Ella German

Everyone knows the classic Caps for Sale.  How many people know that Esphyr Slobodkina made a sequel?  Until recently, not I. 

The story, like the first one, is simple enough.  But this time it’s a circus elephant in a parade that steals the peddlar’s hats.  Under this theatrical backdrop, Slobodkina gave herself liberty to create a visual feast.   

I think the story stretches a bit too long in this one — this is a 40-some pager, not 32 — but it’s the illustrations that I find so marvelous.  Caps for Sale was your old-school text on one page, full-page framed illustration on the other.  Circus Caps, however, is a graphic tour de force. 

Here Slobodkina employs rectangular frames where parts of the image break free of the frame (click here for some views inside the book from her website), split images where the text occupies the middle (used to great effect when the marching band parades by), and several images on a single page (like showing the various elephant tricks).  Then she plays with these L-shaped scenes to frame the left side and top, pairing it with an L-shaped visual on the opposite right side and bottom.  I just love these.

Pay attention to the last image in the book.  She ends with the happy peddler holding a balloon.  The peddlar is framed in an oval, echoing the round balloon shape which floats free of the frame.  The opposite page proceeding is framed with a L-like matching concave shape.  Plus there’s a tag hanging from the bottom of the balloon string that says “The End.” 

And it’s all done in those lovely greens, oranges, and muted blues.   

This is my library pick of the week.

While the eldest is at school, my 3-year old daughter chooses the subject, I do a sketch, and my daughter paints it. 

This week, it’s a Beanie Baby pig. 

My sketch…

and my daughter’s colorful painting.

I think circus when I look at this.  Be inspired.

Since my last fav. book review was a book about a dog, it is only fitting that this week’s pick should be a book about a cat!  This one features an old lady that happens upon a wet stray on her doorstep.  She tells it to shoo, but of course it does not.  She invites the cat into her home and little by little into her heart. 

There’s a lot of humor in both the writing and the illustrations.  The woman gives it a sliced of bread but the cat walks away from it.  “‘Just as I suspected,’  Mrs. Crumps said.  ‘Cats are finicky as well.’”    In the three frame panel that accompanies the text you first see hopeful kitty, then disappointed kitty, and finally, tail turned straight up half walked out of the panel kitty.

I love the writing in this book.  Mrs. Crump dries the cat and plans to send it on its way, but ”…it curled itself around Mrs. Crump’s ankles like a soft velvet ribbon and mewed hungrily.”  Next she plans to rid herself of the cat after it’s fed.  She sees the night sky is clear of rain and carries the cat out to the porch.   She looks down at the cat in her arms and “The cat looked up and purred magnificently.”  I love that word choice, magnificently. 

Well, poor Mrs. Crump is doomed to fall for this cat and keep going to town to buy things for it.  There you get interaction between her and the man who runs the shop. Somehow Mrs. Crump’s whole view of things is opening up — here she replies to the man’s greeting, which surprises her.  ”It was the strangest thing, Mrs. Crump thought, but somehow the way back home seemed far shorter than the way there.”  With that one beautiful line you understand that Mrs. Crump is a changed person, she is now one who has something to look forward to.   

More about the illustrations.  I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically at just how low Mrs. Crumps bosom is drawn!  My favorite is where Mrs. Crump, taking the shop keeper’s advice on posting a sign for the found cat in order to get rid of it, places her small sign that describes the cat laughably in the most negative way (I don’t want to reveal too much by telling you what) in a dusty corner of the shop.  You again get a three panel spread (what can I say, I love those multiple panels) of Mrs. Crump entering, then the little sign with its funny and odd companions, and then Mrs. Crump happily leaving.  On the facing page is a full bleed drawing of the sign’s view of Mrs. Crump smiling back at it from the cashier’s counter.  Pure genius, I tell you.

This is my library pick of the week.

My first real conference, oh boy! 

It was also my first portfolio viewing and private critique for my very rushed portfolio (as I only found out about the conference the week before!)  Grandpa and Daddy were nice enough to step up for kid duty for the seven days leading up to the event while I made a huge learning curve on Photoshop, managed to complete a few more drawings, acquired a very sore rear end, and overworked my hand to the point that my thumb was numb and tingly for two days straight.  But all the work was worth it! 

All the lecturers were wonderful, but my favorites were Dan Santat and Brian Floca.  Here’s me in the middle beaming like a fangirl in the presence of celebrities.  I of course got autographs in copies of their books!

Brain Floca on the right critiqued my portfolio.  He had kind praise for my drawings (what a boost) and kind criticism (though he felt he was coming down too harsh) for my dummy book The Butterfly Rolls.  The critique window was only 15 minutes of time, so he approached me later to talk again and make sure that he wasn’t too severe (now wasn’t that sweet?).  His criticism?  “Too clever for its own good,” “Acts like two stories that are having trouble meshing into one”, and “Why can’t we just see them making the biscuits?”  I had to laugh at that last one.  But he did say there was a lot of good in there to work with and that he was looking forward to seeing the revision.

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Here are some lines from early on in Baby, Come Out! (1972) by Fran Manushkin and Ronald Himler, illustrator. 

For breakfast she gave the baby milk, soft-boiled eggs, and good raisin toast.  ‘Do you like your food?’ she asked.  And from deep inside her, Baby would say, ‘Ummm.’ 

Mommy treats Baby so well that Baby doesn’t want to leave!  That saddens Mother greatly.  The whole family — brother, sister, grandpa and grandma – try talking to Baby to convince her to come out; to no avail, Baby tells them she likes it where she is.  Daddy’s the one who holds the loving secret to getting Baby to want to come out.   

I struggle to describe this book in any other words than too cute!

Since this unborn baby the reader can see and the others in the story can hear, it’s very appropriate (although odd at first glance!) for the little babe to be drawn looking like a miniature girl with a head full of hair.  Rest assured, when Baby comes out, you see it’s really a normal looking newborn. 

I’ve always been a fan of the framing of images in rectangular boxes and Himler employs them expertly, helping to pace the story and providing moments of rest with blank space. 

From Fran Manushkin’s web site she tells you that this book, which has been internationally loved and translated into seven languages, was voted as worst book of the year when it came out.  Perhaps people get alarmed when they see something different, for this truly is a one of a kind book.  I also discovered that the book has been lately reissued with color (mine is just pen-and-ink drawings inside).  I don’t miss the color — that’s the charm of the writing.  Sweet, family book.   

While the eldest is at school, my 3-year old daughter chooses the subject, I do a sketch, and my daughter paints it.

Despite my quest to produce more drawings tailored to children’s book publishing, these sketches are just too much fun for my daughter and I to give up.  Children’s paintings can be inspiring, and it’s especially refreshing to view art produced by a child that hasn’t yet been taught by an instructor to paint ”the proper way”.  It’s so easy and fresh.  Ah, it’s so unlike my own labored pieces… One of these days I’m going to take that art professor’s advice back in college — “Try some watercolor.”

My sketch,

and my daughter’s painting.

Yea! my first animals with expressions is colored in.  I wanted to try images on a white background for this spread.  Working on white paper is not my favorite when I color because I like to do highlights with white, so some markers were applied to form a darker base coat under the colored pencil.