Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found [Paperback]

Sophie Blackall (Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2011

In her first book for adults, the artist Sophie Blackall creates a deeply felt, poignant book about love—a book that captures the mystery, the yearning, at times the cosmic humor behind the “what if?” of a missed connection.

Like a message in a bottle, a “missed connection" classified (usually posted on a website) is an attempt however far-fetched, by one stranger to reach another on the strength of a remembered glance, smile, or blue hat. The anonymous messages are hopeful and hopeless, funny and sad. Ms. Blackall, award-winning illustrator of Ruby’s Wish and Big Red Lollipop, has turned some of the most evocative (or hilarious) of them into exquisite paintings.

Missed Connections is a collection of illustrated love stories. There’s “We Shared a Bear Suit.” “If Not for Your Noisy Tambourine.” “Hairy Bearded Swimmer.” Each is told in the shorthand of a “missed connection,” and then illustrated in Chinese ink and watercolor. The paintings are extraordinary: delicate yet full of feeling, each springing from one little detail of the post into a fully imagined world. Each brings the voyeuristic pleasure of watching love at first sight, and the pleasure of watching an artist discover a fresh new way to tell a story. And not all the connections are missed. Hidden in the book are three pieces that conjure up the magic of love found.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sophie Blackall has illustrated over twenty books for children, including the Ezra Jack Keats Award–winning Ruby’s Wish, Meet Wild Boars, which won her a Founder’s
Award from the Society of Illustrators, the Ivy and Bean series, and more. Her editorial illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and many magazines. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family and a stuffed armadillo.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; Ill edition (September 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761163581
• ISBN-13: 978-0761163589
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sophie Blackall is a Brooklyn based Australian artist. She has illustrated over twenty books for children, including Ruby's Wish (Chronicle Books, 2003) which won the Ezra Jack Keats Award, Meet Wild Boars (Henry Holt, 2005) which won a BCCB Blue Ribbon Picture Book Award and the Founders Award from the Society of Illustrators, Big Red Lollipop (Viking, 2010) which was a New York Times Top Ten Picture Book for 2010, and the ongoing Ivy and Bean series (Chronicle Books), which has over a million copies in print.
Blackall has collaborated with many notable authors, including Aldous Huxley, Judith Viorst, Jane Yolen and Meg Rosoff.
Her editorial illustrations have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Time, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Town & Country and many others.
Her latest project, http://www.missedconnectionsny.blogspot.com Missed Connections, which began as a blog in early 2009, is an ongoing series of paintings based on real, anonymous messages posted online by lovelorn strangers.

"Blackall, who elevates everything she illustrates, has a knack for using clever details to get the humor across."--Booklist
"Khan has an ideal collaborator in Sophie Blackall, whose Chinese ink-and-watercolor drawings convey exquisite detail and precise emotion. Like all the best picture books, "Big Red Lollipop" amply rewards close examination." - New York Times
"One of the best picture-book artists around, Blackall offers winsome art that is interesting in its use of perspective, perceptive in its depiction of family dynamics, and just plain adorable in its effort to make ferrets fetching. This is a book that's clever in every sense of the word: skillful, original, and witty." -Booklist

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired First Review after 10 years with Amazon September 22, 2011

By Phoebe D. Baker

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Sophie Blackall writes a wonderful introduction in her book "Missed Connections." We get to see a little more into her life and how she came to create these illustrations. We are treated to more of her unexpected, quirky humor, and and the scoop on the journey she's taking. The thing I love most about this book is that the illustrations are snippets of what Sophie imagines bits of proclaimed longings to be, and she doesn't limit her expressions to what's safe and acceptable. We see possibilities.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You don't want to miss this! October 29, 2011

By The Paperback Pursuer

Format:Paperback

Description:

Almost everyone who uses craigslist.com has heard about the Missed Connection classifieds; a place where strangers who have chance encounters write posts in hopes of finding a "missed connection." Detailing whatever they remember, (no matter how insignificant), these strangers describe places, faces, clothing, and other accoutrements that may, or may not, lead them to people they want another chance with. Once Sophie Blackall discovered Missed Connections, after a fleeting encounter of her own, she decided to use her passion for painting in order to bring the posts to life. On her blog, [...] , Sophie posts her paintings, brush-stroked in rich watercolors and Chinese ink, of missed opportunities, regrets, and hopes of future contact with the ones once lost. Each glossy plate of the 128 page book captures a different Missed Connections post as well as several small related margin illustrations; every depiction evoking the feelings of both Sophie and the post-maker towards the person or event.

Review:

The amazingly playful, yet serenely elaborate paintings drew me in to this resplendent artistic world. Sure, I had always wondered about the Missed Connections classifieds, but I had never really viewed and imagined them in the ways presented in this crafty little book. It is definitely one of my top ten books for 2011 due to its refreshingly light and amusing tone. I also loved the introduction, especially Sophie Blackall's recounting of her personal Missed Connection experiences. After finishing this book, I had to pull up Sophie's blog and look at all her other Missed Connections paintings, which are also brilliant! I can tell this will be a new addiction of mine. I recommend this to readers and artists alike!

Rating: Clean Getaway (5/5)

*** I received Missed Connections by Sophie Blackall from Workman Publishing in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars just beautiful September 21, 2011

By happykins

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is such a surprisingly beautiful and moving book. Also funny and compassionate. The drawings are so odd and lovely, I keep thinking about tearing them out and framing them. Our whole family loves it so much, and I think it will become something I give as a gift, the way I have often given Maira Kalman's Principles of Uncertainty.