Katie Yamasaki – författare

11th Street: it wasn’t pretty, but it was home. Naomi spends her afternoons scooting down the streets and drawing with chalk on the pavement with her best friend Ada, getting a slice of pizza and visiting her neighbour Mr Ray at his car shop and dreaming of fantastic worlds within her own.But her beloved neighbourhood is changing. Trees are chopped down, flashy new buildings spring up and one by one Naomi’s neighbours are forced to move away. Faced with the rapid transformation of her once-familiar city, Naomi turns to painting murals to preserve her favourite 11th Street memories. When something we love goes away we paint it on the wall so it’s always with us, Mr Ray tells her and Naomi discovers that no matter how her world changes, as long as she has places and people to love, she will always have a home.

Dad wakes early every morning before the sun, heading off to work at the bakery. He kneads, rolls and bakes, and as the sun rises and the world starts its day, Dad heads home to his young daughter. Together they play, read, garden and—most importantly—they bake.This lovely, resonant picture book was inspired by muralist Katie Yamasaki’s work with formerly incarcerated people. With subtle, uncluttered storytelling amplified by her monumental and heartfelt paintings, she has created a powerful story of love, of family and of reclaiming a life with joy.

Minoru Yamasaki described the feeling he sought to create in his buildings as “serenity, surprise, and delight.” Here, Katie Yamasaki charts his life and work: his childhood in Seattle’s Japanese immigrant community, paying his way through college working in Alaska’s notorious salmon canneries, his success in architectural school, and the transformative structures he imagined and built. A Japanese American man who faced brutal anti-Asian racism in post–World War II America and an outsider to the architectural establishment, he nonetheless left his mark on the world, from the American Midwest to New York City, Asia, and the Middle East.This striking picture book renders one artist’s work through the eyes of another, and tells a story of a man whose vision, hard work, and humanity led him to the pinnacle of his field.

A young boy passes a painting of a hand on a wall in his neighbourhood and watches others placing their own hands against it. The act means something different for each of them: Ms Iris tells him it is a link to her home country; for Devin, it connects him to his older sister, who just left for college; for Savannah, it reminds her of her grandmother who passed away. The boy thinks of those who are on the other side of the mural, of loved ones lost or lonely or far away, and of his own mother, who is currently incarcerated. While he waits for her to come home, the hand is there to connect them to each other and remind them that they are not alone.Monumental, moving and hopeful, Place Hand Here is a masterful work that honours the way art and love are bridges between us.

Kengi drew.Fast, busy, everywhere their hands could reach and feet could travel.On the front steps, inside the fridge, across the bathroom mirror, atop the cafeteria tables, even on the roll of toilet paper. Kengi’s parents are frustrated and their principal tells them they need to stop. But Ms Beatriz tells Kengi there’s somewhere in the neighbourhood that they should visit.When Kengi arrives at Mural Island, they discover a place where people can paint safely, freely and joyfully. So Kengi does. But they’re not the only one painting each day, and soon Kengi recognises that their art doesn’t have to be permanent to be monumental.With an electric, eye-catching new style from acclaimed picture book creator Katie Yamasaki, Mural Island celebrates art, expression and the communities that cherish both.

A young girl and her Aunty set sail on their river raft, basking in each other’s company and in the beauty of the world around them—the sun sparkling on the water, the birds soaring over the mountains, the frogs and butterflies that gather in the reeds. Along the way, they pass friends and families engaged in caring for one another—sharing food, tending wounds, celebrating birthdays, and telling stories—who ultimately join them in cleaning litter and trash from the river.Celebrated artist Katie Yamasaki’s newest picture book is a nuanced, lyrical celebration of our connections to each other and the environment. With electric, eye-catching illustrations, Ripples reminds us of the value of care and the ways we can perform it—for each other, and for the world around us.

Dad wakes early every morning before the sun, heading off to work at the bakery. He kneads, rolls and bakes, and as the sun rises and the world starts its day, Dad heads home to his young daughter. Together they play, read, garden and—most importantly—they bake.This lovely, resonant picture book was inspired by muralist Katie Yamasaki’s work with formerly incarcerated people. With subtle, uncluttered storytelling amplified by her monumental and heartfelt paintings, she has created a powerful story of love, of family and of reclaiming a life with joy.

Honking cars, pizza by the slice, Hair by Carmen, the corner bodega—and Naomi’s best friend, Ada.But 11th Street begins to change. Shops close, buildings are torn down and signs promise something new. One by one, Naomi’s neighbours are forced to move. Faced with the transformation of her city block, Naomi picks up a paintbrush. When something we love goes away we paint it on the wall so it’s always with us, her neighbour Mister Ray tells her. Naomi turns her 11th Street memories into a great mural—and discovers that where she finds people to love, she will have a place to love.Internationally acclaimed muralist Katie Yamasaki’s paintings are at once monumental and heartfelt. Everything Naomi Loved entwines a celebration of community and friendship with a vision of social justice in this lyrical and universal story about home.

A young boy passes a painting of a hand on a wall in his neighbourhood and watches others placing their own hands against it. The act means something different for each of them: Ms. Iris tells him it is a link to her home country; for Devin, it connects him to his older sister, who just left for college; for Savannah, it reminds her of her grandmother who passed away. The boy thinks of those who are on the other side of the mural, of loved ones lost or lonely or far away, and of his own mother, who is currently incarcerated. While he waits for her to come home, the hand is there to connect them to each other and remind them that they are not alone.Monumental, moving and hopeful, Place Hand Here is a masterful work that honours the way art and love are bridges between us.