Keiko Kasza

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Keiko Kasza is a Japanese American picture book author and illustrator.[1] Her works have been translated into multiple languages and feature animals as main characters.[2]

Life and career[edit]

Kasza was born on December 23, 1951, in Innoshima City, Japan,[3] to parents Tomizo Tanaka, a businessman, and Masuko Tanaka, a homemaker.[2] She lived with and grew up in an extended family, along with her parents, two brothers and grandparents.[4] She left Japan to attend California State University at Northridge in the U.S., graduating in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in graphic design. After her 1976 marriage to Gregory J. Kasza, an American citizen and college professor, she moved permanently to the U.S.[2][3] She originally worked as a graphic designer after graduating from college, while creating children's books as a hobby.[4] She first began writing children's books as a hobby when she and her husband were living in Ecuador.[5]

Kasza published her first book in 1981, released in Japan. Her first published work in the United States was the children's book, The Wolf's Chicken Stew (1987). It won a Kentucky Bluegrass Award in 1989.[6][7] Kasza won a Prix Chronos for her 1995 book, Grandpa Toad's Secrets.[1]

In 1997, Kasza's book A Mother for Choco was recorded on a mini-album called "Completely Yours: A Complete Mini-Album of Story, Rhymes, and Songs", released on CD and cassette. The story and various nursery rhymes were performed by a cast that included Paula Poundstone as narrator, Bea Arthur as Mrs. Walrus and Mary Tyler Moore as Mrs. Bear.[8]

Kasza has translated some of her own books into Japanese.[9] She lives in Bloomington, Indiana, with her husband. They have two sons.[10][11]

Style of work[edit]

Kasza creates children's books that feature animal characters and she often uses "humor and poignancy" in her work.[2] She has said many of her story ideas are based on childhood memories. Her book Dorothy and Mikey was inspired by a memory that Kasza had of playing hide-and-seek as a child and worrying she might never be found.[5] Kasza frequently illustrates with pen, ink and watercolor. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature commented that "Kasza's expressive ink-and-watercolor scenes are characteristically accompanied by simple narration and surrounded with ample white space; her stories often conclude with a humorous twist or sight gag."[1]

Works[edit]

  • The Wolf's Chicken Stew (1987)[1]
  • The Pigs' Picnic (1988)[1]
  • A Mother for Choco (1992)[1]
  • The Rat and the Tiger (1993)[4]
  • Grandpa Toad's Secrets (1995)[1]
  • When the Elephant Walks (1997)[4]
  • Don't Laugh, Joe! (1997)[1]
  • Dorothy and Mikey (2000)[1]
  • The Mightiest (2001)[2]
  • My Lucky Day (2003)[2]
  • The Dog Who Cried Wolf (2005)[2]
  • Badger's Fancy Meal (2007)[2]
  • Ready for Anything! (2009)[12]
  • Silly Goose's Big Story (2012)[13]
  • My Lucky Birthday (2013)[14]
  • Finders Keepers (2015)

Awards and honors[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duthie, Peggy Lin (2006). "Kasza, Keiko". In Zipes, Jack (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195307429. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Kasza, Keiko 1951–". Something About the Author. Retrieved 10 November 2020 – via Encyclopedia.com.
  3. ^ a b Cullinan, Bernice E.; Person, Diane G., eds. (2005). The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. p. 428. ISBN 0-8264-1778-7. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Keiko Kasza: Children's book author to visit library, schools". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. 2 April 2000. p. E2. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Author's imagination brings animals to life in story books for children (continued)". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. 13 April 2000. p. A6.
  6. ^ a b "Kasza will speak to reading council". The Herald. 23 March 2010. p. 11. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Children's Book Review: The Wolf's Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza, Author Putnam Publishing Group $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-21400-4". Publishers Weekly. April 12, 1987. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Completely Yours: A Complete Mini-Album of Story, Rhymes, and Songs". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 244, no. 50. 8 December 1997. p. 29. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Bloomington author-illustrator is a success by any definition (continued)". The Indianapolis Star. 13 July 1995. p. 2. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Author's imagination brings animals to life in story books for children". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. 13 April 2000. p. A1.
  11. ^ "About Keiko". www.keikokasza.com. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  12. ^ Phelan, Carolyn (15 September 2009). "Ready for Anything!". Booklist. Vol. 106, no. 2. p. 65. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  13. ^ Horning, Kathleen T (Fall 2012). "Kasza, Keiko: Silly Goose's Big Story". The Horn Book Guide. Vol. 23, no. 2. p. 10. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  14. ^ Horning, Kathleen T. (Fall 2013). "Kasza, Keiko: My Lucky Birthday". The Horn Book Guide. Vol. 24, no. 2. p. 33. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Bloomington author-illustrator is a success by any definition". The Indianapolis Star. 13 July 1995. p. 1. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
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