Mitsumasa Anno

Mitsumasa Anno (安野 光雅 Anno Mitsumasa?, March 20, 1926—) is a Japanese author and illustrator of children's books.

Background

Anno was born in 1926 in Japan, and grew up in the small town of Tsuwano. As a student at a regional high school, he studied art, drawing, and the writings of Hermann Hesse.[1] During World War II, Anno was drafted into the Japanese army.[2] After the war, Anno earned a degree from the Yamaguchi Teacher Training College in 1948. He taught mathematics for ten years in an elementary school in Tokyo before beginning a career illustrating children's books.[2] Anno lives in Japan[3] with his wife, Midori. They have two children, Masaichiro and Seiko.[2]

Art

Anno is best known for wordless picture books featuring small, detailed figures. In the "Journey" books, a tiny character travels through a nation's landscape, densely populated with pictures referencing that country's art, literature, culture, and history. Anno's illustrations are often in pen and ink and watercolor, and occasionally incorporate collage and woodcuts. They are intricately detailed, showing a sense of humor as well as an interest in science, mathematics, and foreign cultures. They frequently incorporate subtle jokes and references. Anno's style has been compared to that of M. C. Escher. Although he is best known for his children's books, his paintings have earned recognition in his native Japan. In Tsuwano, Japan, the Mitsumasa Anno Museum houses a collection of his works.[2]

List of works

Works illustrated by Mitsumasa Anno

Awards

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Featured Author and Illustrator: Mitsumasa Anno". Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site. http://www.carolhurst.com/authors/manno.html. Retrieved 2007-05-01. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Mitsumasa Anno". Answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/mitsumasa-anno?cat=entertainment. Retrieved 2007-05-01. 
  3. ^ Not checked.
  4. ^ "Interview with Mitsumasa Anno". Japanese Children's Books. Winter 2004. http://www.yamaneko.org/einfo/mgzn/jcb_e0104.htm#anno. Retrieved 2007-05-01. 
Authors: Eleanor Farjeon (1956) • Astrid Lindgren (1958) • Erich Kästner (1960) • Meindert DeJong (1962) • René Guillot (1964) • Tove Jansson (1966) • James Krüss and José Maria Sanchez-Silva (1968) • Gianni Rodari (1970) • Scott O'Dell (1972) • Maria Gripe (1974) • Cecil Bødker (1976) • Paula Fox (1978) • Bohumil Říha (1980) • Lygia Bojunga Nunes (1982) • Christine Nöstlinger (1984) • Patricia Wrightson (1986) • Annie M. G. Schmidt (1988) • Tormod Haugen (1990) • Virginia Hamilton (1992) • Michio Mado (1994) • Uri Orlev (1996) • Katherine Paterson (1998) • Ana Maria Machado (2000) • Aidan Chambers (2002) • Martin Waddell (2004) • Margaret Mahy (2006) • Jürg Schubiger (2008) • David Almond (2010)
Illustrators: Alois Carigiet (1966) • Jiří Trnka (1968) • Maurice Sendak (1970) • Ib Spang Olsen (1972) • Farshid Mesghali (1974) • Tatyana Mavrina (1976) • Svend Otto S. (1978) • Suekichi Akaba (1980) • Zbigniew Rychlicki (1982) • Mitsumasa Anno (1984) • Robert Ingpen (1986) • Dusan Kállay (1988) • Lisbeth Zwerger (1990) • Kveta Pacovská (1992) • Jörg Müller (1994) • Klaus Ensikat (1996) • Tomi Ungerer (1998) • Anthony Browne (2000) • Quentin Blake (2002) • Max Velthuijs (2004) • Wolf Erlbruch (2006) • Roberto Innocenti (2008) • Jutta Bauer (2010)