Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

— From John Hare’s Field Trip to the Moon

 

— From Tom Sullivan’s Out There

 
Want to head into inky-black outer space with me today? I have a BookPage feature about John Hare’s entertaining Field Trip to the Moon (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, May 2019) and Tom Sullivan’s trippy and thought-provoking Out There (Balzer + Bray, May 2019).

That’s here, if you’d like to head to BookPage and read about both books. Today here at 7-Imp are some illustrations from each book.

Enjoy!

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— Title page spread from Fiona Woodcock’s Hello
(Click to see spread, sans text, in its entirety)

 

— From Stephen Savage’s Sign Off
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
Over at Kirkus today, it’s Picture Book Happy Hour.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Fiona Woodcock’s Hello (Greenwillow, May 2019) and Stephen Savage’s Sign Off (Beach Lane, May 2019).

I’m following up today with some art from each book.

Enjoy!

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“The righteous marching ones / who sang we shall not be moved /
because black lives matter.”
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
It’s likely you’ve already heard this year about Kwame Alexander’s The Undefeated (April 2019), illustrated by Kadir Nelson. For one, it received NPR coverage: You can listen here to an interview with Kadir.

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(Click to enlarge)

 
Today, I’m celebrating two things — the fact that the Poetry Foundation named poet Naomi Shihab Nye the 2019–2021 Young People’s Poet Laureate and the art of Melissa Sweet.

When Melissa heard the news about Naomi this week, she was inspired and created this collage above. (I saw it on Melissa’s Instagram feed, squealed, and secured her permission to share it here today.) This is an excerpt from Naomi’s poem, “Famous.” You can read the poem in its entirety here, which I highly recommend. It’s always been one of my favorite poems by her (and, really, simply one of my favorite poems). Naomi’s work has meant so much to me over the years — as a reader, as a librarian, as a writer, and as a parent. I’m thrilled she’s the next Young People’s Poet Laureate. She will do good work.

I thank Melissa for sharing. She says she’d like to be a buttonhole (or a button!). Yes. Me too.

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“polka dot polka dot / you are not at all what i thought …”
(Click to enlarge spread and read poem in its entirety)

 
Over at Kirkus today, I write about new picture books from Stephen Savage and Fiona Woodcock.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Shannon Bramer’s Climbing Shadows: Poems for Children (Groundwood, March 2019), illustrated by Cindy Derby. I’m following up here today with a few spreads.

Enjoy!

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“They go to school most mornings …”
(Click to enlarge)

 
I love any post with the phrase “shooting stars and gumdrop Martians.”

I’ve a review over at BookPage of Rowboat Watkins’ Most Marshmallows (Chronicle, April 2019). That is here at their site, and here at 7-Imp today, Rowboat talks about the book and making the art. I thank him for sharing.

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I’m sending you to the Horn Book’s site today for a review I wrote of Julie Falatko’s very funny The Great Indoors (Disney-Hyperion, April 2019), illustrated by Ruth Chan. The review is here.

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“Where do we get our ideas? We get them from the spaces we choose for our compositions, from our chosen materials, and from the world around us.”
(Click to enlarge illustration)

 
Today over at Kirkus, I’ve got a poetry anthology from Shannon Bramer.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Susan L. Roth’s Birds of a Feather: Bowerbirds and Me (Neal Porter Books/Holiday House, May 2019). I’m following up today with some art from the book.

Enjoy!

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“Maya placed a new can of fish in her pocket and set out to find Cat’s home.
Cat followed politely behind.”
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
There are a lot — truly, a LOT — of picture books in the world about lost animals finding a new home, often with the protagonist of the story, ready and waiting for a new furry friend. That’s what we have (sort of) in Caroline Magerl’s newest picture book, Maya and the Lost Cat (Candlewick) — originally published in Australia in 2018 and on shelves here in the U.S. in early May. This one stands out for the strong writing and Magerl’s distinctive watercolor illustrations.

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— From Kyle Lukoff’s When Aidan Became a Brother,
illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

 

— From Isabel Quintero’s My Papi Has a Motorcycle,
illustrated by Zeke Peña

 

— From Hyeon-Ju Lee’s
The Happiest Tree: A Story of Growing Up

 
Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got the newest picture book from author-illustrator Susan L. Roth.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Hyeon-Ju Lee’s The Happiest Tree: A Story of Growing Up (Feiwel and Friends, April 2019); Isabel Quintero’s My Papi Has a Motorcycle (Kokila, May 2019), illustrated by Zeke Peña; and Kyle Lukoff’s When Aidan Became a Brother (Lee & Low, May 2019), illustrated by Kaylani Juanita. I’m following up with art from each book today.

Enjoy!

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