Sean Qualls's Blog, page 6
January 11, 2011
TUNE IN TOMORROW - Jan. 12th
Set your DVR!Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee authors of the new book that I illustrated, Giant Steps to Change the World, will be on both the Today show and The View tomorrow morning to talk about our book.
NBC's TODAY SHOW at 8:51am
ABC's THE VIEW at 11am
December 1, 2010
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Along with the excitement of having a new book, comes the anticipation of what reviewers may say. I do like to read the reviews of my books...if for no other reason than to get different perspectives. With that said, below are two reviews of my soon to be published book - Giant Steps to Change the World written by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee. I'll start with the good and you can fill in the rest. I've also incl. a clip from the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone) set to the music of Amon Tobin.
Publishers Weekly
Aiming to inspire young readers, the Lees (Please, Baby, Please) speak directly to them: "On some days your dreams may seem too far away to realize. Listen to the whispers of those that came before...." Each page contains an encouraging thought and invokes the deeds of a hero. "Press on through the darkness and keep going--the way the freedom fighter encouraged the enslaved to ride the railroad to safety so that all could be free." The reference is to Harriet Tubman; the heroes are unnamed, but quotations from (and attributions for) each appear on the endpapers, and they're easy to match up, letting the book function both as a source of inspiration and as an interactive quiz about such figures as Jesse Owens, Mother Teresa, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Barack Obama. Qualls's bold, lively collages (Little Cloud and Lady Wind) handle the book's abstractions gracefully. A curly-haired boy contemplates a long stairway; intricate lines curl out of a book of Langston Hughes's poetry; a red snake represents fear. Concluding with a challenge, the Lees ask, "What's your next step going to be?" All ages. (Jan.)
The Book Maker's Dozen
Ever wonder what children's book illustrators have to say about their work and the industry? How do they get work? How long does it take to finish a book? Come out, sip wine, and hear not one or two, but thirteen illustrators discuss their work and answer your questions.
Panel discussion will be moderated by illustrator/author John Bemelmans Marciano.
The Book Maker's Dozen: Sean Qualls, Selina Alko, Sophie Blackall, Brian Floca, John Rocco, Aileen Leijten, Peter Brown, Dan Yaccarino, Brett Helquist, Sergio Ruzzier, Boris Kulikov, David Gordon, and John Bemelmans Marciano
*Oh, and did I mention books and limited edition prints from the book makers will also be for sale.
Hosted by PowerHouse Arena
Map & Directions
Thursday, Dec. 2nd 7-9pm
Powerhouse Arena (DUMBO)
37 Main Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-666-3049
Hope to see you!
November 12, 2010
At the Brooklyn Museum
Looking for something to do this Saturday? I'll be signing books at the Brooklyn Museum alongside a plethora of other Brooklyn illustrators and authors. Hope to see you!
A Meeting w/ Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee! Giant Steps to Change the World!
Ever since I moved to Brooklyn, I've always wanted to meet Spike Lee...Now it's finally happened!!! Spike and his wife Tonya Lewis Lee wrote an outstanding children's book that they asked me to illustrate! And here's the video of them chatting about it. Look for it in Jan. 2011!
October 14, 2010
Skit-Scat and all that Jazz - ELLA!!!
SKIT-SCAT RAGGEDY CAT: ELLA FITZGERALD, my latest book, has received two starred reviews!!!
Written by Roxane Orgill, the book focuses on Ella's early life in Yonkers, where she would dance in the street to earn money. After her mother dies she and her younger sister go to live with their aunt in Harlem.
Young Ella had a tough time living with her aunt. She began singing on the streets again as she did in Yonkers.
It was at the Apollo Theater's Amateur night where her true talent came through. Too nervous to dance, she sang instead and thus, a star was born.
Publisher's Weekly calls it "An unforgettable portrait of an artist whose faith in herself carried her when little else did."
And School Library Journal says " Qualls firmly establishes himself as a leading illustrator of jazz biographies for children. He uses rich reds and blues to illustrate the history of this quintessentially American art form."
My earliest memories of Ella was this tv commercial she did for memorex.
Skit-Scat and all that - ELLA!!!
SKIT-SCAT RAGGEDY CAT: ELLA FITZGERALD, my latest book, has received two starred reviews!!!
Written by Roxane Orgill, the book focuses on Ella's early life in Yonkers, where she would dance in the street to earn money. After her mother dies she and her younger sister go to live with their aunt in Harlem.
Young Ella had a tough time living with her aunt. She began singing on the streets again as she did in Yonkers.
It was at the Apollo Theater's Amateur night where her true talent came through. Too nervous to dance, she sang instead and thus, a star was born.
Publisher's Weekly calls it "An unforgettable portrait of an artist whose faith in herself carried her when little else did."
And School Library Journal says " Qualls firmly establishes himself as a leading illustrator of jazz biographies for children. He uses rich reds and blues to illustrate the history of this quintessentially American art form."
My earliest memories of Ella was this tv commercial she did for memorex.
September 17, 2010
Brooklyn Illustrators @ Brooklyn Public Library - Drawn in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Illustrators @ Brooklyn Public Library - Drawnin Brooklyn
August 25, 2010
The ubiquitous and hardworking Dan Santat asked me to par...
The ubiquitous and hardworking Dan Santat asked me to participate in an auction to support 826LA. He also asked a whole bunch of other picture book illustrators like Mo Willems, Calef Brown, Matt Phelan, Jamie Zollars and Selina Alko. The idea was to create a piece of art inspired by his new book OH NO! All of the work will be on display at the Nucleus Gallery.
As with his other projects, Dan created a promotional video for it (view here.)
He even got the Huffington Post to blog about it.
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