9 ratings | 1 review | avg rating:4.89

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Kimiko Kajikawa

Goodreads author profile

url

http://www.goodreads.com/KimikoKajikawa

born

The United States

gender

female

website

http://www.author4kids.com

genre

Children's Books, Arts & Photography

influences

Growing up half-Japanese, animals, basset hounds, brownies and butterc...more

member since

January 2009

About this author

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Kimiko's true love of reading and writing began one day at her local library. Kimiko says, "My local librarian asked me if I had ever read Harriet the Spy. She said that it was a great book, and I immediately took it home. I read the entire book that day! I was so disappointed when it ended that I reread it immediately. I had to find a way to keep the spirit of Harriet the Spy alive with me, so I began to keep a journal. And spy on people. I did not follow anyone, but I would try to pick up what people were saying, and I would study their mannerisms. I think Harriet the Spy was the book that got me to write because I really started to look at the world and put down what I saw on paper."

By fifth grade, Kimiko won an essay contest sponsored b...more Kimiko's true love of reading and writing began one day at her local library. Kimiko says, "My local librarian asked me if I had ever read Harriet the Spy. She said that it was a great book, and I immediately took it home. I read the entire book that day! I was so disappointed when it ended that I reread it immediately. I had to find a way to keep the spirit of Harriet the Spy alive with me, so I began to keep a journal. And spy on people. I did not follow anyone, but I would try to pick up what people were saying, and I would study their mannerisms. I think Harriet the Spy was the book that got me to write because I really started to look at the world and put down what I saw on paper."

By fifth grade, Kimiko won an essay contest sponsored by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her essay was about Abraham Lincoln and her victory earned her $3. At that moment, Kimiko concluded that, "Writing was a great way to make a living."

Kimiko won another writing contest when she was twelve, and this time she got to spend a day at the Bucks County Courier Times writing her own column. "I loved it. They took me around and introduced me to all the people that put the newspaper together. I felt like somebody special until they ran my photo in the paper. I was horrified that everyone at school would see it. I looked so nerdy!"

In high school, Kimiko was published in Seventeen Magazine. She was also the assistant editor and columnist for her high school newspaper. "At that point," Kimiko says, "I told my parents that I wanted to become a writer. My parents were unhappy with my decision. They told me that I should become a businesswoman instead."

Kimiko's mom is Japanese and her dad is American. Her parents met after World War II. They didn't even speak the same language when they were married.

Her mom was born in Tokyo in 1929. In an essay that Kimiko wrote when she was in eighth grade, she said, "There are no pictures of my mother when she was a child because they were all burned during the war. My mother was eleven years old when World War II started. During the war, she sometimes only had toothpaste to eat. And she would often see burned bodies on the side of the road. All the bodies were black, she would say, except for the teeth."

During the war, Kimiko's mother lost nine relatives in one day during the bombing of Hiroshima. Soon after the war, Kimiko's grandmother died of cancer. The very next day, her aunt fell from a train and died from head injuries. Kimiko says, "My mom's life is filled with tragic stories that she rarely tells."

"In fact, my family has been the inspiration for most of my books. I credit my son, Chris, for starting my career as an author. When he was little, he fell in love with trains. What Chris wanted most in the world was a book with photographs of steam trains for young children. Fortunately, for me, that book didn't exist. After two years of searching, I decided to write and photograph the book that Chris so desperately wanted to read."

According to Kimiko, "Working on my books has helped me make sense of my life and helped me deal with the pain of growing up Eurasian. There were children in my neighborhood who wouldn't play with me when I was a kid. Some of them threw rocks at me and called me, "slanty eyes." Having grown up wishing I looked like most everyone else, I understand how important it is to give children an awareness and appreciation of our external differences and a realization that, underneath it all, we are very much the same. I feel that through teaching children to respect others we give them something even more important: self-respect."

"For several years, I have truly enjoyed reading old Japanese folklore and adapting those stories for an American audience. This is very therapeutic work for me. When I was little, I would go to sleep and wish that I would wake up looking like all the other kids. Now, I take pride in my heritage. Writing books has helped me grow as a person. I(less)

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Books by Kimiko Kajikawa

Average rating: 3.90 · 313 ratings · 113 reviews · 4 distinct works

	Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa (Goodreads Author), Ed Young (Illustrator) 3.88 avg rating — 247 ratings — published 2009	My rating:
	Yoshi's Feast by Kimiko Kajikawa (Goodreads Author), Yumi Heo 3.94 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 2000	My rating:
	Close to You: How Animals Bond 4.09 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 2008	My rating:
	Sweet Dreams: How Animals Sleep 3.83 avg rating — 12 ratings	My rating:

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Kimiko's Recent Updates

Kimiko Kajikawa is now friends with MissInformation
May 14, 2010 04:26pm
Kimiko Kajikawa voted on the list 2010 Caldecott Hopefuls
Jan 09, 2010 06:47am · like · Kimiko's votes · everyone's votes · vote
Kimiko Kajikawa gave to: Who Would Buy This? The Archie McPhee Story by Mark Pahlow read in January, 2010	My rating:
Jan 01, 2010 07:03am
Kimiko Kajikawa liked your neighborhood librarian's review of Tsunami!: " WOW. "
Apr 08, 2009 07:32pm · see review
Kimiko Kajikawa liked Linda's review of Tsunami!: " Great story about a sensitive rice farmer who knew what was most important and how to take care of people - based on a true story "
Apr 08, 2009 07:31pm · see review
Kimiko Kajikawa gave to: Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young	My rating:
Apr 05, 2009 05:43pm
Kimiko Kajikawa gave to: Lon Po Po by Ed Young	My rating:
Apr 05, 2009 05:43pm
Kimiko Kajikawa became a fan of Ed Young
Apr 05, 2009 05:43pm · all of Kimiko's favorite authors
Kimiko Kajikawa gave to: Sweet Dreams: How Animals Sleep by Kimiko Kajikawa (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
"In unobtrusively rhyming captions and intimate photographs from a variety of sources, Kajikawa captures animals both wild and domestic asleep in their natural habitats. The creatures come from land and sea, and their bedtime practices are diverse. L...more
Apr 05, 2009 05:41pm · see review
Kimiko Kajikawa recommended Close to You: How Animals Bond to Susan Close to You: How Animals Bond by Kimiko Kajikawa (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Apr 05, 2009 04:51pm · like

More of Kimiko's books…

Polls

Which book should be our Caldecott Medal winner?

(I could type all day adding books to the list, but had to stop somewhere. If you wanted to vote for a book that is not on the list just send me word or write a comment and I will add it.)

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

13 votes 72.2%

Once Upon a Twice by Denise Doyen

1 vote 5.6%

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

1 vote 5.6%

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

1 vote 5.6%

All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant

1 vote 5.6%

Zero Is The Leaves On The Tree by Betsy Franco

1 vote 5.6%

14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy

0 votes 0.0%

Birds by Kevin Henkes

0 votes 0.0%

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

0 votes 0.0%

Mermaid Queen The Spectacular True Story Of Annette Kellerman, Who Swam Her Way To Fame, Fortune & Swimsuit History! by Shana Corey

0 votes 0.0%

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon

0 votes 0.0%

Red Sings from Treetops A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman

0 votes 0.0%

Moonshot The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca

0 votes 0.0%

Darwin One Beetle Too Many by Kathryn Lasky

0 votes 0.0%

Dinotrux by Chris Gall

0 votes 0.0%

A Curious Collection of Cats by Betsy Franco

0 votes 0.0%

Chicken Little by Rebecca Emberley

0 votes 0.0%

Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa

0 votes 0.0%

Otis by Loren Long

0 votes 0.0%

Hello Baby! by Mem Fox

0 votes 0.0%

18 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Mock Caldecott 2013: July reads for Caldecott 2010	1	23	Jul 31, 2009 05:22pm
What's The Name o...: Children's illustrated, Tidal wave/Tsunami, set in Asia	14	73	Mar 23, 2011 07:47pm

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