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Sleepless Kao

Sleepless Kao is a pen name for Kaori Kasai, a visual artist, animator, illustrator and author who was born in Tokyo but now lives in Vancouver.  She graduated from art school in Tokyo and has also trained at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.  Kasai moved to Canada as a young adult in 1994.

Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)

Duet

Vancouver: Simply Read Books, 2015.

Publisher’s Synopsis (from its website)

Sora and Sarah are twins. They do everything together: go for walks, share favorite sweets and the sweetest tunes. But when Sora begins to grow up, Sarah does not. Sarah is an imaginary twin and can’t grow older. What will Sora do when her new school friend, Kay, comes to play? Will she stop playing with Sarah, or is there another solution?

Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)

Monchan’s Bag

Vancouver: Simply Read Books, 2010.

Publisher’s Synopsis (from its website)

Monchan, a little stuffie, arrives in Auntie’s gift bag for Bluie. Monchan immediately becomes Bluie’s favorite playmate. He carries her everywhere in his backpack. Monchan sees bags all around her. She doesn’t have a bag of her own–but she thinks she doesn’t need one. When Bluie gives Monchan a gift bag, she is excited in anticipation of what wonderful things could be inside. To her disappointment, it’s just another bag. Then one day, Monchan accidently falls out of Bluie’s backpack… and the bag, the gift she didn’t want, turns out to be exactly what she needs.

We all carry bags, and what we keep inside them reveals something about who we are. Ultimately, however, what we carry in our hearts counts the most. This sweet picture book reveals what Monchan carries in both, brought to life by the adorable art of Sleepless Kao.

“Mon” is a Japanese nickname for monster and “chan” is a term of endearment.

Links

Kaori Kasai personal website

Publisher Simply Read Books