Atypical heroes (The main characters are a thief, a grifter, a hacker, a ‘retrieval specialist’ aka the muscle, and a ‘mastermind’ of a leader who has a personal crusade)
Action (great stuntwork!)
Romance (connection and commitment, not smut)
A great mix of drama and comedy
Character arcs, character growth, and general awesomeness
Margie Culver said, on 12/30/2012 6:50:00 AM
Good Sunday morning, Jules!
I am so very happy for you and Betsy that the revisions have been excepted. I can hardly wait to hold that book in my hands.
Plus your daughters are a true delight; thanks for sharing with us.
The Christoph Niemann piece touched me deeply. I’ve watched it repeatedly.
So glad Rachel you been able to spend time with family and friends plus the pause to reflect.
My kicks this week:
1. Getting a couple of good pics of the full moon on a crisp clear night.
2. Finding a good soup mix (Frontier Soups) for a Chicken Stew. Most of those mixes are so-so. I’d rather make from scratch but this was…yummy
3. Reading through my Christmas book collection and being a guest writer on another blog about favorite books of the season.
4. Getting a gift certificate for one of my favorite stores, going there the day after Christmas and finding my favorite ornaments were 1/2 off.
5. Good friends
6. Crackling fires
7. Walks with my furry friend Xena. She’s lying at my feet as I write.
I, too, am wishing everyone a Happy New Year. May 2013 be the best one yet.
Moira said, on 12/30/2012 7:08:00 AM
Happy New Year Imps!
I love Elisa’s festive, bright pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Jules- Congratulations to you and Betsy. Peter’s legacy lives on in this book. I can’t wait to read it.
I watched the video. I remember catching this exact clip of “Fresh Air” in the car on my lunch break and having to wipe away my tears before going back to work. Beautiful.
Thank you for all of your wonderful postings in 2012. Here is to lucky ‘13!
Rachel- Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday and that you are already planning a wonderful year. I raise my glass of craft beer to you.
Kicks?!
Yes, this weeks kicks felt like kicks in the way that I have to get some ice and ibuprofen to recover.
1. Sunday we had a big Holiday party that was much fun, full of food and drinks and hugs.
2. Monday we drove off-Cape for a traditional Italian Christmas Eve where we re-enacted a photo of my family from 1984. http://atlanticmo.tumblr.com/post/38760280173/then-and-now-christmas-mikebirch-brickems
3. Christmas Day - presents, brunch, family, food, drink, family, food, drink, Yankee Swap
4. Wednesday, I had the day off to stay mostly in my pjs.
5. & 6. Went to work for a couple of days to relax and not cook.
7. I cut my hours at work to have more time to spend in the art studio. I am having a careful-what-you-wish-for moment. My hope for 2013 is to use this time wisely.
P E A C E
Moira said, on 12/30/2012 7:09:00 AM
Happy New Year Margie and Xena!
(I passed you in cyberspace)
jone said, on 12/30/2012 8:04:00 AM
Peace and peaceful illustrations are the perfect ending for the year. Thanks, Elisa.
Jules, here’s to finished edits and sleepovers.
Rachel, time off is rather lovely isn’t it? And parties with friends.
Margie, the full moon was beautiful this week. So are crackling fires.
Moira, yay for more time in the art studio.
My kicks:
1. Family time Christmas Eve and Day.
2. Family time in Medford, OR for the last three days.
3. Snowfall w/o sticking.
4. CYBILS finalists will be announce on Tuesday!
5. Passing poetry books out for 26 acts of kindness.(See Poetry Friday post)
6. Reading Poison by my late friend, Bridget Zinn on NetGalley. So fun.
7. Kindness.
Happy New Year.
Stacey said, on 12/30/2012 8:16:00 AM
Oh Jules. What a perfect post. This year, instead of resolutions (which always seem to be a big flop for me!), I decided I would chose a word for the year and then try to live that word in whatever ways made sense. The word that came immediately to mind was ‘peace’. Looks like your post just sealed my decision!
Happy New Year to you Jules and to all the fabulous kickers here!!
Amy said, on 12/30/2012 8:35:00 AM
Happy New Year to you Jules and to everyone who stops by here! Perfect celebratory images. Congratulations on completing your book!
1. The day or two after all of the relatives leave and we’re back to just enjoying the quiet company of our immediate familly.
2. The Christmas festivities…esp. family bowling.
3. Registering for M.S. courses about children’s literature.
4. A supportive husband who is taking my trips to Illinois for graduate school in stride.
5. Fires in the fireplace. We had 3 cords of wood delivered this week, which is an aweful lot of firewood.
6. Enjoyed writing a year end post at Delightful Children’s Books and thinking back on the fun I have had this past year. I no longer ask myself why I blog. It has been a very satisfying year.
7. Last but not least, you joining us to help promote International Book Giving Day. Thanks! I think it will once again be fun.
jules said, on 12/30/2012 8:39:00 AM
p.s. Moira: What is a Yankee Swap?
jules said, on 12/30/2012 8:39:00 AM
Rachel, aw, thanks in advance for the glass-raising, and I’ll do the same for you. We will face down the over-rated-ness of New Year’s, damn skippy, and we will tell it to SCRAM. … Your party sounds super fun, and I also love matchmaking friends. Also, your words remind me to watch the first season of West Wing. … Again, I’ll raise my glass to you on New Year’s, and I hope it’s a good one for you.
Margie, my next house has GOTTA have a fireplace, so I can have crackling fires. I’m jealous of yours. … Your week sounds so good. I hope your New Year’s is wonderful, too.
Moira: “Peter’s legacy lives on in this book.” DANG. You made me cry. But it’s true, isn’t it? … Thank YOU for sharing your artwork at 7-Imp this year. It’ll show up again tomorrow in the big, massively massive 7-Imp recap. … OOH! More time in the studio? For real? Congrats! Using time wisely when you work from home is, indeed, challenging, and one of my goals in the new year is to be better about that, though I’m fairly okay to begin with. (Still, always room for improvement.) … I saw that family photo on Facebook and LOVE it. So, so cool. Happy new year, Moira!
Jone: Tuesday? Already? That’s exciting. So glad you had a good time with your family. Happy new year to you, too!
Stacey: I’m PUH-SYCHIC! Glad that you and my post were on the exact same wavelength. Just yesterday I saw a Honesdale pic, and I’m still so grateful I got to meet you in person there. Happy 2013 to you.
jules said, on 12/30/2012 8:41:00 AM
Amy, I passed you in cyberspace, and I said, WAAAAITTT UP!
I love your sixth kick. A lot. I always say I’ll stop blogging when I no longer enjoy it, but it hasn’t happened yet in six years. I’m looking forward to Book Giving Day. Thanks again for asking me. What courses did you register for? DO TELL!
jules said, on 12/30/2012 8:44:00 AM
Little Willow, the spam-catcher, for some reason, tried to eat your comment for breakfast, but I just released the hounds. Sorry ’bout that.
I will have to add Leverage to the ‘ol queueueueueue. I keep saying that, but it involves Jason Isaacs (yes?), and that means I really will.
So glad you got to visit family and had a good week. I bet you’re the BEST PERSON to have around on New Year’s, and thanks for the suggestions.
jone said, on 12/30/2012 8:48:00 AM
LW, missed you. Portland is sorry to see Leverage go. Will borrow from the library.
JES said, on 12/30/2012 8:57:00 AM
Good morning and good upcoming New Year’s to you, Kickers!
Boy, those first two illustrations from Elisa Kleven were NICE — like pointillist Van Goghs. And the third one was a nice complement: kind of… snuggle-worthy.
Truly loved that Christopher Niemann piece, Jules. (It was practically mad for you, I think.) Thanks for sharing it.
And here’s MORE CHAMPAGNE for you, Betsy, and Peter! I wish Liz Lemon were here with us right now so she could exult in some appropriately idiosyncratically lunatic phraseology.
(Btw, we have to take New Year’s celebrations very seriously here — it’s The Missus’s birthday, and woe to anyone who doesn’t see it through the Christmas fog. :))
Rachel - loved seeing you here early! (Usually, time zone difference I guess, I don’t get to see your Sunday comments until I revisit 7-Imp days later.) That scene you paint with all the humans and the “provisions” and Firefly talk and all the dogs is, I think, just about exactly the first sort of scene in which I’d picture you happy. (Although chowing your way through ‘West Wing’ episodes might be a close second.)
Hi, Margie! You very modestly declined to provide us a link to your guest blog entry, so I hope you don’t mind that I did a little investigating and found it here. I don’t know The Clown of God but after reading your review (or rather, your story) that’s a lapse I’ll have to resolve by next Christmas. Thank you!
Oh, Moira - what great then-and-now photos! Did the “traditional Italian Christmas Eve” include one of those feasts, um, whatchamacallems, Seven Seas or Seven Fishes or whatever? (Said the cross-cultural naif, clearly over his head.)
Hey there, jone - happy New Year, and I’ve saved some of the champagne from the Jules-Betsy-Peter toast for a glass raised to the Northwest. I loved my one (few-days) visit there, 20 years ago, and can barely imagine how beautiful it must be with a non-sticky snowfall.
Kicks, well…
1. UK/SkyOne two-part adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather. Probably mostly for fans, but here’s the first 2+ minutes of it. So happy to have found it on Netflix streaming (with closed captions, even!).
2. The Pooch’s manic hey-wait-me-too! gift-unwrapping on Christmas morning.
3. The phrase “in a nutshell.” I mean, really.
4. We had last-minute surprise additions to the Christmas-dinner guest list. I won’t say it didn’t make things a little… touch-and-go, let’s say. But somehow The Missus managed to make the meal work. It was spectacular.
5. Our annual December 23rd dinner-date. This year was #20 in the tradition!
6. The Missus and I gave each other just like a single inexpensive gift this year. Instead of the usual foofaraw, we started a fund for an extended road trip (with The Pooch) next summer. So there’s already a sense of delightful suspense for the upcoming payoff.
7. Setting aside several hours just for computer gaming (some old favorites, not new ones). Haven’t done that for years.
Have a happy New Year’s Eve/Day, all, and a delightful 2013!
P.S. I just realized — perspective is everything — that doing 7 kicks here each week, or close to it, means that we’ve each accumulated hundreds of different Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things over the past year. Is that not remarkable, in a culture which sometimes seems to reward bad news and cynicism?!? Thank you, Jules (and Eisha, wherever you are!), for making it possible!
Steven Withrow said, on 12/30/2012 9:06:00 AM
Congratulations, Jules and Betsy, on completing your edits! (I get a lump in my throat when I think about Peter — I miss reading his words.) Glad you had a nice holiday!
Here’s a new poem of mine, part distant memory and part recent memory:
Taunton River in December
By Steven Withrow
The geese are eating day-old bread
From the children’s winter-mittened fists.
These ganders, intermittent guests,
If anything, are overfed,
For it’s the ducks we’ve come to stuff
With crusts of dough. In rills of slop
That spill above the river top,
Grass blades touched with feather-fluff
Skitter like mice beneath our boots
Beside the begging waterfowls
Which trail us, intimate as owls,
Nipping the tails of our snowsuits.
Greenhead mallard and his brown
And unrelenting hen advance
Orange feet, a feasting dance
One only meets this far from town.
JES said, on 12/30/2012 9:06:00 AM
Holy smokes, missed a lot while I was wool-gathering there…
Little Willow, yay! for the exclamation pointed kick #1! (And I LOVE that you came up with SEVEN things to love about Leverage.)
Stacey, another vote here for your word to live by. (Followed by a heartfelt amen.)
Hi, Amy — congratulations on the grad-school Kicks. And 3 cords IS a lot… but I’d love to see that much wood just stacked up and daring winter to come a-knockin’.
JES said, on 12/30/2012 9:08:00 AM
P.P.S. Crap, crap, crap - Jules, that “mad for you” should have been “MADE for you.” Duh.
Little Willow said, on 12/30/2012 10:25:00 AM
Margie: Yay for the full moon, and for good books and good deals! Hi to Xena.
Moira: MAJOR kudos on your decision to rearrange your time. Stay hopeful! I hope you are feeling better.
Jone: Good luck to everyone involved in the Cybils, from the readers and judges to the organizers to the nominees.
Jone and Jules: Enjoy the show! Let me know what you think if/when you watch it.
Jules: Jason Isaacs is not in Leverage, but Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Beth Riesgraf, Aldis Hodge, and Christian Kane are.
Hello to Steven and the geese!
Stacey: May your year be peaceful and pleasant.
Amy: Congrats on your registeration and education!
JES: Pets often like the gift wrap better than the gift, don’t they? How funny - I didn’t count those reasons, so listing seven items was a happy accident!
Margie Culver said, on 12/30/2012 1:26:00 PM
Came back to catch up on everyone’s week. I love reading your news and views.
Little Willow: I caught the final episode of Leverage being an on again, off again watcher. I’ll have to watch all the episodes now. I always liked it when I watched.
Moira: A day in PJs is like a bit of heaven.
Jone: Love the idea of passing out poetry books.
Amy: It’s been ages since I’ve been bowling; sounds like fun.
JES: Saving for an extended trip with the Pooch is a great idea. Keep us posted on the destination.
Steven: Your poems are a true pleasure to read.
Margie Culver said, on 12/30/2012 2:18:00 PM
PS Touched and many thanks JES for taking the time to look up my guest blog post.
Margie Culver said, on 12/30/2012 2:27:00 PM
PS Touched by and many thanks JES for taking the time to look up my guest blog post.
debbie said, on 12/30/2012 2:32:00 PM
So perfect to share Elisa Kleven’s wonderful, twinkling art on these dark days!
Congrats on the book (CANNOT wait to read it) & Happy New Year!
ally goodwin said, on 12/30/2012 4:46:00 PM
I’ve been a lurker for way too long. The Klevin picture is pure magic and joy and i think my word for the new year is ENJOY. Tired of shoulds and ought to’s…
1. Watching the next generation; grown daughters and nephews, take up the mantle for holiday traditions. Giving me a chance to relax and enjoy for a change
2. spending christmas days in my pj’s watching Rizzoli and Isles marathon all day.
3. finishing “the likeness” by T. French. Now caught up and on to her newest title.
4. dinner and a movie with hubby. don’t care what the critics say - we enjoyed “Jack Reacher”
5. scrabble with dear friend.
6. quite times at work
7. magic of christmas lights; especially midnight candlelight service.
Happy New Year All!
Moira said, on 12/30/2012 5:21:00 PM
Yes, we had the seven fishes dinner on Christmas Eve. The Baccala is my favorite.
Yankee Swap is a game played by us thrifty New Englanders where each person brings one wrapped gift and by lottery we take turns unwrapping a gift and choosing to keep it or to swap (whether the person wants to give up their gift or not) with someone else. A sense of humor and low gift expectations is required to play. It is sometimes called, “White Elephant” or “Dirty Santa”.
I love the idea of having a word for the year. “Failure” was my word for 2012, as in not being afraid to fail. We’ll see what this year will bring. Maybe “Lucky” in honor of 2013.
emmaco said, on 12/30/2012 5:25:00 PM
I have holiday day-confusion and thought today was Sunday! So I have not got any kicks ready. However, the many rich kicks here today have made for a lovely end-of-year treat. As John said, we’ve had hundreds of wonderful moments shared here on this site this year - thanks to all who share kicks but especially to Jules for hosting us (with great bonus illustrations) every week! Happy New Year, everyone!
jules said, on 12/30/2012 9:09:00 PM
John, you win Comment of the Year, I boldly say, for your very nice (and astute) closing note, as well as your very happy kicks. Happy birthday to The Missus! I LOVE your gift idea, and I’m glad your meal (with surprise guests) worked out. Thanks for the link, too. I shall explore. p.s. I like the phrase “mad for you,” too, so it’s all good.
Thanks for the poem, Steven. It’s nice when you stop by and drop off some beauty.
Hi, Debbie, and thanks!
Hi, Ally. Welcome! New person! WOOT! Lots of exclamation marks there, but very warranted. … I thought Jack Reacher got *good* reviews. Anyway, glad you liked it. We saw Silver Lining Playbook the other night, and it’s chock full ‘o’ good, good acting. I like your kick #7, Ally. I like bells at this time of year, too.
Aha, Moira. Yes, I know that game, but I’ve never heard it called that. Thanks.
Not sure what my word of the year would be. I’ll think on it.
Emmaco, shucks. Thanks. I couldn’t do it without you all. And, hey, it’s still Sunday here.
And I hear you on the holiday confusion. Makes one’s head swim sometimes, huh?
Happy New Year to all!
Little Willow said, on 12/30/2012 9:56:00 PM
Margie: Good times, good times.
Ally: Welcome out from the lurking shadows! Nice to meet you!
Hi emmaco!
Farida @ Saints and Spinners said, on 12/31/2012 8:21:00 PM
Congratulations, Jules! I love Elisa’s artwork. I had planned to comment yesterday, but we ended up having a spontaneous, social-filled day. Dude, that almost never happens. First, friends of ours invited us out to ice-skate. Those friends went on to other things afterward, but the rink, we found other friends who were keen to have lunch together afterward. By the time we got home, we were sated and tired. It was a lovely day.
Peace said, on 1/1/2013 2:06:00 AM
[…] world and in myself but I still couldn’t quite wrap my mind around it. And then I read one of my favorite blogs this morning and the image above was the first I saw. It looked like peace would indeed be my […]
JES said, on 1/2/2013 12:08:00 PM
Ah, emmaco — I wondered where you might’ve been. Holiday day-confusion, you say. But you don’t fool me. I just know that’s a plain-English translation for a phrase along the lines of “I just had a fair dinkum of a wolligog, Mate.”
jules said, on 1/2/2013 5:17:00 PM
John: HA. Things would be … paler without emmaco around, huh?
Farida: I think that Being Out and Having Fun and That Keeping You Busy is the perfect kicky reason to not come and leave kicks. I’m jealous of all your friends that get to spend time in person with you.
“Mountains of gifts are placed under the tree for eight nights of Hanukkah, plus Christmas Day. How lucky am I?” (Click to enlarge spread)
This morning, I welcome author and illustrator Selina Alko to tell us all a bit about her latest picture book, Daddy Christmas and Hanukkah Mama, a story about a family who merges two holiday traditions. Sadie, the young girl narrating the story, has a father who has always celebrated Christmas, a mother who has always celebrated Hanukkah, and they annually combine the traditions of each holiday event in order to teach their daughter about both. Selina—using gouache, collage, and colored pencil, which result in such appealing textures here—lays it all out on the pages of this book with vibrant colors and great joy. She’s here today to share some artwork from the book (sans text), as well as early dummy images, and to tell us the story behind the book.
Toward the end of this post, I’ve also got some holiday illustrations from several illustrators, just ’cause I’m an illustration junkie and couldn’t help it. Let’s get right to it all … (more…)
21 Comments on 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #310: FeaturingSelina Alko (And a Handful of Other Visitors), last added: 12/31/2012
Thankyou for all the delights you have presented to us this year. Happy holidays to you and your girls and to the other imps. Love from snowy Berlin !
Jeremy said, on 12/23/2012 1:32:00 AM
Happy holidays! I’ve been lurking 7-Imp for weeks (months, years), but can’t seem to get it together to post properly. Such good peeps here.
Selina’s art makes me want to do more art myself, which is always a good sign.
Thanks for sharing music, Jules — listening to The Lone Bellow while thinking thankful thoughts for 7kicks is just right. So cool to see you smiling with your old friends too. Old friends rule.
Kickage:
1. Our backyard ice rink, as a way to embrace winter in Canada.
2. Finding creative ways to navigate Christmas when family dynamics change. My parents split up after 40 years of marriage, and it’s actually pretty ok.
3. A fiddle-playing daughter who made real music at her school’s band concert.
4. Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor
5. Time off to play Battleship, checkers, dominoes and MarioKart with my little guy.
6. Cheap second-run theaters for those of us who don’t need instant gratification.
7. Accepting lulls in creative energy.
Lori Nichols said, on 12/23/2012 3:45:00 AM
Hi Jules! Thanks for the lovely post! I’m excited about seeing this one.
I’m checking today with my phone so I won’t be kicking today…too hard to text them! But I did want to say happy holidays to you and your family…and all the lovely kickers out there. I absolutely LOVE this blog and look forward to all your posts and find myself coming here weekly, if not daily for inspiration.
Ok, one quick kick: making homemade gnocchi with my girls and hubby…a holiday tradition I’ve had since I was a child. My Italian father passed away several years back…and I love that we still do this every Christmas.
Have wonderful, safe holidays everyone.
Lori
emmaco said, on 12/23/2012 4:03:00 AM
What a lovely and seasonally appropriate title you are featuring today, Jules. And I love the photo of you and your friends. And what great news about Ethan & the editor!
Jeremy, I remember that backyard ice rink from previous winter kicks. I am still completely blown away that is possible. And your kick #7 makes you seem very wise, it is one I struggle with.
Lori homemade gnochhi sounds like a wonderful tradition.
I hope all in this kicking community have a great holiday!
Good Morning!
I am expecting a cast of thousands for our Holiday Open House today. The spring rolls are made, so I am not panicking.
I wanted to check in with the Imps to wish you all a Happy Holiday before the crowds arrive.
Jules - Thank you for sharing Selina’s lovely book that I think a lot of homes will appreciate. Thanks also for sharing the other holiday images and the music.
I’m so glad you got to be with your good buds and I am jealous of your F&G, which makes me shout, “F and G! I want one.”
Hello Lisa
Jeremy - I look forward to the day I can hear real music from my violin playing daughter.
Lori- Do you make the traditional seven fishes dinner on Christmas Eve? We go to my aunt’s for it every year.
Congrats to Ethan!
Emmaco- Our library does that same food-for-fines thing. Win Win
Holiday Kicks
1. I will see all (4) of my siblings today along with all (six) of my mother’s siblings.
2. Homemade spring rolls
3. I got paid for a holiday illustration.
4. My husband’s birthday turned out not to be the end of the world on the 21st.
5. Mint Chocolate Porter (I haven’t tried it yet) from Cape Cod Beer.
6. My little niece stops crying when I do the Elmo voice. It is annoying to everyone else but it makes me happy to make her happy.
7. I made an animated GIF of a Peace picture that I made http://atlanticmo.tumblr.com/post/38282849189/peace
Peace to you all.
Tarie said, on 12/23/2012 7:21:00 AM
Happy Holidays to all!!!!!! *hugs and kisses*
jules said, on 12/23/2012 7:39:00 AM
Hi, Lisa! Jealous of your snow, and happy happy holidays to you.
A Jeremy sighting! Hi there. I like all your kicks, but especially the last two. But, wait, your daughter on violin? SWEET. And I’ve always been jealous of the ice rink in your life. I hope you all have a great holiday, Jeremy.
Thanks for the kind words, Lori. I hope to meet you in person in 2013. Enjoy that gnocchi, and happy holidays to your family. I hope your daughter finds a good Christmas neck tie.
Emmaco, hurrah for your ant-free, candy cane-filled tree. I’m so glad you get so much time at home. I have to say: Celebrating the end of the world with a croquet game sound super fun. p.s. Your link didn’t come through, the baby echidna one. Can you re-send?
Moira: Yes, the book is so f&g’ing good. MINT CHOCOLATE PORTER? Sounds so good! Mmm. Happy birthday (belated) to your husband. Nothing like sharing your birthday with a dooms-day, huh? Have a great holiday with your huge and wonderful family, Moira.
TARIE! Mwah.
jone said, on 12/23/2012 7:53:00 AM
Love the book and all the illustrations today. So joyous. My niece celebrates both traditions so will get the book.
Jules, I can’t wait to take grand girls to the symphony. There’s nothing better than gathering with friends.
Jeremy, good to hear from you. A backyard skating rink, how fun.
Lori, homemade gnocchi, yum.
Emmaco, we have the food for fines here too. I have to take food in.
Moira, homemade spring rolls and a party.
My kicks:
1. Baking Christmas cookies with oldest grandgirl.
2. Reading with grandgirl..her book and my book.
3. Oldest grand girl’s laughter.
4. Party at college friend’s home.
5. CYBILS Poetry shortlist finalized. Top secret until January 1 but am excited.
6. Participating in a haiku writing event all month long.
7. Going south to see other grand girls after Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
jules said, on 12/23/2012 8:24:00 AM
Jone: Happy holidays to you and your granddaughters! You sound like you’re kickin’ back and enjoying it. So eager to hear about the Cybils. I’m not sure if “going south” means a lot of traveling, but if so, safe travels!
JES said, on 12/23/2012 9:03:00 AM
Happy December 23rd, Kickers!
You know what I like most about Selina Alko’s book? The way that the blending-but-not-homogenizing of cultures is mirrored in the mixed-media approach to the art. It’s not just like every image uses a different medium. Within each image are multiple media. You look at each person and object (even their separate PARTS) in context with the others, and not only is it all different but it all goes together. Favorite example: the “Daddy Latkes” spread, with the giant Christmas tree… including what seems to be a photograph of strands of twine for the trunk. Thank you for sharing the art, Selina! (And of course Jules, as always.)
You are all such great people here and I love seeing what you’re up to every week, especially (of course) what’s kicked your spirits up. (Very happy to see, among everyone else, Jeremy emerge from lurkage!)
Some kicks:
1. (for emmaco, in part, and thank you for the dragons!) I’m reading Terry Pratchett’s The Last Continent, which features on the fictional Discworld a continent very much like the terrestrial Down Under. Too many hilarious bits to quote involving kangaroos, and a Mad Max-type character, and transparent beer, and so on. And he has a LOT of fun with some of the impenetrabilities of Australian slang. But at one point, one of his characters — a recurring character called the Bursar — is regarding a cliff wall, on which he has found something like what might elsewhere be simple cave paintings:
Someone had drawn a tree. It was the simplest drawing of a tree the Bursar had ever seen since he’d been old enough to read books that weren’t mostly pictures, but it was also in some strange way the most accurate. It was simple because something complex had been rolled up small; as if someone had drawn trees, and started with the normal green cloud on a stick, and refined it, and refined it some more, and looked for the little twists in a line that said tree and refined those until there was just one line that said TREE.
And now when you looked at it you could hear the wind in the branches…
That was lovely, and seemed to concentrate into just a few sentences all the magic of the place that emmaco manages to communicate in her kicks every week. (It also made me think of much of the art featured at 7-Imp, not incidentally.)
2. Forcibly unplugging The Christmas Machine when it threatens to vibrate life into bits.
3. Artful, ungrudging compromise.
4. The complex sense, of some experiences in life, that things (a) might have been just a little different, but (b) weren’t, and simultaneously (c) turned out quite unpredictably well anyway.
5. Discussions about alternative forms of old seasonal traditions which end up favoring the traditional over the alternative.
6. Brown-paper-wrapped packages arriving in the mail. Even if not tied up with string.
John that is a lovely quote. I think Pratchett also uses it when talking about the White Horse of Uffington, which is a picture that is the essence of a horse running.
Nice to know so many people have food for fines! I have to admit, I had never thought of the benefit of having books returned that otherwise wouldn’t, people must be quite scared of fines. (as an aside, in Jasper Fforde’s newest book there are militant librarians who want to run dawn raids to collect overdue books…)
jules said, on 12/23/2012 6:41:00 PM
John, dang. I like your kicks, especially #2. It’s not just the kicks themselves, of course; it’s how you articulate them. Thanks for sharing that Pratchett excerpt, too. I love that you took time to type that. And, as always, I enjoyed your observations about the illustrations.
Jone, SAFE TRAVELS.
Emmaco: WHOA. That creature is fascinating, and it’s my first time seeing an echidna (not just a picture in a book, that is). Must remember to show my girls.
Happy holidays, all!
Farida @Saints and Spinners said, on 12/23/2012 9:23:00 PM
Hooray for joyful illustrations and meeting up with old friends! Today, the risk-adverse House of Glee did three new things: we saw the Christmas Ships, went to the Bellevue Botanical Garden’s “Garden d’Lights” display, and a new Indian restaurant…all in the dark, on the East Side, in the rain. I recommend doing an image search for the light display– it’s quite impressive. We had cocoa with whipped cream, and The Girl was incredulous. “We NEVER get whipped cream!” she said. Oh, the high life.
Happy December, everyone!
Rachel said, on 12/23/2012 10:00:00 PM
Happy holidays to everyone!
I very much love the book and illustrations this week, and love how it emphasizes all the positives of celebrating both holidays.
Jules -that is an awesome pic of you and your friends - you all look so very happy and sparkly!
Just listened to The Lone Bellow - more than chills, it made me teary-eyed.
Jeremy!! - Hi! Love the ice rink and of course love your violin playing daughter. We’ve missed you!
Lori - homemade gnocchi sounds delightful and complicated.
Emmaco - glad the chooks got their scraps and hope you have a fabulous holiday!
Moira - that mint chocolate porter sounds amazing. Have fun with your family.
Tarie - right back at ya!
jone - baking and reading are two of the best things ever. Have a safe drive to Medford and happy holidays!
John - I love, love, love Kick #4! Kick 1 is awesome too.
My holiday kicks :
1) Well received presents given to the staff that supports me. They work so hard year round, I couldn’t do my job without them, and so I try to get my small tokens of appreciation just right every year - nice when it actually turns out that way.
2) Getting it together enough to mail Christmas cards this year.
3) My tree - it makes me ridiculously happy.
4) Holiday parties - 3 so far this week - always fun.
5) Last night’s soccer game - we had no subs but played incredibly well together and it was a lot of fun - then a party at the team captain’s house after to celebrate the win.
6) It snowed - briefly - tonight on my way home from the office. It didn’t stick, but seeing those fat snowflakes hit my windshield was magical.
7) Finally discovered The West Wing - working my way through Season 1 and I am hooked!!!
Happy happy holidays everyone! Wishing all of you kickers lots of peace love and joy in the coming year!
Jeremy said, on 12/25/2012 10:41:00 PM
Here it is Tuesday already, and I finally got a chance to check back here. Hope everyone’s holidays are going well!
Emmaco, maybe acceptance is always wise. I didn’t elaborate to say that it’s a struggle for me too!
Moira, sounds like everyone wants to try your mint chocolate porter, and you can count me in! It’s true that kids playing violins rarely make “real” music at the start, but seems like there’s a threshold passed after a couple of years.
Jone, your holiday plans sound so homey and fun — love it.
John, cheers to all your kicks, but most especially #2.
Hi Rachel — good for you for surviving soccer with no subs. Our equivalent is hockey with no subs, and it’s killer!
jules said, on 12/26/2012 6:52:00 AM
Farida, thanks for the tip. Will go search in a minute here. Whipped cream = the high life. That made me laugh outloud.
Rachel, your Christmas sounds mighty festive. And I gotta watch The West Wing already. … I think we’ll get a dusting of snow today, too.
Hope everyone’s having happy holidays ….
Eva said, on 12/27/2012 1:41:00 AM
I just found this page on Google and glad have found it because the post is awesome. I like it!
Shelley said, on 12/27/2012 11:39:00 AM
I don’t have any friends left over from high school, so I smiled at yours.
jules said, on 12/27/2012 10:01:00 PM
Shelley: I love it. Glad I could help.
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast said, on 12/30/2012 6:59:00 PM
[…] 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #310: FeaturingSelina Alko (And a Handful of Other Visitors) December 23rd, 2012    by jules […]
I wrote a review last month for Chapter 16, which is a daily online journal about books and author events in Tennessee. I reviewed Julie Hedlund’s My Love for You Is the Sun, illustrated by Nashville artist Susan Eaddy, pictured right, and published by Little Bahalia Publishing last month. I’ve enjoyed reading Chapter 16 for years, so it’s particularly great to contribute to the site. That Chapter 16 review is here. 
But there’s more! Because I love to share as much picture book art as possible, I’ve also got illustrations from a couple of other new books. I mentioned in the Chapter 16 review that 2014 has given us a handful of picture books illustrated, like My Love for You Is the Sun, in what can best be described as a sculptural technique — not the traditional, two-dimensional illustrations we typically see in picture books. There is Yuyi Morales’ Viva Frida, for example, rendered in stop-motion puppets, paints, photography, etc. Yuyi will visit 7-Imp soon to share images from that. Or Loretta Holland’s Fall Leaves, illustrated in 3D paper vignettes by Elly MacKay, who will also visit 7-Imp soon. And remember Princesse Camcam’s Fox’s Garden, featured in this post? Yep. That one, too. 
GOT – yes! And lunch with friends is always nice.
The new book is called 
Where’s Mommy? is a definite nod to 
Have any of you seen 
This morning, Caldecott medalist 
I’ve previously featured the work of Canadian author-illustrator 
1) Hands down, my biggest kick of the week was an opportunity to chat with 
This morning, we’re going to meet a dog, who is—in the words of illustrator 
In 
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Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome. 
Today at 7-Imp I welcome a debut author/illustrator, named .jpg)
This morning, I welcome author and illustrator 
I can not wait to see My Love For You Is The Sun in real life. Her illustrative process is definitely unique. The video is fantastic!
I can understand your daughter collecting acorn caps. I used to do the same thing. They still fascinate me.
My Kicks:
1. Multiple rainbow sightings the past two days.
2. Rain
3. Iris blooming in the autumn. Love these little natural surprises.
4. Colored leaves and the patterns they make after they fall.
5. Friends
6. Wonderful books for children
7. Strolls with Xena
Wishing you all a peaceful week.
(BUT, I might add, it was chilly enough yesterday to make the first hot chocolate of the season. Mmm.)
Margie, she puts the acorn caps on the little dolls she sews. Or she tries (and hopes they stay). … I bet you have a lot of turning leaves now where you live. It’s slooowwwllly happening here in the South. Hug Xena for me.
Fabulous post! Being a dimensional illustrator myself, I work mostly in plasticine( modelling clay) and sometimes polymer clay and mixed media, it’s so great to see an post featuring these wonderfully talented illustrators. Yay!
I love visiting your blog each morning before I hit the studio, for a daily dose of inspiration.
Thanks!
Suzanne Dell Rizzo
Skink on the Brink(written by Lisa Dalrymple, Fitzhenry & Whiteside) winner if the 2014 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, Canada
Gerbil, Uncurled( written by Alison Hughes, Fitzhenry & Whiteside) Spring 2015
And I thought collage was tedious! These two illustrators are amazing. I can’t imagine the hours of work that went into each book especially The Mouse Mansion. A great way to start Sunday.
Jules, Chuck kept talking all day about The Box Trolls. I hope to see it soon. And the book festival? I want to attend!
Margie, love the color leaves and their patterns too. Enjoy your strolls with Xena.
My kicks:
1. CYBILS nominations opened on October 1. Nominate your favorite books.
2. Dinner with friends last night. They are like family.
3. Seeing Gone Girl with bookclub friends.
4. Time with grand girl.
5. Wedding reception today for my friend’s daughter (part of kick 2).
6. Crisp mornings and warm afternoons.
7. Reading The Boys in the Boat.
Have a great week.
Wonderful illustrations! I have a soft spot for Julie Hedlund’s and Susan Eaddy’s “My Love for You is the Sun” — Susan’s illustrations are so amazing, and Julie’s lyrical text is a joy. Thanks, Jules, for featuring this book — and for introducing me to the other two amazing illustrators. My TBR list just increased!
I love these, especially Susan Eaddy’s clay art. I also love Salley Mavor’s fabric illustrations in Pocketful of Posies, winner of the 2011 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration.
Good morning, Imps!
Hi Susan, Maggie, and Karina!
I love the picture of the mouse and the bird. So cute.
And the critter in the long knitted sweater(dress)!
Jules: I wrote, “Does she make anyone wear the acorn caps?” and then saw your response while reading the comments.
Margie: Send some rainbows this-a-way!
Suzanne: I like the cycle of inspiration – someone inspires someone else, that person makes something which in turn inspires the next person…
Hurrah for all involved in the Cybils. Have fun!
Kicks for the past week:
1) Casting
2) Auditioning
3) Applying
4) Recording
5) Uploading
6) Appreciating
7) Writing
These are fascinating, exquisite little worlds. Must get these books! With thanks and awe from a fellow miniature lover.
Hello, Kickers!
I loooove these 3D/sculptural/dimensional illustrations, Jules! You’ve featured some before, I’m pretty sure… Ah, yes, here we are for one example (Carin Berger). And also this one (from Chris Sickels — it almost killed me to read at the time: visual-pleasure exhaustion syndrome). Oh! And Jayme McGowan and her buskers…!
(Including three links in a single paragraph probably just pushed me into the 7-Imp sp*minator, didn’t it???)
The only downside to these works, in fact, is the sensory frustration of not being able to, y’know, HANDLE the actual objects, or to walk around them and see them from the other side, etc. But just knowing they must have existed at some time, and maybe still do, somewhere in studios and garages and galleries… well, there’s a certain satisfaction there, too!
(Btw, Suzanne — your stuff is great, too! When I saw the Kowabunga! one the first thing I thought of was, Oh, man, now that is ART.)
Kickin’ good musical selection there, Jules. And thank you for the Drowned Maiden’s Hair rec… sounds like a wonderfully haunting/haunted read!
Love everyone’s Kicks today, now that I’m going back through them again. For some reason I thought LW’s, regarded as an acronym, spelled out a sort of Celtic oath (or moan, I’m not sure): “Caaruaw…!”
Just a few kicks from this quarter and then I must take advantage of fall finally fall fall fall…
* Clearing out the DVR by bingewatching MOVIES instead of TV shows.
* Focusing on the speckles of good sometimes dotting the most horrific news landscapes.
* My younger sis just passed a major birthday milestone. We couldn’t go to the NJ bash, but I’ve been loving the photos people have sent us.
* Just the right stupidly silly video at just the right moment.
* Terry Pratchett (Thief of Time, currently)
Have a great week, all!