tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76924189118962160642024-03-13T13:24:40.105-05:00MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGSThe life and times of children's book illustrator, Matthew Cordell.Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-45886194425221968842018-06-28T15:15:00.003-05:002018-06-29T01:15:02.070-05:00Caldecott 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the last five days, I just keep crying. I’m not one to
discuss my feelings and I’m not a big crier. Rather… I don’t like to be seen
crying or talk about having cried. But I keep crying. And, apparently, I keep talking
about crying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On Sunday, hours before the Newbery Caldecott Wilder banquet
was to begin, I was with my family at this big New Orleans shopping mall by the
river. And I started getting emotional. I started to think about how many years
have gone by with art and creativity and work and collaboration and family and
companionship and happiness and birth and love and loss. And I was about to be
in a room with a thousand people and I was going to reflect on all of that. I
was blessed with an amazing opportunity to thank my fellow artists and
collaborators and thank my friends and family. I was given an opportunity to acknowledge
the fact that my Dad was gone too soon to see it happen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, I didn't want to be seen crying, so I left my family at the mall, and I walked back toward
the hotel alone. I walked along the riverfront under the scorching, humid, New
Orleans sky, and I looked out at the ships cruising past and people laughing
and taking selfies and I looked at the beauty of the place that I was in,
where all of this was happening and about to be happening. I was in a city that’s been beaten down time
and time again. I was in a city that was born to persevere and was stronger
than any other city I’ve visited before or after. I was in a city that is a
living miracle of different races and cultures and art. And it made me cry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the next couple of hours, I cried and got nervous and
went online to figure out how to tie my tie. My family eventually made it back
to the hotel, and we all got dressed in our finest. Julie looked beautiful and
my daughter looked beautiful. My son felt like it was a good time to throw a
tantrum. But it didn’t last.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Before the before-the-festivities festivities, there was a
cocktail reception. As soon as we arrived, all of the nervousness melted away, shockingly,
never to return. There was family there and publishing friends and committee
friends, and Jason Chin and Elisha Cooper friends, and all the nervousness
melted away. I drank half of a beer. Probably, that helped.</span></div>
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We moved i<span style="font-family: inherit;">nto the big, beige Green Room, where I finally met Thi Bui and Gordon C.
James. I met Derrick Barnes and Erin Entrada Kelly. Impulsively, I hugged them
all. Whether they liked it or not, I could not not hug these people. Photos
were taken with the biggest, most all-natural smiles. Erin and I were escorted
out to the dais with our Caldecott and Newbery committee Chairs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next hour or so was a mix of getting in and out of seats,
listening to a bit of welcome speech, eating but not eating. Seeing family and
friends and hugging family and friends. And being up on a platform that was
physically higher than family and friends and looking out from time to time at
a thousand people and knowing and liking and loving them all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The lights flickered, the room eventually silenced. Tish Wilson,
Caldecott committee chair, beautiful person inside and out, introduced 4
Caldecott Honor books and 4 Caldecott Honor artists. Each of them took the
stage for photos and I felt so blessed to be doing this with these 4. I wanted to hug them all. I managed to grab Elisha's hand as he walked past. Tish
introduced my book and its creator and suddenly I was crying again. Or trying
not to cry. It was time. And I wasn’t nervous. Just happy. Just trying not to
cry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Speech.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was fine until I got to the part where I said… thanks.
Thank you to my tribe. To my book tribe and my friend tribe and my family tribe.
By god, it was hard to keep it together. But I looked into each of the faces of
my tribe and I tried to kept it together. Until I turned to the last page
of my speech, and I knew what was on the last page of my speech, where I knew
it was time to remember that my Dad wasn’t there. And I tried not to cry, but I
cried. And I cried and cried and cried. But I said what I needed to say up and out and down into
the universe, and I said… thanks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And I hugged Tish and sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder. Thank you,
Tish. Sorry, Tish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And my two children somehow escaped their table and ran up
to the dais and hugged their wreck of a dad. And I cried some more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The presence and speeches of Erin Entrada Kelly and Jacqueline
Woodson carried me off into laughter and emotional euphoria. I had a glass of red wine. Probably, that helped. The night was a
waking dream. It was beyond hype. Beyond expectation. Beyond reality. It was
every everything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And I’m crying again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">---- this silly, bickering world. There needs to be times
where we say ---- this silly, bickering world and we hug each other and reflect
and say… thanks. And we cry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyways. Back to work. Deadlines and all.</span></div>
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<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-47361915523878645952017-10-03T10:54:00.000-05:002017-10-03T13:35:40.459-05:00WOLF IN THE SNOW<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This week, my book, WOLF IN THE SNOW, will be receiving a
<a href="http://www.hbook.com/2017/05/news/boston-globe-horn-book-awards/presenting-the-2017-boston-globe-horn-book-award-winners/">Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award</a>. Because of this, I’ve been thinking a lot about
it again since the time it was published earlier this year. It’s been on my
mind a lot again, with the writing of an acceptance speech and reflecting on
what it was like several years ago, when I first decided to make the book—way
back when it first showed up in my head and onto paper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Up until WOLF, all of the books I’ve both written and
illustrated have started with a story, which has started with a real thing that
has happened in my life. My earliest author/illustrator picture books, TROUBLE
GUM and ANOTHER BROTHER, were adapted from things that happened in my
childhood. And my own children gifted me with the ideas
for HELLO! HELLO!, WISH, and DREAM. WOLF IN THE SNOW was a completely different…
animal. (I know… sorry.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">WOLF started not with a story, but with a picture I drew. It
was not a picture drawn for a story or on any sort of assignment. It was
just an image that popped into my head. One that I needed to commit to paper, and
would then be done with. It was this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Naturally, as one does in this day and age, I posted that
picture to Facebook. Surprisingly, it got a pretty strong reaction. Most of which were
comments like, “I hope this is for a book you’re working on!” It wasn’t, of
course, but with that kind of encouragement, I began to wonder if it was
something I could elaborate upon. I was inspired enough by the suspense and
characters in the drawing to want to know more myself. But I’ve never been good
at pulling a complete and well-made story from a single image. So, I was not
excited about trying it again. And yet I did. Sort of.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I decided to first try and do some research. I’d drawn a
wolf with little to no idea about what wolves were really like. Other than... I
thought they were generally malevolent creatures. Wicked and selfish and hungry
for anything that got in their way. My idea of wolves was, probably, mostly established
by the likes of The 3 Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. Once I started diving
into documentaries and non-fiction texts about wolves, I realized that all of
what I thought I knew was completely untrue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For those who don’t know, wolves are not the bloodthirsty
beasts that they’ve been portrayed to be in those old stories, and often
continue to be presented as in some movies, TV, books today. They are quite
noble and loving and true to family and pack, and simply want to survive and
live and love. Much like us humans, really. They are highly complex and
intelligent animals who hunt (animals like caribou, not people) for food and
kill no more than is needed to survive. But because they’ve been painted as
these killing machines, throughout history wolves have been decimated in
population and hunted for sport. So much so, that they have evolved to
completely fear any contact whatsoever with humans. They are as afraid of
humans as we typically are of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once I discovered this thing, this vast misperception run
amok, I immediately saw a parallel to what’s happened with wolves and humans to
what’s happening with humans and… other humans. Stereotype and prejudice
between different races, religions, and sexual orientations. Stereotype and
prejudice between man and woman. Stereotype and prejudice run amok. And suddenly,
I had my story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, I wrote a story with words. A terrible story with words.
Several versions of a terrible story with words. I showed this evolving book dummy to my talented author wife
and to my Chicagoland author-illustrator group and to my other bookmaking
friends in different places. My friends weighed in on it many times in
different incarnations. (It was the first time I’d done any of this. I’d always
been pretty protective and solitary about my writing.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With constant tinkering, it began to get a little less terrible. Because of the story—a
girl is lost in the wild, in isolation, then unites with a lost wolf pup—it naturally
evolved into a wordless book. My first attempt at one of those. Eventually,
after polishing and revising, it was becoming something presentable. Something I
wasn’t too not-proud of. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All the while, I wanted to be respectful and true to the
wolf and the wolf’s honest nature and behavior and biology. The story I was
writing was becoming one of two parties getting past their own prejudices to
help each other in a time of need. A story of growth, and empathy, and
reciprocation. It was always intended to be fiction, and I was accepting that
there could be moments I would need to bend truth-in-nature for the sake of the
story. It is, after all, fiction. Not non-fiction. But I wanted the story I was
writing to be as truthful and respectful to how wolves would act and react in
real life as possible. So, I started having very specific questions and
concerns about my story. Questions that couldn’t be answered by documentaries
or books. After a bit more poking around, I found out about and reached out to
the Yellowstone Wolf Project. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ysa5OBhXz-Q" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Yellowstone Wolf Project is a team of scientists responsible
for reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995—around 70 years after
they were completely wiped out from the park in the 1920’s. They have invested
deeply in wolves and have been working with wolves for this great amount of
time, so it would be an invaluable resource if I could get through to them. I
had a somewhat long list of very specific questions that needed rather specific
answers, so I wasn’t sure if they would ever write me back. But they did. I was
so incredibly grateful not only to hear back, but to hear back from them with such
in-depth knowledge, insight, and information about wolves and wolf behavior.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For example, I wondered specifically about a moment in the
first part of my book. Early on, a pack is traveling with a pup and the pup is separated
from the adult wolves in a blizzard. I wondered… would a pack be traveling out
of the den with a pup of a certain age? Would they be traveling at a time that
could result in a blizzard? Knowing how protective they are of their own, is it
even possible that a pup could be separated from the adult wolves in a time of
travel? I was delighted to receive this extremely comprehensive answer in
return.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Wolf pups generally stay around the den until they are
about 12-14 weeks old. At that point the adults lead them to a
"rendezvous" or “RV” area which is a lot like an above-ground den.
The pups know to stay there and the adults know to bring the pups food to the area.
Often the RVs are wet, marshy areas with good visibility and slightly higher
ground for bedding. </span><span style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">However, the
move between the den and the RV can occur when the pups are as young as 6-7
weeks (and only about 10-12 pounds) and so the pups could easily get
separated from the adults during such a move. The adults do not carry them at
that age and so the pups have to keep up with the adults. We had one pack last
year lead their nine 6-week-old pups more than 8 miles over one night--and that
was the first week of June, a time of year we definitely still have blizzards.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">This continued
exchange of questions and answers was extremely helpful to support the story I
was already building. And furthermore, it would put me on the right track for other
visual specifics I’d yet to figure out. I wanted the pup in my book to be old
enough to travel, but small enough to be carried by the girl in the story. So,
my visual reference and research from that point on, would all be for an
8-week-old pup. To get the right look and proportions and texture of fur for a
pup at that age.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I thought it
would be impossible to reach someone like the Yellowstone Wolf Project, and I
was incredibly inspired to make contact and have a chance to correspond with
someone who held this amount of knowledge on a subject I’d grown to care about so
dearly.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Never would
I ever have imagined I could dig in deep like this for research for a book I
wanted to make. The research ended up driving and inspiring the story itself.
It was a new approach in bookmaking and story building for me. One I hope I’ll
jump back into for some other book(s) in the future. (Now that it doesn’t seem
so far out of reach and intimidating.)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Once the
book was at its better-than-ever best, it finally was submitted to my editor,
Liz Szabla, at Feiwel and Friends. Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure it would be
the right book for them, as my previous two books were pretty silly/absurd
ones. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover right away that it was
something they were interested in publishing. With a few minor tweaks to the
storytelling, we were up and running.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Then came
the final decisions in the making of the art. I’ve always kept pretty close to
my very simplified, shorthand line drawing style. A sort of loose and
expressive cartoon line. But I felt like this book needed something different.
The tone was very much unlike anything I’d ever done. Because of the stark line
driven between human and wolf (in a prejudiced mind), I felt like the people
and wolves should be drawn and depicted very differently. It took a while to
figure out just how differently that should be. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">But in the
end, I settled on drawing the human characters in my usual shorthand of line,
and the wolves would be drawn much more realistically than I’d ever drawn a
thing in any of my books. I felt that this would also drive up the readers’ emotions
in the more suspenseful parts. In a way a more cartoon-like wolf certainly
would not.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Wolf in the
Snow has been a book-making experience like no other one I’d had before. It was
equal parts invigorating and frustrating. There were moments I felt completely
overwhelmed with things I might never know or find out. And those moments would
often lead to redemption and understanding. I’ve been so moved to see the incredibly
positive critical and general response unfold as it has this past year. Thank
you, sincerely, to everyone’s support and to the Boston Globe-Horn Book award
judges. See you in Boston this weekend!</span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-1052290497112104152016-01-27T18:49:00.004-06:002016-01-28T14:09:30.435-06:00Farewell, Paul Martyka. Artist, Mentor, Friend.It is with an anvil-heavy heart that I must share the passing of one
of my greatest mentors, artistic influences and inspirations, Professor
Paul Martyka. Losing him will leave a great, big void in my life and in
the many, many students' and faculty members' lives whom he touched and
inspired over the 37 years he taught printmaking, painting, and design
at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC.<br />
<br />
Martyka (most folks knew
him simply as "Martyka") was one of those teachers that you are a
little afraid of, but you try endlessly to impress. I was lucky enough
to study in many of his classes. Actually, I made a point of it. He was a
razor sharp individual. Smart, funny, quick-witted, and massively
talented. He was well-versed and proficient in drawing, printmaking,
painting, design, and he taught them all. And I registered for them all. If you could cut through his salty exterior, you would find Martyka
as generous as he was critical and particular. He would go to great
lengths to share his time and knowledge and craft with any student who
showed promise, intelligence, and curiosity. He could often be found at
school or in his studio late, after hours, missing meals--whatever it
took to help a student with a question or in need.<br />
<br />
My greatest
memories of Martyka were made during an independent study drawing class I
took with him during my senior year. It was a class he created, took
upon himself, and made time for in his already busy schedule. I was
fortunate enough to be able to spend one-on-one time with him weekly,
getting to know him more (and him, me) both artistically and personally.
By the end of this course, I had a group of drawings I was more proud
of than anything I'd ever done. I was proud enough to want to somehow
make a show of them. And so we did. Martyka helped me secure some space
on campus (some unused classrooms at the time) and together we cut
frames (he was also well-versed in woodworking and sculpture) and we
hung a show. We had an opening reception, we had a celebration. When I
accepted an award at the end of the year for drawing, he was standing
right there beaming, and I've always regretted being too insecure to
grab him and give him a giant, thankful hug.<br />
<br />
More than a teacher,
Martyka became a true friend. After graduation, he continued to
motivate me to do bigger and greater things. I kept drawing and painting
and eventually left the south to try art on a larger scale, moving to
Chicago to figure things out. I showed my art in galleries, practiced
graphic design, and ultimately found a place in the art world where I
felt loved, inspired, and at home--illustrating books for children.<br />
<br />
For a time, I tried to keep in touch with him, but Martyka's attentions
were always where they needed to be. At home. With his art and with the
students that needed him most. He had very little time for anyone or
anything else in his life. For a short time, I was lucky enough to
receive that attention. And for that, I'll always be grateful.<br />
<br />
Not a day goes by where I'm at my drawing table, scratching away with my
pen or painting in some color and washes with a brush, that I do not
think back on one or more of the things Martyka said to me. One or more
of the insights and bits of wisdom I was so blessed to have picked up.
Insights I will always remember and will always use. I'm not
exaggerating or romanticizing. This is the truth.<br />
<br />
Paul Martyka
was one of those larger-than-life types that one can never imagine not
being alive. And in some way, I suppose, he never will die. I'll
certainly never forget him for the rest of my life. I'm so thankful to
have known him.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71w1DSmcy_Od_owVQZDv1clby9fEd05XumKPCiOyPRhCyEhu_9zb-s3bHYkFvFFsYgiOat8o6SkbJFWQk0ZPMYgohUxdRKSTJMHKvcBPUU03uoOJpMBcBpBbeeGrQVgjVbDSOoi0bCspR/s1600/martyka_cordell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71w1DSmcy_Od_owVQZDv1clby9fEd05XumKPCiOyPRhCyEhu_9zb-s3bHYkFvFFsYgiOat8o6SkbJFWQk0ZPMYgohUxdRKSTJMHKvcBPUU03uoOJpMBcBpBbeeGrQVgjVbDSOoi0bCspR/s320/martyka_cordell.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<i>Before I left town, I convinced Martyka to
sit for me a while so I could draw a series of portraits. Neither of us
were terribly comfortable about it, but I'm so glad I did.</i></div>
Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-59197138272751634372015-06-23T11:49:00.001-05:002015-06-23T11:49:15.450-05:00Original art and WISH prints for sale!I'm now selling a handful of pieces of original art from a selection of my picture books! Up for sale is art from Trouble Gum, Another Brother, Hello! Hello!, Ollie and Claire, What Floats in a Moat?, and Bat and Rat.<br />
<br />
Also up for sale is this brand new limited edition Giclée WISH print.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXO1IIkLhMZ_sU5jxYn46w6AAjr_JXXYA4fqbitRhJJqK15eLfPPMyNmHStxoA11nhpMv7V66_CuVP3IeJ6vgLBpGmCxj5tB3BtXBToPS16CMw-aVwEprIIV89-dFL88F1gQRK0iqDUic/s1600/wish_print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXO1IIkLhMZ_sU5jxYn46w6AAjr_JXXYA4fqbitRhJJqK15eLfPPMyNmHStxoA11nhpMv7V66_CuVP3IeJ6vgLBpGmCxj5tB3BtXBToPS16CMw-aVwEprIIV89-dFL88F1gQRK0iqDUic/s320/wish_print.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Please check out my Etsy shop with all this stuff in it, right <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/MatthewCordellArt?ref=hdr_shop_menu">here</a>!<br />
Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-22901604746435387132015-05-19T23:24:00.002-05:002015-05-19T23:30:43.088-05:00WISH<style>
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</style><span style="font-size: small;">On March 3, WISH was released.</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdt5h2D06w8W6lnby3CoinhTwaocNUm2DhVp9X5d3YiwAoxnXG_RxY36nCEJ9qZBldDPMUTmTslgmGip-86rKZQVkWkW9efGG6mZHzjU1Odf6YK4sXuSzs3rwyP-TsrpVSNPbrSbRMyDT/s1600/Wish_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdt5h2D06w8W6lnby3CoinhTwaocNUm2DhVp9X5d3YiwAoxnXG_RxY36nCEJ9qZBldDPMUTmTslgmGip-86rKZQVkWkW9efGG6mZHzjU1Odf6YK4sXuSzs3rwyP-TsrpVSNPbrSbRMyDT/s320/Wish_cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
WISH is the story–my family's story–of a couple in love, living for years focusing only on themselves, not yet planning to bring a child into the picture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-EQ77N1q1ymbGMN3wKorKa37METbgB88VW4Il9NqU26kb4Eyw9q3bdlA_sOtxavkaFjOoBcxaWuI9eD9bSts8UxzlWNWpZzJzGtJTWmS7sfNbz6EFR5HFipZ_fFwV4lQ09iRsuFmcwFf/s1600/wish_fb_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-EQ77N1q1ymbGMN3wKorKa37METbgB88VW4Il9NqU26kb4Eyw9q3bdlA_sOtxavkaFjOoBcxaWuI9eD9bSts8UxzlWNWpZzJzGtJTWmS7sfNbz6EFR5HFipZ_fFwV4lQ09iRsuFmcwFf/s320/wish_fb_3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Time passes. And when they are finally ready
for their family to grow… to their dismay, a baby does not seem like it is
going to be possible. There is sadness, hardship, and a lingering, unanswerable
question of “will we ever have a baby?”<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When it seems as if hope is lost, a flicker of possibility appears.
And then… “with every feeling that was ever felt,” that baby does make its way
into the world, in a crescendo of joy and love.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RH0ZjnOs6r2wtYXowcmKTHjaBBxhnudsYkps_lseq9q8UGO4tiVFijq17aNXNXjsYQwvht1C2UUbxJhufzap71NTh1Cr3T8DWG_y4z5eDbE66khb12R879QamJfX7CvcxCi8o8UNFCP_/s1600/elephant_baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RH0ZjnOs6r2wtYXowcmKTHjaBBxhnudsYkps_lseq9q8UGO4tiVFijq17aNXNXjsYQwvht1C2UUbxJhufzap71NTh1Cr3T8DWG_y4z5eDbE66khb12R879QamJfX7CvcxCi8o8UNFCP_/s320/elephant_baby.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<br />
All of these moments—the highs
and the lows—create the full picture I wanted to make with WISH. I wanted to
make a book for all families who have welcomed a baby and who know this
crescendo. But I also wanted to make a book for families like mine who weren’t
quite sure there would ever be a family. But through perseverance and courage
and determination, and through one way or another, that baby was willed into their
world. I hoped families who braved through questions and struggles of
infertility and/or adoption would find this book. My hope was that these parents
could read WISH with these children, and at the end say, “this book is about
you. This is what we went through to meet you. Because you are our everything.”<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Since the book was released, I’ve been amazed and moved by
the emails and messages I receive every week. Messages from people who are
finding WISH and being affected by the story, often connecting it with their
own. Readers who are moved enough by the book to share it within their own
family and also go beyond and share it with others. I’m incredibly grateful for
each and every one of these exchanges.</div>
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<br />
There is one I’d like to highlight here.</div>
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<br />
A couple of weeks ago, I received a Facebook message from a
very special librarian friend, Margie Myers-Culver. Margie and I have known each
other for a few years now. She writes the most perceptive, thoughtful,
well-crafted book reviews via her blog, Librarian’s Quest. To call them
“reviews”… it’s not quite enough. More like works of art about art. She’s a
wonderfully thoughtful person who is passionate about reading and about books
for children. Margie’s message began like this…</div>
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<br />
<i>“<span class="5yl5">I have been thinking a great deal about
getting copies of Wish to more people. Today I chatted with one of the board
members at our Charlevoix Hospital Foundation. She said they would be more than
willing to accept my donation based upon my request for all the money to go to
buying Wish for babies delivered at the hospital. They have 200 babies born
each year…”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span class="5yl5">Margie went on to describe her plan to
purchase and donate 200 copies WISH to Charlevoix Hospital. One for every baby
born there in a year’s time. The donation would be made in honor of her late
mother, also a librarian and champion of authors and illustrators, reading, and
books for young readers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span class="5yl5">What a beautiful notion… to give this story
of ultimate reward to every one of those ultimate rewards being born in a
community. I was blown away. I found it hard to believe someone could be so
thoughtful and generous to take on such a thing. That just one person would
take it upon herself to make such a lasting and caring and generous gift to her
community. And with books! But it was all true. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span class="5yl5">This story continues to unfold as I write
these words. </span><br />
<br />
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<span class="5yl5"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Sex2pggCwHgnKTm2AJFqLxHzUKpN3OPZFvG5YxU1qb-6aTlcfPR6_nBvcnaX_Y4cLa3wGteioswc6V8KVXytC6uAV9Joa4BJ2uRNshZNeHP813-PKuQGcj2KETUElE6fMSi4WjGA3g41/s1600/andersons_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Sex2pggCwHgnKTm2AJFqLxHzUKpN3OPZFvG5YxU1qb-6aTlcfPR6_nBvcnaX_Y4cLa3wGteioswc6V8KVXytC6uAV9Joa4BJ2uRNshZNeHP813-PKuQGcj2KETUElE6fMSi4WjGA3g41/s320/andersons_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span class="5yl5"> This week, I visited Anderson’s Bookshop (an independent bookstore
in a Chicago suburb not too far from me) and I signed and drew in 200 copies of
WISH. </span><br />
<br />
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<br />
<span class="5yl5">Knowing that all the books I touched would eventually be put into mothers’,
fathers’, and newborn babies’ hands. There was some good magic at work there.</span><br />
</div>
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<br />
<span class="5yl5">The books are now being shipped to Margie’s
home in Charlevoix, Michigan. She will be placing a custom commemorative
bookplate inside each book that reads:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Welcome to the world!</span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">May this book be the first step on your journey </span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">to becoming a lifelong reader.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">It is given with love by Margaret Marie Myers Culver </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">in memory of her mother, Agatha Marie Fires Myers,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> a woman who loved introducing the joy books can bring to
children.</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Each book will be wrapped in paper and ribbon and then the
books will be officially donated to Charlevoix Hospital. And the next 200
children born there will begin life with this gift.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I can’t even begin to thank you enough, Margie, for this
amazing donation that will affect so many people. It is all happening, but it
still seems so unlikely and unreal. I’ll never forget it. I never imagined that
making this book would have turned into something like this. Thank you, Margie.
Thank you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And thank you to all who have read WISH and taken the time
to share it with someone you love. </div>
Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-62305149513338716712014-12-17T16:14:00.000-06:002014-12-18T11:29:53.230-06:00Best Books from 2014 not from 2014Now's the time of year when all the "best of" lists come around. I don't recall if I've ever done one myself. At least not publicly. I usually keep this sort of thing to myself or in private conversations. Seems like the right thing to do. But this year, I read some incredible books. I read some incredible books that came out in 2014, of course. But I also read some incredible books that did not come out in 2014.<br />
<br />
So in the interest in doing something different, I've decided to make a list of the best books I discovered in 2014. The ones that did not come out in 2014.<br />
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<i><b>Flora and Tiger</b></i> by Eric Carle, published by Philomel in 1997<br />
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Early this year, I lucked upon the spine of this Eric Carle
book in the nonfiction section of my local public library. I was a little confused
as to why a book by Carle was wedged in there, so of course I slid it off the
shelf. And I’m glad I did. Turns out this book—that looks much like one of his
picture books, but with smaller bits of art and longer bits of text—is Carle’s
answer to the question many of us picture book makers continually tolerate
throughout a career. Question being, “do you think you’ll ever make a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> book?” Real, of course, meaning
something for grown-ups, not kids. [sigh] Anyway, I love that he did this and I
love that he did it like he did it. It’s 19 true, short (long by picture book
standards) slice-of-life autobiographical stories from the picture book master
himself, from various times of his childhood and adult life. </div>
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I have long
admired Carle’s work and I love this peek into his world. The writing is
clever, poignant, precise, and fulfilling. The art is as stylish and charming
and accomplished as anything he’s done and accompanies the stories impeccably. Other
than the length of text and subject matter throughout, everything about it—fittingly
so—feels like a picture book. The size, shape, illustrations, and design.
Wonderful.</div>
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<i><b>My Side of the Car</b></i> written by Kate Feiffer, illustrated Jules Feiffer, published by Candlewick in 2011</div>
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Jules Feiffer is one of those Old Guard, Real Deal,
Bulletproof Pen and Ink Illustrators. I love how he just goes for it with his
drawing. He is clearly not afraid of much when it comes to hitting pen, pencil,
etc to paper. I have immense respect for that attitude. I have immense jealousy
over it. This book is drawn up-to-perfect-snuff by the great Mr. Feiffer and it
is just-right written by his own daughter Kate. And that, in itself, grabs me. </div>
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But backing up, and to be perfectly honest, I had seen the cover of this book
bouncing around online when it first was released. But I am not always
on top of things, so it ended up being one of those books I mentally set aside
with all good intentions of eventually checking out. But then more books are
released on top of it, and time goes by, you forget, and that’s that. Such is
the life of a book. Luckily, this was another great happenstance at my local
library. Thumbing through the new (-ish) picture book section, there it was
again, allowing me to rediscover it. Thankfully so. The story is sweet, funny,
and just the right amount of weird. A little girl wants to go to the zoo with
her dad, and they do, but it starts raining. Only it never starts raining on
her side of the car. So on they go. And by the time you get to the sweetly satisfying ending and then through it, you are rewarded with a short back and
forth conversation between the Feiffers about how this story is based on a true
story—a childhood one that took place with Kate and Dad. Much here reminds me—in the best
way—of one of those perfect days I’ve shared with my own daughter. Which is
not to say that I’m always a sucker for a daughter and dad book. But I am a
sucker for one done well.</div>
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<i><b>Wild</b></i> by Emily Hughes, published by Flying Eye Books in 2013 (US edition)</div>
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I am not terribly sharp when it comes to regurgitation of
historical facts and anecdotes. Throughout school, I memorized just enough of
that to skate by, much of which was promptly forgotten when I was released into
adulthood. Perhaps you learned the story of the Wild Boy of Aveyron? I may
have. I may have forgotten it. Essentially, in 1800 a boy was found alone, in
the woods in Aveyron, France. Presumably abandoned at a very young age, and he had
somehow survived for his many years alone. He was about 12 years old when he
was found and he was… well, totally wild. Once he was discovered, people
attempted to assimilate him into civilized society with mixed results. I don’t
know if I learned this in school, but I did learn about it in Mordecai
Gerstein’s incredible picture book The Wild Boy which I discovered a couple of
years ago. Later, specifically earlier this year, I read a version of this same story
in Wild. I suppose it’s one that’s been told and retold and adapted many times
over. But in Wild the feral child story (with a twist at the end) is
accompanied by absolutely triumphant drawing. </div>
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The cover alone is reason enough
to buy the book sight unseen. Which is what I did. </div>
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<i><b>Seasons</b></i> and <i><b>Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car</b></i> By John Burningham, published by Jonathan Cape in 1969, published by HarperCollins in 1976 (US edition), respectively</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uYdIqcN7EHvUXPzMRfQe4VTV2sS4pp1VTGUg_klIKeLVTNQL4sNAEyfGPRMg_3KHoWBgy_2HR3s0Ua_hYamv8LxSLEg46EQ-2fMMqvwVqceBo7CY8XMzxiBw4oyra1pAarodeq9BcFGj/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uYdIqcN7EHvUXPzMRfQe4VTV2sS4pp1VTGUg_klIKeLVTNQL4sNAEyfGPRMg_3KHoWBgy_2HR3s0Ua_hYamv8LxSLEg46EQ-2fMMqvwVqceBo7CY8XMzxiBw4oyra1pAarodeq9BcFGj/s1600/13.jpg" height="303" width="320" /></a></div>
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What the great John Burningham has contributed to art and
illustration and picture books (and also to my own obliterated perception of all
the above after discovering his work) is very much immeasurable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could go on about how utterly fearless
his work is (and I have), but I won’t.</div>
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But backing up for just a minute… Whenever I’m fascinated by
an artist or an illustrator, I don’t typically go out and consume every
book or image by this person as quickly as possible. Because: a) financially
speaking, it is not ok for me to do that; and b) I prefer to consume
a bit here and a bit there, taking in and digesting reasonable amounts at a time. I
prefer to luck upon one of said artist’s books someplace, somewhere, sometime completely
unexpectedly. On a library shelf, in a bookstore, in a used book sale, etc.
That’s how I seem to work.</div>
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This year, I picked up two out of print (I think?) Burningham
titles. </div>
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I first heard about <i>Seasons</i> at my artist’s group. When
Burningham came up in conversation, someone noted he had been hunting a copy of
this book for a while. I hadn’t even heard of it. So that, coupled with the
fact that it sounded difficult to find, made me want it all the worse.
Eventually I got lucky and found a pretty well worn copy online for cheap. There’s
not much story or even text to this book. Each season of the year is introduced
very simply. “Spring is…” with a handful of scene-setting words to describe each
changing time of year. All of which, it seems, take place on and around one
sprawling, rural plot of land. And for the lack of text here, we are treated to
an explosive range of dense, layered, rich Burningham illustration.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfH5Kpg6spcaBhestQbWRqR_j-H-Up3pGJJ4X93H-lF9AqTpUmCDTmSjFsApdN53X3IiaJwx8q3XKChsNKie7fV-sTZTxBoEqJ7IapL5ygwQWbj2xWN59IUv6VSuEfjsx2dDHdliHG1nYd/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfH5Kpg6spcaBhestQbWRqR_j-H-Up3pGJJ4X93H-lF9AqTpUmCDTmSjFsApdN53X3IiaJwx8q3XKChsNKie7fV-sTZTxBoEqJ7IapL5ygwQWbj2xWN59IUv6VSuEfjsx2dDHdliHG1nYd/s1600/11.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEav_fg3_GgJrgQ9tzMUAVHbuWwARIiPUE_9V7eOYYJjtmf-0o-S0x_5vjnaOFocW-Rm8PBGQlFpXBpGEN-TycRrt1zGnP-ZZU51saFHzPCO62TWOIb9bSKsDDSxgfTWhXGqIdzbHpqLP/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEav_fg3_GgJrgQ9tzMUAVHbuWwARIiPUE_9V7eOYYJjtmf-0o-S0x_5vjnaOFocW-Rm8PBGQlFpXBpGEN-TycRrt1zGnP-ZZU51saFHzPCO62TWOIb9bSKsDDSxgfTWhXGqIdzbHpqLP/s1600/12.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just a few weeks ago, I found for sale a beat up library
copy of <i>Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car</i>. One that was taken out of circulation and put up for sale in
my local library’s used book room. I have to say, a beat up library picture
book is sometimes so much more interesting to own than a pristine never-been-touched copy. How many children and parents and picture book enthusiasts have pored over and grabbed and twisted, turned, laughed over, cried over, smelled and
ripped theses very pages? It sure looks like a lot. This sort of picture book patina will only make a Burningham book that much better.</div>
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Like many of his books there are weirdly perfect juxtapositions
of strangeness and tenderness. The art is both classic and groundbreaking.
There are moments of absolute awkwardness alongside ones of absolute finesse.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKh90tU8chXxY1burGYAQSh0coMySvVnujfeU3hopJHVuuF9tvBozu5b3x-IIUuZWhd6AQ2g70dtyGXfxTzGvt4X_1ZjfZ-gpgVfjrFZNl7FlEO21kW3FWAJ73FOuW-Y-gePw1tl4-M6h/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKh90tU8chXxY1burGYAQSh0coMySvVnujfeU3hopJHVuuF9tvBozu5b3x-IIUuZWhd6AQ2g70dtyGXfxTzGvt4X_1ZjfZ-gpgVfjrFZNl7FlEO21kW3FWAJ73FOuW-Y-gePw1tl4-M6h/s1600/14.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjmaLrwQy-5JxIrS9IqEXVhNvYiNsphyphenhyphen6CmBR8NrFZXM5wsUtxhNawHsoNaqfwR0ayP-_HDWSBetX8bbJNAWtaq3B2MZjY1MnbVTFv7lwaW-lj-VZO2qR77IPSN-PVsmY1SEaxGFmZ-yL/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjmaLrwQy-5JxIrS9IqEXVhNvYiNsphyphenhyphen6CmBR8NrFZXM5wsUtxhNawHsoNaqfwR0ayP-_HDWSBetX8bbJNAWtaq3B2MZjY1MnbVTFv7lwaW-lj-VZO2qR77IPSN-PVsmY1SEaxGFmZ-yL/s1600/15.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mr. Gumpy and his children and animal friends squeeze into
his car for a lovely drive across the countryside. There is a moment of
conflict with rain, mud, and the arguing of the pushing and then the pushing of
Gumpy’s mud-stuck car. It gets hot, they go for a swim. They go home.</div>
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“Good-bye,” said Mr. Gumpy. “Come for a drive another day.”</div>
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And I don’t mind if I do.</div>
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<i><b>Frog and Toad are Friends</b></i>, <i><b>Frog and Toad Together</b></i>, <i><b>Frog and Toad All Year</b></i>, published by HarperCollins in 1970, 1971, 1976, respectively</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpm5vYyyxJKzsShxa9w0WU81iNS_wpGizhafsmMcyQ04h8-1t5avhyphenhyphen9kOHC4nES-DyCP_BQkcp1EMcgqQO60LadIa25IQE3NEFnARlOUOkI_OaAjQmEslwNPNGFi1O0X3Ldo8zkpSHYdtu/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpm5vYyyxJKzsShxa9w0WU81iNS_wpGizhafsmMcyQ04h8-1t5avhyphenhyphen9kOHC4nES-DyCP_BQkcp1EMcgqQO60LadIa25IQE3NEFnARlOUOkI_OaAjQmEslwNPNGFi1O0X3Ldo8zkpSHYdtu/s1600/16.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I’m pretty embarrassed to admit to this, but… 2014 will
henceforth be known as the year I read Frog and Toad. For the first time. I
love Arnold Lobel and have slowly, over the years, been digesting his great
picture books. He is, in fact, one of my favorites. Frog and Toad are, in fact,
one of my wife’s childhood favorites. So I don’t know why or how I could have
not read Frog and Toad for shamefully this long in life. Taken for granted
maybe? Forgot I’d never read them maybe? But now I have. And I’m much better
off because of it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0571oFPAfwSNIUZBE0T5AkP4B4BUFBFDRZ8wBjSYkBRSxr4YPTDNFI4VTSmBwNgOV9K9MzkpCq42MGQuLqB8_mkzm3qeQkDGzNiSwmYWf3IGpRlvPM4z_PcCX_qHlunivnFA1Dc3okQb/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0571oFPAfwSNIUZBE0T5AkP4B4BUFBFDRZ8wBjSYkBRSxr4YPTDNFI4VTSmBwNgOV9K9MzkpCq42MGQuLqB8_mkzm3qeQkDGzNiSwmYWf3IGpRlvPM4z_PcCX_qHlunivnFA1Dc3okQb/s1600/17.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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These books are every bit as perfect as I’d always heard them
to be. Pitch perfect, top to bottom. Not a line out of place. You know the
rest. You’ve all read them. If only I’d gotten to them sooner.</div>
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<i><b>Words and Pictures</b></i> and <i><b>Beyond the Page</b></i> by Quentin Blake, published in 2000 and 2012 by Jonathan Cape, respectively</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5G5C1r8QVwnoNJ2O40tb-cOoUq8oh9E36CRW_nQ68nbmB7b2ViZfY8CxY37jlpigCaZaRsKdY3efPkDqz9wuJ02MqG9ZT5ias4vhQuQq1ksenx49Kv0BxjQe8Cx91ORINqdttFXm44Yv/s1600/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5G5C1r8QVwnoNJ2O40tb-cOoUq8oh9E36CRW_nQ68nbmB7b2ViZfY8CxY37jlpigCaZaRsKdY3efPkDqz9wuJ02MqG9ZT5ias4vhQuQq1ksenx49Kv0BxjQe8Cx91ORINqdttFXm44Yv/s1600/19.jpg" height="320" width="300" /></a></div>
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There has been a lot of Quentin Blake moving through our
house this year. It started when my wife decided to begin reading to our daughter
some Roald Dahl books before bedtime. Our girl is 6, so not all Dahl is
appropriate, but she did get to <i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i> and <i>James and
the Giant Peach</i>. Both of which were, by choice, the (later) Quentin Blake
editions. I was then inspired to read <i>The Witches</i>, a Dahl/Blake book I’d never
gotten around to. At which point I was hooked—or shall I say rehooked—on the
drawings of Sir Quentin. Blake is one of those true blue pen and inkers who is
so good at what he’s doing and has been for so long, that you almost forget
just how good he really, really is. You take the work for granted. For
shame.</div>
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Shortly thereafter came my birthday. I used a Powell’s gift certificate to
snap up these two Quentin Blake art books I’d had on a “wish I had that” list
for a long, long time.</div>
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<i>Words and Pictures</i> follows Blake’s career and pen from early
beginnings all the way to the year 2000. Much of this volume focuses on his
incredible and evolving book work. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVdOAIzeRBkgSRDqHtbNhJ0P1ZxXbhoJIFZqLgYdKmSy76pZifv-65H567dokxIFENnuoImJLWJBjx8ljWNb-Wf0pAk6ueFXh_tPQbBu4wqKJ2GzO6MS-Ou-1Yw08R58D5_izjBxEp1fto/s1600/21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVdOAIzeRBkgSRDqHtbNhJ0P1ZxXbhoJIFZqLgYdKmSy76pZifv-65H567dokxIFENnuoImJLWJBjx8ljWNb-Wf0pAk6ueFXh_tPQbBu4wqKJ2GzO6MS-Ou-1Yw08R58D5_izjBxEp1fto/s1600/21.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Beyond the Page</i> picks up with Blake’s art
after 2000 and carries us up to when it was published, in 2012. This book
showcases many of his exhibits and art installations through Europe where he
created many original drawings that were displayed on museum, gallery, and even
hospital walls. And other fun side projects like postage stamp and greeting card illustration. (Bonus: the endsheets are a peek into QB's blissfully chaotic studio.)</div>
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<span id="goog_1151612155"></span><span id="goog_1151612156"></span><br /></div>
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The text and descriptions throughout both volumes were entirely written by Blake himself, in a wonderfully charming, wonderfully
humble tone. It seems impossible to say, but I love his work even more having
read what he has to say about it. I found we shared many of the same processes
and idiosyncrasies in the way we approach our drawing. I loved reading about
his influences and outside study and art-making that had little to nothing to
do with the world of children's books. These two books fascinated me. And they would fascinate any other Quentin Blake lover. And they would surely make Quentin Blake lovers of the
rest of them too.</div>
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<i><b>Micheal Rosen’s Sad Book</b></i> written by Michael Rosen, Illustrated by Quentin Blake, published by Candlewick in 2005 (US edition)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEdYXRJpxIAVeoLrtef5-XYQTFI1EbHM2UeW0LNrTPeWHCgvgjS0drFhYlwOR0m3F72w73F-uI5lqWlCHB0NUQEnpDzyKwdtfud80HOKtvs3RzctodLjbObmXZAOYD0aSCM0EFVEAzSc4/s1600/26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEdYXRJpxIAVeoLrtef5-XYQTFI1EbHM2UeW0LNrTPeWHCgvgjS0drFhYlwOR0m3F72w73F-uI5lqWlCHB0NUQEnpDzyKwdtfud80HOKtvs3RzctodLjbObmXZAOYD0aSCM0EFVEAzSc4/s1600/26.jpg" height="320" width="267" /></a></div>
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And I could not come away from those two QB books without
hunting down several of the picture books mentioned within. Some of them I knew
and loved already. But some I was fortunate enough to seek out and experience
for the very first time. One of these was <i>Michael Rosen’s Sad Book</i>. My favorite
book of the year.</div>
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How do you take the ultimate soul-crushing life experience
and write something beautiful and brilliant and… soulful out of it? How do you
illustrate it? Point blank, a child died suddenly and unexpectedly.
Specifically, British poet and author Michael Rosen’s teenage son Eddie died
suddenly and unexpectedly. Rosen completely opens up his heart about it,
revealing himself and his memories and his despair, and ultimately the
beginning bit of perseverance and hope at the end. Where one must begin to
rebuild—unfathomable as it seems—after something so horribly tragic has
happened.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50NgmzRnFD_sKS3bkgFMPkYp-X4Z7eEIissdcgC8iGNVd7AVOxJaL5ASkZ9B8XskHjQUAh3zbIYsOiex_KRAjIq2B3IEDhdfLdwol1FOjUC0Ov3f8sW7rigfsvlprH1zjdHcQKxb0bvFl/s1600/27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50NgmzRnFD_sKS3bkgFMPkYp-X4Z7eEIissdcgC8iGNVd7AVOxJaL5ASkZ9B8XskHjQUAh3zbIYsOiex_KRAjIq2B3IEDhdfLdwol1FOjUC0Ov3f8sW7rigfsvlprH1zjdHcQKxb0bvFl/s1600/27.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vmfJn78PkJkTslq6txIhqmjiYfQOsuLPZm9_MXbvD2wnxacQ66PvikLKjqW0sraVQ89113ZgiBtNUT31cTdaSf8bFElX6iCRpNYXCOd_YO2VeZneDCyuO5rSxNwcM-KeyATbh6Rvs_Ge/s1600/28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vmfJn78PkJkTslq6txIhqmjiYfQOsuLPZm9_MXbvD2wnxacQ66PvikLKjqW0sraVQ89113ZgiBtNUT31cTdaSf8bFElX6iCRpNYXCOd_YO2VeZneDCyuO5rSxNwcM-KeyATbh6Rvs_Ge/s1600/28.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is lemonade-from-lemons picture book making at its finest and in the
absolute best and absolute worst way. It is—in my estimation—unparalleled. It
is honest, graceful, shattering. Rosen and Blake, they broke my heart into a
thousand little pieces. And they somehow managed to put it back together again. </div>
<!--EndFragment-->Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-75958238014970316802014-08-31T10:51:00.000-05:002014-08-31T10:51:21.835-05:00Riding on the Number 5 Bus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxZnlF9icdTLtnlkL0mOsMj17zggVaP89IifHp9bGccSEYAl2SWoX2jhnnbd9R_oHqAK7MPfYV-4G-QDhlKXM1f9jkiAX3EQBN0UrrNMo6E6MwY_5EmUJ8azF3JoSmF1UxJkR9jL23B1y/s1600/cordellcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxZnlF9icdTLtnlkL0mOsMj17zggVaP89IifHp9bGccSEYAl2SWoX2jhnnbd9R_oHqAK7MPfYV-4G-QDhlKXM1f9jkiAX3EQBN0UrrNMo6E6MwY_5EmUJ8azF3JoSmF1UxJkR9jL23B1y/s1600/cordellcover.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
For the past couple of weeks, I've been bouncing emails back and forth with Philip and Erin Stead for their author and illustrator discussion series called The Number 5 Bus. It has been a tremendous amount of fun talking about books and art (past and present) and many things that fall in between.<br />
<br />
Topics covered include (not limited to):<br />
<br />
-unfortunate coincidences in one's plot and another found elsewhere in the world<br />
-John Burningham<br />
-William Steig<br />
-virtual tour of my very messy studio<br />
-nibs and bamboo pens<br />
-watercolor<br />
-previous art lives<br />
-sneak peeks at a couple of my 2015 picture book offerings (WISH, my next author/illustrator, and SPECIAL DELIVERY, a book I illustrated by Phil)<br />
-etc.<br />
<br />
I hope you will take a few minutes and check out this piece and other great ones from the series. Ok, you will need more than a few minutes, probably. They are pretty stretched out in comparison to a lot of other content found on the web. Which is also what I love about these discussions. They have a nice ramble-y, not so edited, Richard Linklater-esque vibe to them that I love. I just saw Boyhood yesterday with the missus (so good) and I'm thinking Linklater a lot right now.<br />
<br />
Check out my piece on No. 5 Bus right here:<br />
<br />
http://numberfivebus.com/2014/03/27/season-1-episode-10-matthew-cordell-coming-soon/<br />
<br />
Thanks for having me, Phil and Erin.Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-41066935677143505232014-08-21T11:06:00.002-05:002014-08-21T11:06:37.461-05:00First Grade DropoutThis just in! A set of F+G's for my picture book collaboration with the awesome Audrey Vernick from our friends at Clarion Books. First Grade Dropout! This one will be dropping in on you in July of 2015. Mark your calendars! (Dang, that seems so LONG from now.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYAsEbCWtw7m0Oy-RkEPpwdDB5hZ-0SpTcxHU8jqsTMELoU6LBede6Eush6mfHRWEJmAknrmLROFG5aB2bJO2R8Olvx_axcZp55QFOmb6inPkS0IdKTxKSV12lbrqfIzYWWxMVn0SwvEw/s1600/dropout_fg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYAsEbCWtw7m0Oy-RkEPpwdDB5hZ-0SpTcxHU8jqsTMELoU6LBede6Eush6mfHRWEJmAknrmLROFG5aB2bJO2R8Olvx_axcZp55QFOmb6inPkS0IdKTxKSV12lbrqfIzYWWxMVn0SwvEw/s1600/dropout_fg.jpg" height="255" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-86234060960858164252014-08-04T16:28:00.001-05:002014-08-04T16:28:25.022-05:00Make Yer DotLast year, first time ever, I jumped into this fun idea of making a "dot" as part of the International Dot Day <a href="http://www.thedotclub.org/dotday/">event</a>. Make a mark (or anything that may/may not be dot-like) and see where it takes you. See how a story unravels or another picture, etc. (If you weren't already aware, the idea started from Peter Reynold's lovely picture book The Dot.) These dots we make and share get shared and shared with kids and educators and parents all over and it's this wonderful creative lovefest. Dot Day this year is September 15.<br />
<br />
Last year, I came up with this all-kinds-of-heads dot:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBLP_ueZA1Pud9O5UlBlhG4WJIFlfSmBBrh2HcVypPMnttqlgiqyOeQDpi6ICtoFURBqG91kQBXTx1_lsw9K-odhwFhE8fcSC9_XrjlFeE9hHaW3ynC9y9gG824d4bPecmmdl0du2_ksE/s1600/cordell_dotday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBLP_ueZA1Pud9O5UlBlhG4WJIFlfSmBBrh2HcVypPMnttqlgiqyOeQDpi6ICtoFURBqG91kQBXTx1_lsw9K-odhwFhE8fcSC9_XrjlFeE9hHaW3ynC9y9gG824d4bPecmmdl0du2_ksE/s1600/cordell_dotday.jpg" height="315" width="320" /></a></div>
And this year, I came up with this red-gray-black-squirrel-ball dot:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF7Wq-S1una9GUu-tiPaQt4tB-34RrDOb4KpFmqWCP3XipQ7QKxOKap9BzkNUb_7A0JpSQbS-uQJ-o7iMss219ijGRhwbUXzNdAY9wT9mc3DUulfvDJ4Or0FtIW4uQ8ADTJXoP_nMP-YK_/s1600/cordell_dot_2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF7Wq-S1una9GUu-tiPaQt4tB-34RrDOb4KpFmqWCP3XipQ7QKxOKap9BzkNUb_7A0JpSQbS-uQJ-o7iMss219ijGRhwbUXzNdAY9wT9mc3DUulfvDJ4Or0FtIW4uQ8ADTJXoP_nMP-YK_/s1600/cordell_dot_2014.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
As an illustrator, and sometime author, my dots were added to the ongoing blog/website called "celebri-dots" which can be found <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/">here</a>. MANY others have done this and for a long list of up-to-date contributors, check that out <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/p/alphabetical-listing-of-celebrities.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Take a scroll and click through to find a whole bunch of fun interpretations of dots from days, months, years past. And if you are an author, illustrator, or someone in the public eye, I encourage you to participate too, to get in on the fun and spark a whole bunch of kid imaginations. Here's the <a href="http://www.celebridots.com/p/how-to-submit.html">page</a> that tells you how to submit. You'll be in touch with and befriend of the sweetest and most positive guys out there, Terry Shay. It's win-win, folks. Make a dot!<br />
<br />
<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-46224779400528201212014-07-30T20:49:00.001-05:002014-08-04T16:44:15.197-05:00Characters and RadonThis week I've been clearing out the crawl space in our basement so we can have a radon filtration system installed down there. I guess they cover up the crawl space and do whatever else. There was 10 plus years of junk crammed into that crawl space including these massive canvases I was painting back in 1999-2000. By massive, I mean 4' x 6' average. By canvases, I mean 6 or seven of those monsters. I think I only still like one of them. I've decided to remove most of the the canvases from the stretchers and just roll/store the canvases so I don't ever have to move them again and maybe never look at them again either.<br />
<br />
Besides radon fun, I've also been knee deep in picture book sketches. I'm working on sketches/art for 3 picture books right now. And I've also been developing a pitch for an author/illustrator idea that I sent to my awesome editor at Disney-Hyperion last week. Fingers crossed for that one!<br />
<br />
Enough words, how about some pictures? Here are three character sketches I did for one of the picture books currently underway. (a <i>beautiful</i> text by the lovely Rebecca Kai Dotlich via Boyds Mills Press) I did a handful of completely different looks for this central character. These drawings were from one of my favorites. We went a different way, but I still quite like these drawings as stand-alones. I hope you do too. Radon power!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYIBsA7OUMAIK4ugHahYOJjmj1kS5_lDgueF-gFpMdFUJ4oSAmKaQKbBxg-Xrbl34XllLKYrTcOTzmxNoaaswrzS5AlLWg6rIdk7AXcTpzHRe3dMudVzMl2qYKgh4MEaFmHg-oCy7_EBYg/s1600/drawing_know_out_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYIBsA7OUMAIK4ugHahYOJjmj1kS5_lDgueF-gFpMdFUJ4oSAmKaQKbBxg-Xrbl34XllLKYrTcOTzmxNoaaswrzS5AlLWg6rIdk7AXcTpzHRe3dMudVzMl2qYKgh4MEaFmHg-oCy7_EBYg/s1600/drawing_know_out_1.jpg" height="306" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-5272020184174144302014-07-21T14:56:00.000-05:002014-07-21T16:46:16.384-05:00The Family That Zines TogetherA few days ago, my wife, Julie, was explaining to our 5-year-old daughter, Romy, about zines. For those of you who don't know, a zine is a self-made (I would say "self-published," but that sounds too glamorous, in fact) magazine. ("Zine" is "magazine" minus the "maga.") Zines are typically created in/by/for youth culture, typically so in punk rock circles or the like. Zines are typically designed pretty simply or even crudely--perhaps even cut/paste--and are produced in short-ish quantities on a photocopier on standard letter-sized paper. Copies are assembled into a paginated booklet--folded in half, and stapled to bind together. Zines can be about anything at all. Usually they are very personal in nature. Stories or comics about one's self and experiences. Things that person feels passionate about. Music, art, writing, toys, comics, love, etc. Zines were a very big part of Julie's and my teenage and 20-something years. They have since faded away in our own lives, but still hold a very sweet spot in our hearts. (Julie and I actually met each other and fell in love through zines. Long story... remind me tell you some time.)<br />
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OK... back to my point. Julie was explaining zines to Romy. Romy was so inspired, she went off to her little nook of creativity and proceeded to make her own zine about something important to her. What else...? Star Wars! She is an early, early student of the written English language, so she tends to spell things out phonetically. I'll translate.<br />
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(Translation: STAR WARS ZINE BY ROMY. The drawing is of the Millenium Falcon with Chewie and Han screeching--word balloons--across the galaxy.)<br />
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(Translation: MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS FROM STAR WARS. Pictured from L to R: Luke Skywalker, Wicket, Princess Leia, and Yoda--who is daydreaming about snacks.)<br />
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(Translation: LOOK OUT ALWAYS FOR and pictured is Emperor Palpatine. Romy's least favorite, most feared and despised Star Wars character.)<br />
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(Translation: UH OH SPAGHETTI-O'S. Pictured are Jabba the Hutt and Salacious Crumb.)<br />
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How incredibly awesome is this? I am biased and that is fine, but I insist--bias or no--you too <i>must</i> find this awesome.<br />
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And yet, it gets better. Romy was finishing up one of her summer camp programs and for a celebratory gift, she asked that her Mama make her a zine to give her the day she finished camp. A zine about something Julie loved, using the same template that Romy herself created. So Julie did a zine about Battlestar Gallactica (the reboot). And it goes like this.<br />
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Man, I love these so much! All I can say is, how'd I get so lucky to get these beautiful people as my family?Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-16659522194099064712014-07-14T14:40:00.002-05:002014-07-14T14:40:55.310-05:00Let Us CollaborateNothing quite so magical as successful collaboration. In this case, my 5-year-old daughter and I sat down to a large piece of paper yesterday and drew together this unicorn stampede.<br />
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For the longest time, it seemed she had very little patience or interest in sitting down to a drawing. (I figured she was--in some rebellious way--rejecting drawing since that's what her old man does.) But lately, she has really stepped it up and is becoming quite the little draughtsman. (Draughtswoman?) I will have to report back here soon with some of her other recent masterpieces.<br />
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Magic!Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-30958739565462225292014-07-07T20:46:00.001-05:002014-07-07T20:47:15.735-05:00Best decade (+1) ever!<br />
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This picture was taken waaaay back in 2003. The evening of July 5th, to be exact, in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire. Julie and I had just gotten married and here we are getting hoisted up and trotted around in chairs to song and dance by our strongest of friends and family. We celebrated our 11th anniversary over the weekend with a meal out (lunch not dinner, it's more practical with a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old in the house... at least we thought so), a viewing of our wedding dvd and photo album, and a half dozen donuts. It's been a tremendous 11 years. A much greater journey--with Julie and now our two little ones--than I could ever have dreamed up.Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-80941615741847403672014-07-03T11:06:00.003-05:002014-07-03T20:36:02.094-05:00Steve Burns, Blues Clues, and usYesterday, I came upon this video. I'm not exactly sure of the context here, but I gather it's part of a storytelling series by something (someone?) called <a href="http://themoth.org/posts/storytellers/steve-burns">The Moth</a>. The storyteller here is Steve Burns. If you ever watched an episode of Blues Clues--particularly the earlier episodes--it is THAT Steve. Blues Clues was a good deal after my time of being a child watching children's tv, but by the time my daughter was born and of tv age (she's 5 now) she came in on the tail end of Blues Clues and was immediately a huge fan of the show. Pretty much anything she's a huge fan of, Julie and I are huge fans of too. (We'll see how we feel when baby girl discovers pop music.) We loved the insane enthusiasm of Steve. The genuine goofy and sincere sweetness he brought to the show. The bright, vivid animation coupled with good ol' Steve. How he talked directly, gently, kindly to the viewer... Something about the show, and watching it with our daughter who loved it so, just made us feel good. When Steve was replaced and he left the show and Blue--in the plot, it was because he went off to college--I must admit... I got a little misty-eyed. [snif]<br />
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Anyhow, back to this video. Julie and I often wondered what happened to our old pal Steve. Well this video, it's a video of Steve Burns today. Or, I think, September of 2010. And in a more grown-up setting, maybe even a comedy club. He's reflecting on what his life was like at the height of Blue's Clues and he gives us a glimpse at why--or partly why--he ultimately bowed out. Something about this guy... I love this video. He seems so humble and true and funny and sincere. He pokes a little bit of fun at himself and the wild enthusiasm of the show, but pays genuine respect to it as well. He talks about what it was like to be famous--or "fameish" as he calls it. And there's a highly absurd anecdote about one of the strange moments fame brought to him. And by the end, I got a little misty-eyed again.<br />
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If you are a grown-up (there's some slightly adult-ish humor here, not for young 'uns) who ever enjoyed hanging out with Steve and Blue, and you have 17 minutes to spare, I suggest you watch this clip. Do it for Blue. Do it for you.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CwmtkFPYXsg" width="420"></iframe><br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-62755337856949247412014-07-01T10:24:00.000-05:002014-07-01T10:24:07.516-05:00Number 5 BusNow that I'm back on the blog, there's this other blog/website/conversation that's been going on since that I wanted to talk about. It's called <a href="http://numberfivebus.com/">Number 5 Bus</a>, presented by talented author/illustrator husband wife duo, Philip and Erin Stead. They've been conducting these very casual, fun, smart email conversations with various authors and illustrators around the scene and letting them loose on the world via Number 5 Bus. I think the idea is it will be handled like a television show, in that each discussion is considered an episode as part of a larger group of episodes, or "season." One would hope that, should they wish to continue, there'll be more seasons to come when this one finishes out.<br />
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<i>Erin's drawing from Erin and Phil's </i>A Sick Day For Amos McGee</div>
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For a better description of all of this, read the Steads' introduction to the project right <a href="http://numberfivebus.com/2014/05/26/introduction/">here</a>. <br />
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The current <a href="http://numberfivebus.com/2014/05/26/season-1-episode-5-sergio-ruzzier/">episode</a> is a great one with Sergio Ruzzier. Sergio's one of my favorite contemporary picture book makers. His art is very much his own. Very recognizable and stylish and a perfect combination of sweet and strange. In this discussion on Number 5 Bus, we get some nuggets about the possibly insulting use of calling someone's work "sophisticated," the distinction or non-distinction between American and European picture books, and some sneaks into Sergio's back-portfolio and future one. A lively and fun conversation.<br />
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When you visit, be sure to check out previous episodes with more terrific kid book choices Eric Rohmann, Cece Bell, Rebecca Stead, and Julie Danielson. And check back weekly (more or less) for the next episode's release. It's good stuff!Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-6602413662178215652014-06-25T10:40:00.004-05:002014-06-25T10:40:55.436-05:00New Cordell offerings at ALA this weekend!No I will not be at ALA annual in Las Vegas this weekend, but you will!<br />
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I do love this conference, but I'm not going to be there this year. If you are going, I hope you will take time to stop by the Disney-Hyperion booth (#603) to ask about my February 2015 picture book, WISH. I hope you will take time to stop by the Macmillan Children's booth (#522) to ask about my April 2015 picture book with the awesome Philip C. Stead, SPECIAL DELIVERY.<br />
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I don't know a whole lot beyond that. I do know that some copies of f+g's of WISH are going to be given out at the annual (and superfun!) Disney-Hyperion preview event. If you are invited to that, grab one!<br />
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I hate to miss it, but if you're going, please check these two books out. I'm so proud of them both and can't wait to get them out in the world!<br />
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<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-56722741698500096092014-06-23T20:48:00.000-05:002014-06-23T20:48:06.909-05:00Bring Back The Blog!I have no idea if blogs of this nature are relevant or checked or followed at all anymore with the onslaught of social media. This one here has laid dormant for long stretches of time, as I neglected it and wondered about such things. No more! I've officially decided that henceforth, anything I post on Facebook and/or Twitter that has any general amount of substance, I shall also post on my blog! Starting now.<br />
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What follows are drawings I did just for fun. Not on assignment, under contract, commission, etc.. I like to, whenever she will allow it, sit down with my 5-year-old daughter and just draw. Usually with her Crayola crayons or markers, that's the way I like it. Last several times I've done this, this Mouseknight has materialized on my paper. Not that it really matters, but I fancy this Mouseknight a lady Mouseknight. A la (perhaps) Brienne of Tarth.<br />
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What does it mean? Will this turn into a book? Maybe. Maybe not. For now... bring forth the Mouseknight!<br />
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<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-55720523595519363912014-04-24T10:52:00.001-05:002014-04-24T10:52:35.661-05:00Gallery NucleusThose of you who know my personal history, might remember that I came up in the fine art/gallery world with a dash of graphic design. In the year 2000 (or so) I turned my back on all of that and decided to give children's books a go. I got my foot in the door, loved it so much then and now, and it's been no looking back.<br />
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A couple of months ago, I got an email from a gallery in the Los Angeles area, inviting me to contribute some work to a group illustration show. It's been the first time I've corresponded with any gallery in about 10+ years. Turns out fellow illustrator, <a href="http://www.dantat.com/DANTAT.COM/DAN_SANTAT_author___illustrator.html">Dan Santat</a>, was celebrating his new and cool picture book, The Adventures of Beekle, by headlining an illustration show at <a href="http://www.gallerynucleus.com/">Gallery Nucleus</a>, with the theme of Imaginary Friends. I met Dan a couple of summers ago at ALA in Anaheim and he's a super nice, super funny guy. And of course, very prolific and talented too. So I was flattered to be invited in on this.<br />
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So with the theme of "Imaginary Friends" in mind, I came up with these two pieces to be included in the show. I guess it's a gorilla or a sasquatch or both or neither. At any rate, it's fun to be involved with a gallery again. Especially one that specializes in quality illustration and illustrators. Super, super cool, really.<br />
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The opening reception was Saturday April 19. All pieces from the show are viewable online now and available for purchase through the gallery's website. Check it out <a href="http://www.gallerynucleus.com/gallery/pieces/425">here</a>, some impressive pieces in this show!<br />
<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-5096495770229953202013-12-02T11:02:00.002-06:002013-12-02T11:02:34.095-06:00Etsy Shop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Holy cow, it's been a crazy long time since I've touched this blog. If anybody's left out there reading this, I've got some news to share for this holiday season.<br />
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After much thought (and a good bit of apprehension) I've now dipped my toe into the Etsy pool. I just opened a shop to test the waters of offering up some original artwork. Starting out, here, with some modestly priced (at least I <i>think</i> it's modestly priced...?) studies and outtakes from published books as well as some fun personal work for sale.<br />
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Please go forth and have a look! It's been a fun idea, going through the archives and putting up some drawings for sale.<br />
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Wishing a very happy holiday season to you and yours!<br />
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Here's the link to the shop:<br />
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/MatthewCordellArt">https://www.etsy.com/shop/MatthewCordellArt</a>Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-678735669662732972013-05-09T22:50:00.001-05:002013-05-10T11:07:56.260-05:00The Next Big Thing: A Global Blog TourThere's this thing going around the blogospheres right now where one illustrator sorta tags another to answer a series of questions about her/his next book. I was just asked by the muy talented <a href="http://kurillastration.blogspot.com/">Renée Kurilla</a> who'd just been asked by the muy talented <a href="http://mikeboldt.ca/">Mike Boldt</a>, and so on and so forth. Read on to the end of this blog post to see who I've tapped on the shoulder to take over from here.<br />
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Now I shall attempt to answer said questions about my forthcoming picture book, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-floats-in-a-moat-lynne-berry/1113243910?ean=9781416997634">WHAT FLOATS IN A MOAT?</a> with author <a href="http://www.lynneberry.com/index.html">Lynne Berry</a>. The book comes out July 9 from Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. In fact, I just got my first bound copy yesterday and it looks slammin! In fact, I just got wind the other day that it got a starred <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4169-9763-4?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly&utm_campaign=5ff2ef6914-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0bb2959cbb-5ff2ef6914-304473217">review</a> in Publishers Weekly! Hoo boy that's good stuff!<br />
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Questions!<br />
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<i>What genre does your book fall under?</i> Well, it's a picture book. Other than that, I'd say it has a medieval science-y feel to it. It's about a goat and a chicken who try to cross a moat to deliver to a queen (who happens to be a pig) her several barrels of buttermilk. There's a lesson in here about buoyancy and flotation with a neat little addendum at the back. The goat's name is Archie, and I'll leave it up to you to get the historical pun there.<br />
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<i>What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?</i> Since they're animals, I reckon they'd have to be voice actors. I could see them being British since the book has this whole royal vibe to it. So for Archie the goat, I'd go with Ricky Gervais who's one of the best. For Skinny the hen, I'd have to go with Ashley Jensen who was his fine counterpart in EXTRAS. The queen would, for sure, have to be Dame Maggie Smith who kills it in Downton Abbey and anything she does.<br />
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<i>What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?</i> Archie the goat and Skinny the hen must solve the puzzle of how to cross a castle moat to deliver several barrels of buttermilk to the queen but it's not as easy as it sounds because Archie has some weird ideas about how to float across the moat that involves skinny the hen having to drink massive quantities of buttermilk to build ships out of the barrels and will any of it ever work and will Skinny stay skinny after drinking a ton of buttermilk and check out the knight's helmet on Archie, wow that's cool!<br />
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<i>Who is publishing your book?</i> That'd be Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers!<br />
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<i>What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?</i> It has an old world, old school timeless feel and appeal, not unlike the books of my heroes William Steig and Quentin Blake. But I just looked online and was told that those who viewed WHAT FLOATS also viewed BULLY by Laura Vaccaro Seeger and my bigtime pals Tom Anglegerger's and Cece Bell's new one CRANKEE DOODLE. I have no idea if it's anything like those, because I still need to be seeing those stat!<br />
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<i>What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?</i> The language is very sharp, clever, and funny, and witty, the characters are standouts, the design of the book is tip-top (cheers, Chloe Foglia!) with nice heavy boards and printed on a bee-yootiful uncoated paper. In fact, thanks much to Chloe, Julia Maguire, and early-on-the-job Kevin Lewis. And of course cheers to Lynne Berry if you're out there reading this. I hope to meet you someplace, someday.<br />
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Thanks to Renée for the invite here. I will be handing it off now to the most excellent <a href="http://frankwdormer.blogspot.com/">Mr. Frank Dormer,</a> who will be dishing about his forthcoming book THE ADVENTURES OF JO SCHMO: SHIFTY BUSINESS. Take it away, Frank!<br />
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Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-49462420190876772582013-04-28T11:26:00.000-05:002013-04-28T11:26:27.180-05:00Screen Free Week starts tomorrow!Hi, all. If you hadn't heard, this very admirable initiative called Screen Free Week is beginning tomorrow.<br />
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http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek<br />
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Let's all try our best to limit our time in front of a screen and spend more face time with the ones we love during this week.<br />
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While we're at it, let's all share HELLO! HELLO! with the ones we love too.<br />
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<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-85619123046649070352013-04-16T17:18:00.003-05:002013-04-16T19:50:19.968-05:00TobinIt has been completely quiet here at the blog since way back when, January 22nd. It's not been for lack of stuff to write about. Just been for lack of writing the stuff to write about. And I also blame it on social media joints for luring me away from the blog which has, as you see, fallen by the wayside. But I do love the good ol' blog. I ain't mad at it.<br />
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Before I blog about anything else, I must have a moment of (continued) silence. Our beloved Siamese cat of 16 years passed away last week and this has left a big hole in our hearts and in our home. To work out the emotions a bit, I one day drew this in honor of our dearly departed friend. We miss you Tobin. See you in another life, brother.<br />
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<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-88551213925899620602013-01-22T10:49:00.002-06:002013-01-22T10:56:07.808-06:00Romy and Dad made a picture book!Over the weekend, while watching the Wizard of Oz for the umpteenth time with my 4 year old, she asked, out of the blue, if we could make an Oz book? Can I get a heck yeah?!<br />
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We grabbed some paper, some Crayolas and here's what we came up with. I did some drawing. She did some drawing, much art directing, all the writing, the binding, the pagination. I'm so proud of my baby bookmaker! Here's to the first of many!<br />
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<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com73tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-14249712104378587742013-01-09T14:46:00.001-06:002013-01-09T15:09:15.676-06:00HELLO! HELLO! 2013!Happy new year, blogosphere!<br />
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I have not posted anything here in a while, so I thought a books up-to-speed was in order.<br />
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Here are the crazy cool things that have happened with HELLO! HELLO! since my last check-in.<br />
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Named a Best Children's Picture Book of 2012 by the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/books/review/notable-childrens-books-of-2012.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1&">New York Times</a>! "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">Its message is loud, clear and important."</span><br />
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Named a Best Children's Picture Book by <a href="http://bookpage.com/content/bookpage-best-children's-books-of-2012">BookPage</a>! "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Cordell’s hopeful story encourages children to play outside, while also challenging their parents to play with them, a reminder for all of us to take time to disconnect from work and gadgets and reconnect with nature and family."</span><br />
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Named a <a href="http://100scopenotes.com/2012/12/17/top-20-childrens-books-of-2012-20-16/">Top 20 Children's Book</a> by super-librarians John Schumacher and Travis Jonker! "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">The story is sweet, offbeat, and funny. And</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><em>hello! hello!</em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">has picture book craft in spades, with thoughtful artwork that goes from small grey spot illustrations to vivid two page spreads to match Lydia’s story. It’s a beautiful, relevant, unexpected book."</span><br />
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Named (alongside ANOTHER BROTHER and BAT AND RAT!) a best picture book by Tanya Turek at <a href="http://www.books4yourkids.com/2012/12/best-picture-books-of-2012.html">books4yourkids</a>! "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>These three books would have made it onto this "best of list" anyway, but I just thought it was so cool that this spectacular author/illustrator had FOUR picture books out this year, three of which I reviewed here and read at story time and love to bits!"</i></b></span><br />
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Recommended by the Kansas City Star! "Put down your cellphone and read this with your kids, and when you're done, go outside and chase some leaves."<br />
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Recommended by People Magazine!<br />
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Very kind review from The Horn Book! "...whimsical cartoon art and a keen sense of humor."<br />
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Very kind review and an Editors Choice Award from <a href="http://childrensbooksguide.com/reviews/hello-hello-by-matthew-cordell">childrensbooksguide.com</a>! "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Technology has its perks without a doubt, but let us not forget to teach our kids that it is vital to stay connected- and not through any form of technology. The illustrations are gorgeous, it’s an entertaining read, and it has a good theme to boot."</span><br />
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Beyond all this (whew!), this very sweet <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/55021-porter-and-the-steads-an-unusual-three-book-deal.html">piece</a> came out from Publishers Weekly about wonderful author/illustrator, illustrator, super-editor pals, Philip Stead, Erin Stead, and Neal Porter, respectively. Including the bit (and sample art) about how I'll be soon working on a picture book with the Mr. Stead. Very excited about this!<br />
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Also, the art giveaway/book promo for HELLO! HELLO! was a smashing success. So incredibly grateful to all those who participated. And so incredibly grateful for all the love that's been shown for this book.<br />
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Thanks to all.<br />
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2013!<br />
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Onward and upward!<br />
<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692418911896216064.post-46960451696173771622012-12-01T11:28:00.003-06:002012-12-01T11:32:10.671-06:00Last Day for Free Art by This GuyAlert, holiday shoppers! My big "buy <i><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hello-hello-matthew-cordell/1111559312?ean=9781423159063">hello! hello!</a></i> = get free art campaign" is officially ending at the end of today. Get <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423159063/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=10RH9D8BHKQPHC5X3WNS&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846">online</a> or to your favorite <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781423159063">bookstore</a> and buy your copy or copies of <i>hello! hello!</i> to get you some free artwork (I make it, I ship it, all on my dime) before it's too late. This is a holiday shopping WIN-WIN for you. Buy books = holiday gifts. Get some free, snazzy artwork = holiday gifts.<br />
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Offer ends at stroke o' midnight tonight. Go forth! Find details for this offer at <a href="http://matthewcordell.blogspot.com/2012/11/hello-hello-buy-my-bookget-free-art.html">this blog post</a>. Thank you so much for everyone who has participated in this promo. The response has been beyond my wildest expectations. For real.<br />
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<br />Matthew Cordellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17494925509619557578noreply@blogger.com9