Book Talk with Debbi Michiko Florence: Monster Maker
We are so happy to welcome back our friend and fabulous local author Debbi Michiko Florence , who will be visiting for a reading and signing of her new book, Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata. This event will include a kaiju character trading cards and bookmark giveaway, and a youth-led origami workshop. Don’t miss the fun… see you here!
More about the book:
Lion Head charges into Melted Candle Man! GAOO!
Chicken Head swoops down and thrashes Lion Head! GUCHYA!
The monster battle rages on! GASHAN!
These kaiju, Japanese creatures delivered as toys to a nine-year-old boy one Christmas day from relatives in Japan, became the catalyst for artist and toymaker Mark Nagata’s career. This is the story of his journey from budding artist to world-renowned Japanese toymaker!
When Mark Nagata was nine years old, he received a Christmas package in his California home all the way from relatives in Japan. Inside the package, Mark found brightly colored plastic toys. What amazed Mark about these toys was how different they were from his own action figures, being so brightly colored with shimmering, unrecognizable writing on the boxes.
It didn’t matter that Mark didn’t understand the writing. After conjuring up names for each figure, it was clear that it was love at first sight!
Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata is a biographical account of toy designer, painter, illustrator, and collector Mark Nagata. From a very young age, Mark was a fan of many classic comic book series, movies and toys. It was the introduction to classic Japanese television shows that truly sparked his creativity, which ultimately led to his success as a toymaker, most specifically kaiju toys.
Kaiju translates to strange creature but has since come to mean large monster in Japanese. Mark bases his toy design and artwork on this type of creature and his work has flourished into an important and well-recognized art form in the United States and around the world.
More about Debbi:
A third-generation Japanese American, Debbi Michiko Florence is the acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children and tweens. Her books have received starred reviews, Junior Library Guild Selections, and inclusion on lists such as Amazon Best Books and the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best. She loves to write stories about friendship and family. Her middle grade novels include Sweet and Sour, This Is How I Roll, A Study in Secrets, and Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai. She is also the author of the award-winning Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series. A native Californian, Debbi now lives in Connecticut.