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Off the Wall: Making Stuff Together
Not yet published
Expected 4 Aug 26A story about art, collaboration, and happy accidents from your favorite duo of Caldecott Honorees, Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal.
Best friends Juana Martinez-Neal and Molly Idle know a thing or two about collaborative art. After teaming up to illustrate Julie Fogliano’s I Don’t Care, swapping work back and forth through the mail and finding ways to blend their distinct styles, they couldn’t wait to do it all again.
Off the Wall is a joyful exploration of that very process. We open on one little girl, alone with a wall and a bucket of chalk. Then a friend comes along to play tic-tac-toe. Before you can say “whoops!”, one friend becomes four friends, two cats, two dogs, and a splattered ice cream cone. Leashes are tangling and hands are getting dirty… and the art on the wall gets bigger and better.
Little artists and lovers of mess will delight in the ruckus of Off the Wall, which culminates in a reveal of the mural the friends create. Perfect for art classrooms and beyond, Off the Wall reminds us that magic happens when we play, experiment, and welcome the unexpected.
Best friends Juana Martinez-Neal and Molly Idle know a thing or two about collaborative art. After teaming up to illustrate Julie Fogliano’s I Don’t Care, swapping work back and forth through the mail and finding ways to blend their distinct styles, they couldn’t wait to do it all again.
Off the Wall is a joyful exploration of that very process. We open on one little girl, alone with a wall and a bucket of chalk. Then a friend comes along to play tic-tac-toe. Before you can say “whoops!”, one friend becomes four friends, two cats, two dogs, and a splattered ice cream cone. Leashes are tangling and hands are getting dirty… and the art on the wall gets bigger and better.
Little artists and lovers of mess will delight in the ruckus of Off the Wall, which culminates in a reveal of the mural the friends create. Perfect for art classrooms and beyond, Off the Wall reminds us that magic happens when we play, experiment, and welcome the unexpected.
56 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication August 4, 2026
25 people want to read
About the author
Juana Martinez-Neal
29 books191 followersJuana Martinez-Neal is the recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for “Alma and How She Got Her Name” (Candlewick Press), the 2018 Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration for "La Princesa and the Pea" (written by Susan M. Elya, Putnam), and the 2020 Sibert Medal for “Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story” (written by Kevin Noble Maillard, Roaring Brook Press).
Juana was named to the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honor list in 2014, and was awarded the SCBWI Portfolio Showcase Grand Prize in 2012. She was born in Lima, the capital of Peru, and now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband, two sons, and daughter.
Juana was named to the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honor list in 2014, and was awarded the SCBWI Portfolio Showcase Grand Prize in 2012. She was born in Lima, the capital of Peru, and now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband, two sons, and daughter.
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These two talented friends have created a visual delight telling the story of a group project gone awry, and then telling its aftermath. This will make a fantastic choice for a read aloud, and the back matter is not to be missed!
These two talented friends have created a visual delight telling the story of a group project gone awry, and then telling its aftermath. This will make a fantastic choice for a read aloud, and the back matter is not to be missed!
Displaying 1 of 1 review