Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Early sketch
(Click to enlarge)

 

Final spread: “… He’s so nervous he can’t stop shaking, even when he’s onstage, even when he starts to sing. But that shaking, that shaking starts an AVALANCHE of screaming — in a good way! And so it begins: Brand-New Elvis now knows what to do onstage — and he will never forget. It is a thing to behold.”
(Click to enlarge spread; head here to read more
about how Chris created “a shaky Elvis”)

 
Over at Kirkus today, I’ve got thoughts on bibliotherapy, the debut picture book from a Dutch author-illustrator named Eva Eland, and a Norwegian import (coming in March) called Angryman. The latter is about domestic violence and is unlike any picture book I’ve seen before.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Jonah Winter’s Elvis Is King! (Schwartz & Wade, January 2019), illustrated by Chris Sickels, aka Red Nose Studio.

Today, I’ve got a bit of art from the book, as well as some early sketches and such from Chris. Chris gave me permission to lift these images from his blog, where he’s written a handful of posts about this book. I link to the corresponding blog post under each image below. Here’s the link to his blog, if you want to read even more about his other projects. A visit to Chris’s site is always rewarding.

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A final spread from the book: “… and grow.”
(Click to enlarge)

 
Over at BookPage, I’ve a review of Corinna Luyken’s newest picture book, My Heart (Dial, January 2019), which she both wrote and illustrated. The review is here, if you want to read about the things I like about this book.

Corinna visits today with lots and lots of art (which makes me happy) to talk about illustrating this one and balancing the book’s emotions — its darkness and lightness, as she puts it. Let’s get right to it, and I thank her for visiting.

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At the Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott today, we look back at Picture Books in 2018. No predictions for the award. We have no crystal ball. But we look at a fabulous year for picture books with a lot to celebrate — and with a note of thanks to our talented guest posters who joined the conversation this year and had us seeing books in new ways.

That is here.

Over at Tennessee’s Chapter 16, I’ve written about Alice Faye Duncan’s A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks (Sterling, January 2019), illustrated by Brooklyn artist Xia Gordon. Duncan is a Memphis author and school librarian. You can head here to read about the book, and today here at 7-Imp is a bit of art from it. This is Gordon’s picture book debut.

(Pictured above is Gordon’s portrait of Brooks from the book’s title page spread.)

Enjoy!

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— Illustration above is from Mouse House, originally released in the UK in 2017
I was sorry to hear this week about the death of British illustrator John Burningham, whose picture books have brought me so much joy over the years. He was an immensely talented artist and my very favorite. I’ve read many tributes to him this week — my favorite has been illustrator Polly Dunbar, saying in this piece that his paintings are ones that “make me want to run barefoot, outside, after dark” — and feel at a loss for words to describe what it was about his artwork that I found so dynamic.

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(Click to enlarge spread)

 
Today over at Kirkus, it’s Elvis in 3D.

That is here.

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I wrote here last week about Shaun Tan’s Cicada (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, January 2019). I’m following up with some art today.

Enjoy!

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“I live in a building that is seven stories high.”
(Click to enlarge spread)

 
Here’s a peek inside a picture book originally published two years ago but now on shelves here in the U.S. Einat Tsarfati’s The Neighbors has been translated from the original Hebrew by Annette Appel.

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(Click to enlarge)

 
It’s the first Sunday of the month, dear Imps, which means a student or debut illustrator visits. Today, I have the latter: Annelouise Mahoney’s debut picture book will be released next year, and she’s here today to tell us more about herself and her artwork — and to tell us a bit about that book, too.

I thank her for sharing. Let’s get right to it!

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Today over at Kirkus, I write about Shaun Tan’s newest picture book, Cicada.

That is here.

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Last week, I wrote here about Pénélope Bagieu’s Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World (First Second, March 2018). Today, I’ve got a bit of art from the book.

Enjoy!

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I’m here to wish you all a happy 2019 with a piece of art (scanned from my own collection) from author-illustrator Ashley Wolff. These colors and textures make me happy, and when I see this, I like to imagine I can hear an owl hooting. Given that I live in Deepest Suburbia, I’m not normally privy to the beautiful call of an owl. But I can go there in my mind when I see this.

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