AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR ALLEN SAY TO READ FROM LATEST BOOK, 'THE BOY IN THE GARDEN', OCT. 17

Author/illustrator Allen Say, whose children’s books have won numerous awards, will read from his latest work, The Boy in the Garden, at a public program and book signing set for Sunday, October 17, at 2 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum.

Say has been recognized as one of the top illustrators and authors for many years. His illustration of Annetta Lawson’s book The Lucky Yak won him the New York Times Best Illustrated Award and his work on Ina Friedman’s How My Parents Learned to Eat was recognized with the Christopher Award. Say illustrated Dianne Snyder’s book The Boy of the Three-Year Nap, which won awards from the Boston Globe (Horn Book Award), American Library Association and Newbery Caldecott. In 1993, Say authored and illustrated Grandfather’s Journey, which earned him a second Newbery Caldecott Medal, the highest honor in its field.

Say, who is the son of a Japanese American mother and an ethnically Korean Japanese father, developed his artistic talents as an apprentice to famed Japanese illustrator Nori Shimpei. His latest work, The Boy in the Garden, is based on a folk tale, "The Grateful Crane", Say learned in Japan.

The tale is summarized in the book: "Once in Old Japan, a young woodcutter lived alone in a little cottage. One winter day he found a crane struggling in a snare and set it free. Late that night a beautiful woman knocked on his door; she was lost in the snowstorm, and he gladly gave her shelter. She stayed for several days, and some time later they were married. They were happy, but very poor." The young protagonist Jiro knows this story and so he is filled with wonderment when he spies a crane in his neighbor’s garden. Suddenly, the legend comes to life and Jiro is thrust into a world between dreams and reality.

This book is inspired by Say’s own experiences as a young boy in Japan. On a visit to his father’s employer’s house, he spies a live crane and begins stalking it. However, Allen’s father observes his son’s actions and finds them silly. His father found the whole experience quite amusing, recounting the tale to Allen’s mother when they returned home. Frustrated and angry, Allen felt for the first of many times the unbridgeable gap between his child self and adults. This book is the author’s attempt to capture the feelings of the little boy whose father did not understand him.

Say is familiar to National Museum members and supporters. In 2001, the National Museum installed Allen Say’s Journey, a cross-section of his work from the 1970s through the 1990s. Fifty-five of Say’s original paintings were on view, including ones from his Caldecott award-winning book Grandfather’s Journey and The Sign Painter. This was the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Say. In addition to original watercolors and drawings, Say’s sketchbooks and artistic process were explored in the exhibition.

Say’s work has been featured in exhibitions at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Philips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. Allen Say lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

The program is free to National Museum members or with admission. The Boy in the Garden is published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children and will be available for sale and signing at the program. It is also available through the National Museum’s online store at www.janmstore.com. For more information on The Boy in the Garden, contact Stephanie McLaughlin at (845) 855-3334 or e-mail stephaniejanemcl@gmail.com.