This is Allen Say's autobiography of his early life and training in Japan. The artwork is watercolor, pen and ink, pencils, and photographs. The book contains a map of Japan, along with photographs of Allen, his mother, sister, friends, family and mentor. There is an intermingling of cutout pictures, photos, and full bleed illustrations, which keeps the book interesting. There are comic strips as well. His independence from an early age is impressive, especially faced with the changes in his family life and the challenges of becoming an artist. There are many details of his life, relationships and examples which show his progression as an artist as well as his tools.Pair this book with other biographies of artists, such as A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin. Compare and contrast the two artists' styles and life challenges. Genre: Informational for ages 10 and upSummary: A concise memoir that details the life of Allen Say as he spent his childhood in Japan during WWII, went through the divorce of his parents, and sought to fulfill his dream of becoming an artist.Curriculum Connection: History seems like an obvious curriculum connection with the time period being WWII Japan and art too - it'd be fun to have the kids draw their own comic strip after looking at some like Calvin Hobbs or Peanuts. Looking at the Japanese culture for a social studies connection would be fun too. I enjoyed this book. I guess it is not really a biography but it reads like one. I don't know how much kids will like it it seems a bit dry. I liked the real pictures mixed with drawings. I think what was fascinating and what could be a selling point for kids was the fact that Say was able to live on his own at age 12. That would be unheard of in America. Visually, as a I said I liked the mixed media that was used and the way it was kind of a hybrid graphic, which makes sense since he is an artist.
