Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Children’s picture books

A BOY NAMED ISAMU

James Yang

A Story of Isamu Noguchi

With stunning artwork and heart-singing text, the 2020 winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award brings to life the imagination of Isamu Noguchi.

If you are Isamu, stones are the most special of all.
How can they be so heavy?
Would they float if they had no weight?

Winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award in 2020 for Stop! Bot!, James Yang imagines a day in the boyhood of Japanese American artist, Isamu Noguchi. Wandering through an outdoor market, through the forest, and then by the ocean, Isamu sees things through the eyes of a young artist... but also in a way that many children will relate. Stones look like birds. And birds look like stones.

Through colorful artwork and exquisite text, Yang translates the essence of Noguchi so that we can all begin to see as an artist sees.

James Yang's prize-winning work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including Graphis, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author/illustrator of Stop! Bot!, Bus! Stop!, Joey and Jet, Joey and Jet in Space, and Puzzlehead. The designer of "Clockman," a sculpture on display at the National Museum of American History, Mr. Yang and his wife live in New York City.

Available products
Book Published 2021-06-15 by Viking Books for Young Readers
Book Published 2021-06-15 by Viking Books for Young Readers

Comments

Yang's text meets child readers on their own level, framing the natural world as a source of curiosity and delight. His digital illustrations feel warm and organic... The book works as both an introduction to a fascinating artist and a tribute to the quiet joys of the natural world.

Yang (Stop! Bot!, 2019) renders this imagined biography of Japanese American Isamu Noguchi with the utmost tenderness. While young readers may not be familiar with Noguchi's sculpture, some will be able to relate to his keen eye and astute curiosity about the world around him... This lyrical biography will resonate with creative types of all ages and can easily be incorporated into a curriculum as a springboard for writing, research, and art projects.

Miniature, toy-like images by Geisel Medalist Yang (Stop! Bot!) follow a solitary boy who's drawn to nature's elemental forms. He's based on the sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), but readers needn't have that context to take pleasure in this story... [A]n attentive, balanced study of an artist's sensibility.

A BOY NAMED ISAMU received A 2021-2022 ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE HONOR BOOK: PICTURE BOOKS! Booklist Editor's Choice, 2021 Horn Book Fanfare 2021

Italian: Kira Kira

Beginning with the whimsical jacket design that's echoed in the shapes, colors, and prose that follow, readers are encouraged to experience finding their own voices in quiet spaces... A marvel of prose, illustration, and design that invites repeated meditation.

A BOY NAMED ISAMU is a Booklist Editor's Choice, 2021 Horn Book Fanfare 2021 Publishers Weekly holiday gift guide: Children's & YA

Yang's lyrical writing and rich vocabulary reads well aloud while providing thoughts to further ponder and discuss, especially for readers in today's busy, noisy world. Though produced in picture book format, the concepts - the need for quiet, introspection, and beauty in nature - will resonate across many grade levels. This is a book for all ages.