Off the Wall
Written and Illustrated by Molly Idle & Juana Martinez-Neal
"Idle and Martinez-Neal are real-life best friends who created this story together, and their hand-drawn and collaged images explode with silliness and glee, turning what could be just another reminder about working together into a positively Ruth Krauss-ian homage to the power of collaborative creation that honors the weirdness of kids. The kids are sketched in black charcoal, each fully filled in with their own individual neon color, and the spreads’ kraft-paper brown backgrounds only contain the items that the kids’ art and the items carry into the plane. The neon structures and splashes they create are thus fully displayed, celebrating their imagination and resulting in images that positively glow. With language that could be drawn directly from the mouths of kids and vibrant, dynamically designed imagery that erupts off the page, this book will start conversations about making things and could even act as a showstopper for any teacher nipping a potential classroom brawl in the bud." —The Bulletin
"Set against a textured brown background, vibrant hues fill graphite outlines embellished with smudged textures. With hints of cut paper edges, the art’s two-dimensional vibe manifests a spacious world of endless possibility. Enhanced by creator bios and dialogue, this imaginative long-form book offers ample space for playful visuals to stretch out within a familiar narrative, yielding an affirming celebration of creative collaboration." —Booklist
"Collaborators Martinez-Neal and Idle, both Caldecott Honorees, let their co-creative chemistry loose on these kraft-paper-colored pages, using a palette of eye-popping neons and saturated brights that evokes the irresistible promise of a fresh bucket of sidewalk chalk. . . . [A] riotously colorful group portrait that hints that the best creative work isn’t about perfection but about imaginations colliding, clashing, and creating something bigger than themselves. It’s an artful team effort about team efforts." —Publishers Weekly
"A spirited ode to artistic collaboration. . . . Against [the plain] backdrop, the characters, made from intensely colored paper cutouts, seem to positively glow, as does the art they make." —The Horn Book
"Friends make art about friends making art. . . . Idle and Martinez-Neal mix and meld their artistic styles so seamlessly that it becomes impossible to say where one starts and the other ends. . . . A clever mash-up of cut paper and hand-drawn characters drive home the message that art is for everyone (and sharing is caring) without coming across as pedantic or didactic. . . . There’s room enough for every reader—and every hue—in this charming ode to creativity." —Kirkus Reviews
"Idle and Martinez-Neal deliberately limit the text to dialogue, recreating the immediacy and vitality of young people’s voices, free of adult influence. The art, rendered in exuberant mixed-media collage, perfectly captures the spirit of childhood. A brown, speckled background resembling an expanse of butcher paper lets the characters stand out all the more sharply, displaying the humor, creativity, and energetic play that suffuses their interactions. . . . [T]he overall execution is truly appealing. Their work here is even more seamlessly integrated than in their art for Julie Fogliano’s I Don’t Care, with only a few subtle details (the shaggy hair and cherry noses of Martinez-Neal’s characters, the swoopy curves and angular smiles of Idle’s) distinguishing their individual hands. A solid purchase, this is an endearing and visually engaging look at childhood creativity." —School Library Journal