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    Off the Wall

    Making Stuff Together

    Author Juana Martinez-Neal, Molly Idle
    Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, Molly Idle
    Look inside
    Hardcover
    $19.99 US
    Candlewick | Neal Porter Books
    10"W x 10"H | 20 oz | 20 per carton
    On sale Aug 04, 2026 | 56 Pages | 9780823455539
    Age 4-8 years | Preschool - 3
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

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    A 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, they set out to explore what it takes to make stuff together!

    Off the Wall is a joyful celebration of that very process. The day begins with 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 “look out!”, there are five friends, a cat, a dog, and a splattered ice cream cone. Chalk is flying, hands are getting dirty, and the art on the wall gets bigger and, more importantly, better.

    Little artists and creative types of all ages will delight in the messmaking of a story that builds and builds to reveal what true friends make when they create together. Off the Wall reminds readers of the magic that happens when we play, experiment, and welcome the unexpected.
    There’s room enough for every reader—and every hue—in this charming ode to creativity.
    —Kirkus Reviews

    A solid purchase, this is an endearing and visually engaging look at childhood creativity.
    —School Library Journal

    Collaborators Martinez-Neal and Idle (I Don’t Care), 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. . . . It’s an artful team effort about team efforts.
    —Publishers Weekly

    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

    [T]he characters, made from intensely colored paper cutouts, seem to positively glow, as does the art they make.
    —The Horn Book
    Molly Idle's work as an author-illustrator includes the Caldecott Honor book Flora and the Flamingo, Tea Rex, Coral, and Pearl, among many other titles. With Juana Martinez-Neal, she is co-illustrator of I Don’t Care, written by Julie Fogliano. She lives with her family in Arizona, and invites you to visit her at idleillustration.com.

    Juana Martinez-Neal is the author and illustrator of the Caldecott Honor book Alma and How She Got Her Name. She also illustrated La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya, for which she won a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, Babymoon by Hayley Barrett, Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry, and Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, which won a Robert F. Sibert Medal. She is a co-illustrator of I Don’t Care, written by Julie Fogliano. She lives in Connecticut with her family. Visit her online at www.juanamartinezneal.com.
    Juana Martinez-Neal View titles by Juana Martinez-Neal
    Molly Idle View titles by Molly Idle

    Photos

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    About

    A 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, they set out to explore what it takes to make stuff together!

    Off the Wall is a joyful celebration of that very process. The day begins with 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 “look out!”, there are five friends, a cat, a dog, and a splattered ice cream cone. Chalk is flying, hands are getting dirty, and the art on the wall gets bigger and, more importantly, better.

    Little artists and creative types of all ages will delight in the messmaking of a story that builds and builds to reveal what true friends make when they create together. Off the Wall reminds readers of the magic that happens when we play, experiment, and welcome the unexpected.

    Praise

    There’s room enough for every reader—and every hue—in this charming ode to creativity.
    —Kirkus Reviews

    A solid purchase, this is an endearing and visually engaging look at childhood creativity.
    —School Library Journal

    Collaborators Martinez-Neal and Idle (I Don’t Care), 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. . . . It’s an artful team effort about team efforts.
    —Publishers Weekly

    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

    [T]he characters, made from intensely colored paper cutouts, seem to positively glow, as does the art they make.
    —The Horn Book

    Author

    Molly Idle's work as an author-illustrator includes the Caldecott Honor book Flora and the Flamingo, Tea Rex, Coral, and Pearl, among many other titles. With Juana Martinez-Neal, she is co-illustrator of I Don’t Care, written by Julie Fogliano. She lives with her family in Arizona, and invites you to visit her at idleillustration.com.

    Juana Martinez-Neal is the author and illustrator of the Caldecott Honor book Alma and How She Got Her Name. She also illustrated La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya, for which she won a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, Babymoon by Hayley Barrett, Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry, and Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, which won a Robert F. Sibert Medal. She is a co-illustrator of I Don’t Care, written by Julie Fogliano. She lives in Connecticut with her family. Visit her online at www.juanamartinezneal.com.
    Juana Martinez-Neal View titles by Juana Martinez-Neal
    Molly Idle View titles by Molly Idle

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