Cover Image

It began with a page : how Gyo Fujikawa drew the way

by Maclear, Kyo, 1970-

Format: Print Book 2019
Availability: Available at 13 Libraries 13 of 15 copies

Available (13)
Location Collection Call #
Brentwood Library Easy E 92 Fujikawa
Location  Brentwood Library
 
Collection  Easy
 
Call Number  E 92 Fujikawa
 
 
C.C. Mellor Memorial Library Children Non Fiction J 92 Fujikawa
Location  C.C. Mellor Memorial Library
 
Collection  Children Non Fiction
 
Call Number  J 92 Fujikawa
 
 
CLP - Main Library First Floor Children's Department - Picture Books qj NC975.5.F85 M33 2019x
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  First Floor Children's Department - Picture Books
 
Call Number  qj NC975.5.F85 M33 2019x
 
 
Cooper-Siegel Community Library Children's Non Fiction j 92 FUJ
Location  Cooper-Siegel Community Library
 
Collection  Children's Non Fiction
 
Call Number  j 92 FUJ
 
 
Coraopolis Memorial Library Juvenile Picture Books J PIC B FUJ
Location  Coraopolis Memorial Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Picture Books
 
Call Number  J PIC B FUJ
 
 
Crafton Public Library Juvenile - Biography J 92 BIO FUJIKAWA 2019 CRAFTON 10/19
Location  Crafton Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile - Biography
 
Call Number  J 92 BIO FUJIKAWA 2019 CRAFTON 10/19
 
 
Green Tree Public Library Children's Easy E REA MAC
Location  Green Tree Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Easy
 
Call Number  E REA MAC
 
 
Jefferson Hills Public Library Easy Nonfiction E 92 FUJ
Location  Jefferson Hills Public Library
 
Collection  Easy Nonfiction
 
Call Number  E 92 FUJ
 
 
Monroeville Public Library Juvenile Non-fiction J E 92 FUJIKAWA
Location  Monroeville Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Non-fiction
 
Call Number  J E 92 FUJIKAWA
 
 
Mt. Lebanon Public Library Children's Non-Fiction j 92F FUJIKAWA Mac
Location  Mt. Lebanon Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Non-Fiction
 
Call Number  j 92F FUJIKAWA Mac
 
 
Northland Public Library Children's Biography J B FUJIKAWA
Location  Northland Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Biography
 
Call Number  J B FUJIKAWA
 
 
Scott Township Library Juvenile Non-Fiction J B FUJIKA
Location  Scott Township Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Non-Fiction
 
Call Number  J B FUJIKA
 
 
Shaler North Hills Library Juvenile Biography j 92 FUJIKAWA
Location  Shaler North Hills Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Biography
 
Call Number  j 92 FUJIKAWA
 
 
 
Unavailable (2)
Location Collection Status
Northern Tier Regional Library Juvenile Biography CHECKED OUT
Location  Northern Tier Regional Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Biography
 
Status  CHECKED OUT
 
 
Northland Public Library Children's Biography CHECKED OUT
Location  Northland Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Biography
 
Status  CHECKED OUT
 
 

Summary


* 4 Starred Reviews *

* An Indie Next List Pick *

"Playful, bold, and, much like its subject, full of grace." --Jillian Tamaki, Caldecott Honor winner for This One Summer

"It Began with a Page tells [Gyo Fujikawa's] story beautifully, in picture-book form." --The New Yorker

From beloved team Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad (creators of Julia, Child and Bloom: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli) comes an elegant picture book biography that portrays the most moving moments in the life of Gyo Fujikawa, a groundbreaking Japanese American hero in the fight for racial diversity in picture books.

Equal parts picture book biography, inspiring story, and a look at racial diversity in America, It Began with a Page is a gem for any book lover, librarian, or child who dares to dream big.

Growing up in California, Gyo Fujikawa always knew that she wanted to be an artist. She was raised among strong women, including her mother and teachers, who encouraged her to fight for what she believed in. During World War II, Gyo's family was forced to abandon everything and was taken to an internment camp in Arkansas.

Far away from home, Gyo worked as an illustrator in New York while her innocent family was imprisoned. Seeing the diversity around her and feeling pangs from her own childhood, Gyo became determined to show all types of children in the pages of her books. There had to be a world where they saw themselves represented.

Gyo's book Babies was initially rejected by her publisher, but after she insisted, they finally relented, and Babies went on to sell almost two million copies. Gyo's books paved the way for publishers, teachers, and readers to see what we can be when we welcome others into our world.

The book includes extensive backmatter, including a note from the creators, a timeline, archival photos, and further information on Gyo Fujikawa.

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2019

A Kirkus Best of 2019 Picture Book

A 2020 ALSC Notable Children's Book

A 2020 Orbis Pictus Recommended Title awarded annually by NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English)

Featured in the 2019 Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators

Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "Growing up in a Japanese American family in California, Gyo Fujikawa enjoyed drawing. Each day, she started with an empty white page ... and filled it with pictures. Though lonely at her first school, she found friends after her family moved to an island where many Japanese Americans lived. She studied art in college, traveled to Japan, and worked for Disney Studios in New York before beginning her freelance career as an artist and picture-book illustrator. Disheartened during WWII, when her family was sent to an internment camp, she continued working. Beginning with Babies (1963), her first racially inclusive picture book, she insisted that children shouldn't be segregated on the page, and she prevailed. An appended note provides information on Fujikawa's career, her passion for social justice, and her role as a trailblazer. Written and illustrated with clean, spare lines, the book reveals emotions in an understated manner. When her family was interned, the text includes phrases such as no pictures would come and her heart would not mend. In the artwork, created with liquid watercolor, gouache, and pencil crayons, Morstad uses line, color, and texture with finesse. This beautiful biography offers a fitting tribute to an artist with a lasting legacy in American picture books.--Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2019 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "In spare, elegant spreads and graceful prose, frequent collaborators Maclear and Morstad (Bloom) tell the story of Japanese-American illustrator Gyo Fujikawa (1908--1998). An artist from the beginning, "she loved the feel of the pencil in her hand." Fujikawa is treated like an outsider throughout her California upbringing but remains determined, attending college and traveling to Japan. Working as a freelance artist in New York City when WWII breaks out, she's heartbroken when her family members, along with thousands of other Japanese-American citizens, are interned. In Morstad's artwork, crisp line drawings alternate with lively watercolor and gouache scenes that revolve around patterned textiles; the art fades with the onset of war and revivifies as Fujikawa sketches the beginnings of Babies. When one spread shows white and black babies together, the publisher rejects it until Fujikawa, recalling "all the times she had felt unseen and unwelcome," persuades them otherwise. Happily, the book is a success, and "Gyo kept going. Welcoming kids in from the edges, from the corners." Maclear and Morstad's biography conveys with quiet power how recently segregation reached into every aspect of American life, and how one woman did her part to defeat it. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Fujikawa, Gyo -- Juvenile literature.
Fujikawa, Gyo.
Illustrators -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.
Women artists -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.
Japanese Americans -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.
Illustrators.
Women artists.
Japanese Americans -- Biography.
Women -- Biography.
Biographies.
Publisher New York, NY :Harper,2019
Edition First edition.
Other Titles How Gyo Fujikawa drew the way
Contributors Morstad, Julie, illustrator.
Audience Ages 4-8.
Language English
Description 1 volume (unpaged) : illustrations (some color) ; 30 cm
Bibliography Notes Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 9780062447623
0062447629
Other Classic View