JEANNIE BAKER CUT PAPER

I was browsing around the bookstore a while ago and came upon a book called MIRROR. Wow! The art is super cool. It's all done with paper. The reader follows the lives of two different families at the same time. I recommend checking it out.

DRAWING FROM MEMORY

I read DRAWING FROM MEMORY on my plane ride to South Carolina a few weeks ago. The kids and Librarians were great there, by the way, but I digress. Anyway, I really loved the mix of drawings and photographs. At first I wondered if it would work but I was pleased to find that the photos really pulled me into the story. And the drawings are great.

This is a summary from the publisher that I got off of Amazon:

"DRAWING FROM MEMORY is Allen Say's own story of his path to becoming the renowned artist he is today. Shunned by his father, who didn't understand his son's artistic leanings, Allen was embraced by Noro Shinpei, Japan's leading cartoonist and the man he came to love as his "spiritual father." As WWII raged, Allen was further inspired to consider questions of his own heritage and the motivations of those around him. He worked hard in rigorous drawing classes, studied, trained--and ultimately came to understand who he really is.

Part memoir, part graphic novel, part narrative history, DRAWING FROM MEMORY presents a complex look at the real-life relationship between a mentor and his student. With watercolor paintings, original cartoons, vintage photographs, and maps, Allen Say has created a book that will inspire the artist in all of us."



It's funny, but the parts that fascinated me weren't told in great enough detail. Why, for example, was he allowed to live by himself at such an early age? Was this common practice? I mean, he was 11! He was in the 6th grade! If that was done in the US it would be child abuse. I was more fascinated by his relationship or NON relationship with his father and the distancing one with his mother. Also, there wasn't much student/teacher relationship shown. The teacher wasn't around much. What there was a lot of was a demonstration of Say's progression as an artist. I liked that at first (I mean, how cool for everyone to SEE what we artists do and how we grow as artists!) but at times I wished for more of the people parts of the story.

Lastly, I wanted to know what happened to Say in America! What happened to him with his dad? The reader is left hanging. Big time. I enjoyed reading this story but I wanted more. Could there be a part two perhaps? A what happened with Say and the people in his life? Life beyond the pencil perhaps?

CORALINE THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

I was scanning through my bookshelves and found this. I read this a long while ago but thought it deserves mention on the old blog. I liked it. The art is nicely done and appropriately creepy. This is one of those cases where I can see why they'd get the idea to turn the story into a graphic novel. In my contracts there is a line that allows for an artist/writer to adapt my stories into graphic novel form and I always have that Xed out. It's obviously silly in my case because I am the artist/writer and I don't want my picture books in that form and if I did I'd want to do it myself! But this book totally makes sense. Gaimen did work on many projects with Craig Russell so I'm sure he had his full approval.


(portrait of Russell)

I love the talking rats. I will say that the colors are a little light and fluffy over all (the colorist is not Russell). If they were darker the book would even be creepier. Maybe the artist didn't want the book to be too creepy to maintain an younger audience?





I've read the book, and the graphic novel... now I guess I should watch the movie... right?

I will leave you with Russell at work:

WORK/LIFE

I was at the Strand yesterday (always a dangerous thing!) and stumbled upon this cool book:






It goes inside the homes of illustrators of all kinds -- children's book illustrators, editorial, etc. and shows photos of their spaces, which I always love! This book interviews illustrators from NY to Australia.






The book does a bio of 50 or more illustrators. Here is a sample of what some of them say:


MICHAEL BYERS
CANADA
michaelbyers.ca

"I think about how I'm going to approach the subject. I'll sleep on it from time to time. Sometimes I'll go for a walk, journal, workout, or have some drinks with some friends. Other times I have a shower. I tend to think a lot while I'm in the shower. A lot of great ideas have come to me while scrubbing my feet."







CAMILLA ENGMAN
SWEDAN
camillaengman.com

"With Camilla, work and life are in balance, as they are treated with equal measure and consideration. 'I love what I do and it is a big part of my life. I take long walks with my dog, Morran; she is never in a hurry. I also like to go to a cafe to get other input during my working day.' Starting a new project, Camilla's creative process seems possibly learned from her beloved pup. 'First I walk around the subject, sniffing and thinking. Finding words and pictures that I associate with it. Thinking about who's the sender, the receiver and who am I. Then I just have to start to work it through and try it all out.'"







JENNY MILIHOVE
ISRAEL
mytinydream.com


"There is music in the house all day long. 'I am listening to music from the first moment I woke up on the morning to the last minute I am going to sleep. I can't paint without music!" she says" Music helps her concentrate on her work. 'I am always thinking about the thing I am painting and trying to put myself into that world that I am painting, or to become that person myself at least for a time" Jenny hopes that the joy she finds in music translates into her illustration and art works. "I really hope and want my artworks to bring happiness to everyone who is looking on my art.'"

A.D. NEW ORLEANS AFTER THE DELUGE

This is an adult graphic novel but it's perfectly appropriate for teens. I love it. It tells of the New Orleans disaster in a simple way, with amazing pictures. I follows several different groups of people--one group stays to watch their store, another leaves and wonders what happens to their home and belongings, another goes to a shelter, while the 4th entertains guests in the French quarter. The novel alternates in different colors so that it's easy to switch from person to person. I have to admit that I'm much more interested in the disaster now that I've read this book. It made it more personal for me.




















This comic started as a web comic. You can read it here:

But I suggest you go out and buy the book!

A REALLY BIG BOARD BOOK

Thanks to my friend Sheila, who works at B&N and has been cultivating a wonderful kids' book table on the second floor in the kids' department, I discovered this book:






This YouTube video gives you a good sense of the book:



As you can see, there are no words! There are just a lot of fun pictures and little details to look at. On each page, for example, there is a frog and he is always eating something silly... and growing in size as he does! There is a woman looking for a her son... and a boy reading a different book on every page... The board book is a lot of fun. Who needs words! This book will keep a child occupied for a while.

This is what their bio says on Amazon: "Germano Zullo and Albertine are the author and illustrator of numerous popular children’s stories and comics. In 2003 the Swiss duo won the Canal+ prize for their short animated film The Ravioli Box Genie. Germano is a writer and a poet. Albertine is an artist and professor at the School of Visual Arts in Geneva, Switzerland."

I'm interested in seeing what else this duo does.



If you're in the NYC Union Sq area stop by and say hello to Sheila Seward. She's been bringing in some cool books and a lot of stuff that's been out of print and re-printed. Go Sheila!