New York Launch of TOMO

Details for the New York launch of Tomo can be found here.

Click on the image for its amazon page. Proceeds of the sale of the book will benefit teen programs in the tsunami affected areas of Japan.

Anniversary of Bob Hayes' Gold Medal Win

On this day in 1964, Bob Hayes won the Gold Medal in the 100 meter race in the Olympic Games here in Tokyo. He was drafted as a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys after the Olympics. He won a Super Bowl ring and was later elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Running like Bob Hayes is mentioned in J-Boys: Kazuo's World, Tokyo, 1965, the middle grade novel written by Shogo Oketani and translated into English by Avery Fischer Udagawa. I read it this summer and really enjoyed it!

The story takes place in 1965. You might be surprised to find American TV shows and products mentioned in daily life here back then. It is a great look into the world of Japanese boys and Japanese culture of the time. I highly recommend it. For all ages.

For more information about the book go to the website, J-Boys.
To buy the book go here.

To watch a clip of the race from Kon Ichikawa's documentary, Tokyo Olympiad 1964, click here.

Satomi Kitamura's message after the Earthquake

Satoshi Kitamura is an author and illustrator of children's books. Here is something he wrote for The Guardian in the UK about his March 11th earthquake experience. Click here for a post about his visit to SCBWI Tokyo in 2007.

Japanese Children's Author Noriko Kudoh's Message of Hope After Japan's Earthquakes and Tsunami, March 2011

Noriko Kudoh, a Japanese children's book author and illustrator, has published over twenty humorous children's stories and manga books. She and her artist husband, Toshiyuki Kudoh, created a blogsite for children called Buch. The site is in Japanese and includes animations and illustrations as well as information on Noriko Kudoh's books.

Both she and her husband have roots in Tohoku, the region which was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th. They felt strongly about sending out a message to the children affected by the disaster. The message can be found on their blogsite in Japanese here .

The English translation was done by Sako Ikegami of the SCBWI Tokyo Translation listserv, which focuses on translation of Japanese children's literature. She, too, loves the Tohoku region and culture and is an aspiring writer and translator hoping to bring more international attention to the wonderful world of Japanese books for children. Her translations include picture books by Ryusuke Saito.

March 17th, 2011

That was a horrible earthquake, wasn't it? I'm sure so many of you are very scared right now.

But please, don't worry. Grown ups are working together as hard as they can to make things better. It may take a while, but eventually, everything is going to be safe and comfortable again, I promise.

If you feel even the tiniest bit afraid or lonely, try to think about your favorite story.

When my heart starts to thump, I try to remember The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. It's a story about a hobbit named Bilbo who goes on a whole bunch of adventures. He has some very narrow escapes, but by staying strong and cheerful, he manages to come through safely in the end. When I remember that part of the story, it helps me be brave.

This is a difficult time, but it won't last forever. It will end someday. Whenever my chest tightens up and starts thumping, I don't think about tomorrow, but further into the future. If you think about tomorrow or the day after, it seems like everything will be the same, but things are changing. It's just that those changes are so small, you may not notice them at first.

The plants and trees may look dried up, but they are sprouting new buds. They seemed to be sleeping through the winter, but they were slowly pushing their way up into the sunlight.

Things won't stay the same. It's terribly cold right now, but spring is just around the corner. After that, it will be summer and then autumn and gradually we'll be back in winter. No day is the same as another. Every day, there are tiny changes, and that is how we have four seasons. Although yesterday and today may seem exactly alike, we change a little each day too. Because we change, bright days are in our future. I believe this from the bottom of my heart.

For the promise of a happy future to come true, you must do something--be happy and cheerful now. Right now. Think of a funny story and laugh. Laughing will make you feel better, and you'll grow stronger.

Of course sometimes, you feel too blue to be cheerful. But even then, try to tell yourself, "I may feel down today, but I will feel better soon." That's what I always do. Because that is what happens.

Try not to think about the scary stuff. The worst is not going to happen. If you start to worry again, take a deep breath. Breathe in slowly and deeply. You will feel better.

As you calm down, think about the things you like. At first, it will be difficult. But make it a habit, and it will get easier. (I had to practice for a while before I could get it right)

If you spend the day thinking about happy things, then oddly enough, it actually becomes a good day. How do I know? Well, I've tried it and it always does.

When your thoughts are happy, your body relaxes and you feel better. Just like taking long deep breaths, laughing is good for you.

Scary thoughts make your body tense up and it becomes hard to breathe. That's very uncomfortable. We don't want that!

So when you feel afraid, take a long, deep breath. After a couple of breaths you'll begin to feel like yourself again. That's what I do.

If you like my books, then you may have read the story of Margarita in Margarita and the Pirate Ship (Margarita to Kaizokusen). Do you remember what Margarita and Marcello do when they're forced to work on a pirate ship? They stay cheerful, and guess what? It leads to a happy ending!

When times are rough, stay as happy as you can and before you know it, you'll be having fun. Practice every day and the bad times will pass. Don't you think we could try this together?

Every day, the aftershocks rock my home, but we're all right and our families in Sendai are okay too.

My brother and some others from his company went out with lots of emergency supplies to help everyone in the shelters.

Your neighbors, the Self-Defense Forces, the people from the electric company and lots of other grown ups are working night and day to make sure all of you are safe and sound. So there's nothing to worry about.

Kids just need to take deep breaths and be happy. That's all.

I know some of you are missing your books, but try to remember your favorite stories. Or that great anime movie you love. There are plenty of happy things to think about. I'm going to do my part by writing lots of fun books for you to read. I hope you'll like them.

It's strange, but as I sit at my desk and write my books, I can sense of all of you, my readers, in my heart. I imagine you enjoying the stories I've written. That's because our hearts are connected through books. Not just me, but all of the writers and illustrators whose books you love. We're all connected. So I know things are very hard right now, but let's work together to keep our spirits up.

I always feel you close and treasure your fine spirits.

With lots of love,

Noriko Kudoh

Holly Thompson's ORCHARDS

Holly Thompson's book, Orchards, launches today. Click here to get your copy. Mine hasn't arrived yet. I believe most of the story takes place on a a mikan orchard in Japan. Click on the label below for HTJ posts about mikan, Holly Thompson, SCBWI and other books by authors and illustrators who have come through Japan.

Frane Lessac and Mark Greenwood

Frane Lessac is an author and illustrator. She has illustrated books with other authors including her husband Mark Greenwood.

They came to visit our SCBWI chapter here in Tokyo. Frane Lessac talked about illustrating and writing and their travel and research on projects. I love all the small details in her illustrations, and I especially liked hearing the story behind Simpson's Donkey, a book she and Mark Greenwood worked on together. Have a look at Frane Lessac's website and blog and Mark Greenwood's website.

Naomi Kojima SCBWI Workshop

Writer and illustrator Naomi Kojima held a workshop for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI Tokyo. Here are the books she has published.

At the workshop, she had us make a picture book dummy, a practice book. An illustrator divides a story into 32 pages for a picture book and decides what to draw. It was hard work dividing a story into 32 pages! But it was fun!

Here are posts about two of Naomi Kojima's books:

Singing Shijimi Clams

Christmas Song Book

SCBWI Tokyo Presentations

Suzanne Kamata (left), author of Playing for Papa was presented with a plaque from SCBWI Tokyo regional advisor Holly Thompson (right). Suzanne Kamata's novella, "Pilgrimmage" published in Cicada Magazine, won the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' Magazine Merit Award. Congratulations, Suzanne!

Laura Rennert (center) a senior agent from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency came to our SCBWI Tokyo chapter to do a presentation about writing fiction. It was great! I learned a lot. Her picture book, Buying, Training and Caring for Your Dinosaur, will come out October 2009. It looks fun.

Teri Suzanne an author/illustrator in our chapter received a Letter of Merit for illustration in the selection of the 2005 Magazine Merit Award. Click here to see samples of her paper cuts. She is not in this picture.

Thanks, again, Holly Thompson (right) for organizing a great event! Holly is a great SCBWI advisor and author. Check out her picture book, Wakame Gatherers, a Sakura Medal nominee.

Jon Agee's Workshop

Jon Agee came to Tokyo to visit international schools. He visited our SCBWI Tokyo chapter, too. Here he is with advisor, Holly Thompson, and illustrator member, Patrik Washburn. That's member illustrator Patrick Gannon looking on.

He gave a presentation showing us how ideas evolve. He talked and drew at the same time! It was amazing. His stories are great. They are funny and have surprise endings. Look at his books on his website. More of his books are available at Amazon.

Here are some of the people who attended the workshop. Most of them are holding up the work they did at the workshop. We all enjoyed it. He is very entertaining. He does school visits. To find out more click here.

BTW, that's not the moon shadow that's been following me around lately. It's Holly's arm. She was standing on a chair to take a picture of the group.

John Shelley's In Town

Author & Illustrator John Shelley did a presentation for our Tokyo chapter of SCBWI, Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators. I was able to get him to autograph a copy of his book, The House of the World (Bennesse). It's not available in the United States but maybe it will be in the future. It's a nice story and the illustrations are fantastic. Check out his other work here.

Alison Lester

Author/illustrator Alison Lester disappeared for a few moments in Tokyo the evening of the 23rd. She was here to visit international schools. She came to our SCBWI Tokyo chapter to speak to us.

After her presentation, on our way to dinner, she saw a member's electric bicycle and wanted to ride it. She took off and disappeared around the corner. When she reappeared, I took this picture of her as she rode past me. She disappeared again! She's a blur in this picture not because she was going so fast but because there wasn't enough light.

Here she is earlier in the evening autographing a book. She autographed mine and drew a picture of her dog, Fatty.

Alison Lester is a lot of fun. She showed us photos of her trips to Antarctica and talked to us about her other projects and books. She has done a lot of work with the indigenous people of her native land, Australia. She's funny and interesting. You might want to invite her to your school for a visit.

Playing for Papa

Playing for Papa was written by Suzanne Kamata and Yuko Hamano. It was published by a publisher in Spain called Topka. The book is in English and Spanish. Check out their website here.

As you can tell by the cover, the story is about playing baseball. The book features a Japanese Papa who is a high school baseball coach. I like this story! I'm going to order it for Christmas.

Linda Gerber's Now and Zen

Linda Gerber was in Tokyo on the 18th of October. She gave a workshop on SCBWI's Writers' Day. She has written several books. Here's one that is set in Japan. It is for young adults so you may want to put it on your list of "books for future reading."
It's worth the wait!

Kids Web Japan--Book Week

Author/Illustrator Keiko Kasza

Author-illustrator Keiko Kasza had lunch with us yesterday, too. Check this link to see her books.

Kids Web Japan--Book Week

Author Kierin Meehan

Australian author Kierin Meehan is visiting Nagoya for several months. She was in Tokyo today. Some SCBWI Tokyo members and international school librarians met her for lunch at Fujimamas in Omotesando. It's a great restaurant.

Ms. Meehan's first book, Hannah's Winter, is coming out in the United States in March 2009. Check out her other books here.

Kids Web Japan--Book Week

Tanya Robyn Batt

Tanya Robyn Batt, author of The Princess and the Bear King (a Sakura Medal 2006 nominee) told us stories at the SCBWI Writers' Day on October 18th. She is a great storyteller. Click on the book title in blue to link into her website. She does school visits and workshops. I bought this book for her to sign. It's a great story and the illustrations are lovely.

Click here to find the list for the Sakura Medal picture book nominees for 2009. The Wakame Gatherers by Holly Thompson, SCBWI Tokyo Advisor, is on the list!

It's still Book Week here in Japan.

Kids Web Japan--Book Week

Irene Smalls

Today marks the first day of Book Week here in Japan. SCBWI Tokyo had a Writers' Day on the 18th. Several writers held workshops. This week I will post about their books.

Irene Smalls is an author, teacher, and presenter. She talked to us about using all of our senses while creating and writing. Look at her website for more information about her workshops, presentations, and books.

I ordered her book Don't Say Ain't from http://www.amazon.co.jp/ before the workshop. What I really like about the book is that a young girl, Dana, lives in two worlds. One is her neighborhood and home where she's herself, and the other a school where she feels she has to speak and act differently. The author does a good job of showing us both worlds especially in the language differences. We (Little Brother, Big Sister, and I) can understand how Dana feels.

And there's jump roping! Jump roping is part of kindergarten and elementary school life here. It's part of the curriculum. You have to count and record how many times you jump.

Kids Web Japan-- Book Week

An Interview with Author Holly Thompson

Holly Thompson (left) is the author of the picture book The Wakame Gatherers illustrated by Kazumi Wilds (right). It was published by Shen's Books. Holly also wrote the young adult novel, Ash, published by Stonebridge Press.

Holly Thompson is the regional advisor for the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI. She and the other volunteers work very hard to organize events for us. She is also a university instructor of creative writing. Thanks, Holly, for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions about your life in Japan.

Do you have any early childhood memories of Japan? What did you know about Japan when you were a child?

I knew almost nothing of Japan when I was a child. I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and didn’t have much chance to travel outside of New England until I was in college.

What was something that surprised you when you first came to Japan?

I was surprised by the cockroaches. They are huge and fast and hard to kill. I became good at whacking them.

How often do you go back to your home country? Do you have culture shock when you go back?

I return to the U.S. once or twice a year. Yes, I certainly have culture shock. People seem loud and noisy and boastful. It always takes a while for me to get used to communicating in such a casual way again. I also get frustrated because, compared to Japan, there isn’t very good public transportation (trains, subways, buses) in the U.S.; everyone relies on cars. And I am shocked when I see how little people recycle. Here in Japan we recycle in so many different categories—plastics, cans and bottles, PET bottles, corrugated cardboard, gray cardboard, mixed paper, milk cartons, burnables, non-burnables, and on and on. I hope that more towns and cities in the U.S. will become better at recycling.

Do you bring anything (food, clothing, etc.) back to Japan?

Shoes! Always lots of shoes. The shoe sizes in Japan are not large enough for me. And tortillas—they are hard to find in Japan.

Is there anything you miss about your home country/state?

I grew up in New England, and I miss the old houses and the small farms (though these are disappearing). I especially miss New England apples.

Has your family visited you in Japan?

Yes, my family members have all come to visit. They were happy when I moved back to Japan ten years ago because they wanted an excuse to visit again.

You just moved from Kamakura to Yokohama. What do you miss about Kamakura? What do you like about Yokohama?

I miss the sea air of Kamakura and I miss being able to get on my bicycle to ride down to the beach in any season. Yokohama is a huge city of 3.6 million people, so it is quite different from Kamakura. In Yokohama I like the houses and buildings that are left from the early twentieth century, when it was a newly international city.

Do you live in a house or an apartment?

We live in a house. We used to live in an old house with small rooms and tatami-mat floors, but a typhoon last year tore off part of the roof. Now we live in a newer house. The roof is stronger and the house is designed to survive earthquakes better than our other house. But it still wiggles and rattles during quakes!

Do you have any pets?

No, not now because we rent our house. But in the past we have had cats, goldfish and, for a time, crayfish (not recommended).

What is your favorite season in Japan?

Hmm. I love February along the coasts when wakame seaweed is hung to dry. And April during the “new green” when all the trees are putting out different shades of new green leaves. And June when the rains make the greens intense and the hues of hydrangeas change day by day. And August when there are fireworks displays up and down the coasts. And October when the mikan and persimmons are ripe. And November when the air is clear and the campgrounds are empty. And…

What is your favorite snack in Japan?

Kaki-no-tane. Literally this translates as “persimmon seeds” but they are actually just crescent-shaped spicy rice crackers mixed with peanuts. A staple food in our house.

What is your favorite beverage?

Mugicha—cold barley tea. Perfect in summer!

Who is your favorite Japanese singer?

Well, does a Hawaiian in Japan count? The former sumo wrestler Konishik.

What is your favorite Japanese anime character?

Suihanki-kun (rice-cooker boy) and his many electrical appliance friends. Whoever thought them up???

What is/are your favorite children’s book(s) set in Japan?

Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say, because it is set in two cultures and shows so well what it is like to feel at home both in Japan and the U.S.

What place in Japan would you suggest for visitors to see?

Kamakura, where I lived for 10 years. The Big Buddha and many temples and shrines are there and there’s great bicycling along the beach and narrow back lanes and good hiking in the hills. The other place I recommend is the west coast of the Izu Peninsula—the mountains, cliffs, seaside villages, mikan groves and beaches are spectacular.

What is something you would take with you if you had to leave Japan?

Well, I guess that’s not possible. So maybe a Japanese style bathtub—nice and deep.

What is something you would miss about Japan if you left?

The sound of cicadas. I actually have made recordings. Apparently there are some 30 species of cicadas in Japan, and when they emerge from underground and climb up the trees in mid-summer the noise is astounding! There are so many different calls and whines and clicks.

Can you tell us a funny story about something that happened to you in Japan? When I first moved to Japan, years ago, in a little clothing store I went to the dressing room to try on some clothes. I was changing behind the curtain when the clerk called to me and said, “Yoroshii desu ka?” which loosely translates as “Is it ok?” Thinking I was so smart with my Japanese, I called out, “Hai,”—yes! not realizing that what she meant was “Is it ok if I open the curtain?” The curtain was flung open on a half-dressed foreigner; she screamed, I screamed, the curtain was flung closed again, and I waited a long while before emerging. I learned to think carefully before answering questions in Japanese!

Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss

What's this all about? They're telling a story! Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, Beauty and The Beast Storytellers, came to Japan to visit international schools. They travel around the world telling stories and teaching children and teachers how to tell stories. They were great! They have also written many books, too. Check the post below.

Books by Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss

Sorry about the glare!

Check out Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss's website Beauty and the Beast Storytellers and their publisher, August House. They have lots of stories to tell!