Allen Say
Author of Grandfather's Journey
About the Author
Allen Say was born in 1937 in Yokohama, Japan and grew up during the war, attending seven different primary schools amidst the ravages of falling bombs. His parents divorced in the wake of the end of the war and he moved in with his maternal grandmother, with whom he did not get along with. She show more eventually let him move into a one room apartment, and Say began to make his dream of being a cartoonist a reality. He was twelve years old. Say sought out his favorite cartoonist, Noro Shinpei, and begged him to take him on as an apprentice. He spent four years with Shinpei, but at the age of 16 moved to the United States with his father. Say was sent to a military school in Southern California but then expelled a year later. He struck out to see California with a suitcase and twenty dollars. He moved from job to job, city to city, school to school, painting along the way, and finally settled on advertising photography and prospered. Say's first children's book was done in his photo studio, between shooting assignments. It was called "The Ink-Keeper's Apprentice" and was the story of his life with Noro Shinpei. After this, he began to illustrate his own picture books, with writing and illustrating becoming a sort of hobby. While illustrating "The Boy of the Three-year Nap" though, Say suddenly remembered the intense joy I knew as a boy in my master's studio and decided to pursue writing and illustrating full time. Say began publishing books for children in 1968. His early work, consisting mainly of pen-and-ink illustrations for Japanese folktales, was generally well received; however, true success came in 1982 with the publication of The Bicycle Man, based on an incident in Say's life. "The Boy of the Three-Year Nap" published in 1988, and written by Dianne Snyder, was selected as a 1989 Caldecott Honor Book and winner of The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for best picture book. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: By Politics and Prose Bookstore - Cropped from Allen Say-- Drawing From Memory (Children's and Teens' Department), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34104030
Series
Works by Allen Say
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Seii, James Allen Koichi Moriwaki
- Birthdate
- 1937
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Japan (birth)
USA - Birthplace
- Yokohama, Japan
- Places of residence
- Yokohama, Japan (birth)
California, USA
Portland, Oregon, USA - Occupations
- photographer
illustrator
author
Members
Reviews
Magnificent.
Poignant.
Nuanced.
I enjoyed this. It took perhaps 40 minutes to read.
I think it is it’s own thing. Whole and complete. It could be in picture book biographies or with adult biographies.
Some sentiments are a bit shocking but it is a memoir and his impressions are his own. His scars are his own.
I am so thankful that while frustrated by the mess I am supportive of my children’s love of art.
Poignant.
Nuanced.
I enjoyed this. It took perhaps 40 minutes to read.
I think it is it’s own thing. Whole and complete. It could be in picture book biographies or with adult biographies.
Some sentiments are a bit shocking but it is a memoir and his impressions are his own. His scars are his own.
I am so thankful that while frustrated by the mess I am supportive of my children’s love of art.
Through pensive portraits and delicately faded art, Allen Say pays tribute to his grandfather's persistent longing for home that continues within Allen.
This restlessness and constant desire to be in two places speaks to a universal experience as well as the deeply personal ties of family to place, and what it means to be at home in more than one country.
This restlessness and constant desire to be in two places speaks to a universal experience as well as the deeply personal ties of family to place, and what it means to be at home in more than one country.
Beautiful illustrations accompany this touching story of the Kamishibai Man. He was a valued part of the community until the television came along...
Students will enjoy learning about an aspect of Japanese culture through this book.
Students will enjoy learning about an aspect of Japanese culture through this book.
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Statistics
- Works
- 31
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 8,939
- Popularity
- #2,690
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 650
- ISBNs
- 186
- Languages
- 3
- Favorited
- 3
This book is about the artist Allen Say and the ways that he began an artisit
This book would be a fun one to have in the classroom as a free read book