Allen Say: 9 books

When he was a young man, Allen Say’s grandfather left his home in Japan to explore the world. He began his journey by crossing the Pacific Ocean on a steamship, then wandered the deserts, farmlands, and cities of North America. Allen Say lovingly tells the story of his own family’s cross-cultural...

DRAWING FROM MEMORY is Allen Say's own story of his path to becoming the renowned artist he is today. Shunned by his father, who didn't understand his son's artistic leanings, Allen was embraced by Noro Shinpei, Japan's leading cartoonist and the man he came to love as his "spiritual father."...

In his Caldecott acceptance speech for GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY, Allen Say told of his difficulty in separating his dreams from reality. For him this separation was not as important as finding a meaning behind the contradictions and choices we all must make in life and their consequences. Early...

A picture book masterpiece from Caldecott medal winner Allen Say now available in paperback! Lyrical, breathtaking, splendid-words used to describe Allen Say’s Grandfather’s Journey when it was first published. At once deeply personal yet expressing universally held emotions, this tale...

James Castle was born two months premature on September 25, 1899, on a farm in Garden Valley, Idaho. He was deaf, mute, autistic, and probably dyslexic. He didn't walk until he was four; he would never learn to speak, write, read, or use sign language. Yet, today Castle's artwork hangs in major...

There was a story that Mama read to Jiro:   Once, in old Japan, a young woodcutter lived alone in a little cottage. One winter day he found a crane struggling in a snare and set it free.   When Jiro looks out the window into Mr. Ozu’s garden, he sees a crane and remembers that...

Everything changes for Almond Biggs when a new girl comes to school. The New Girl can play "The Flight of the Bumblebee" fast fast fast on her violin. And every day Almond sits and listens. Lost in the music, Almond wonders if she has her own unique gift. One special day, as Almond is watching...

The amazing tricks two American soldiers perform on a borrowed bicycle are a fitting finale for the school sports day festivities in a small village in occupied Japan.

Thirteen-year-old Kiyoi, an apprentice to the famous cartoonist, Noro Shinpei, tries to develop his talent and become self-reliant, in this novel based upon the author's own boyhood in Japan.