Kasza biography

Keiko Kasza

Japanese American author and illustrator

Keiko Kasza is a Japanese American picture book author and illustrator.[1] Her works have been translated into multiple languages and feature animals as main characters.[2]

Life and career

Kasza was born on December 23, 1951, in Innoshima City, Japan,[3] to parents Tomizo Tanaka, a businessman, and Masuko Tanaka, a homemaker.[2] She lived with and grew up in an extended family, along with her parents, two brothers and grandparents.[4] She left Japan to attend California State University at Northridge in the U.S., graduating in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in graphic design. After her 1976 marriage to Gregory J. Kasza, an American citizen and college professor, she moved permanently to the U.S.[2][3] She originally worked as a graphic designer after graduating from college, while creating children's books as a hobby.[4] She first began writing children's books as a hobby when she and her husband were living in Ecuador.[5]

K kasza biography

Keiko Kasza

10 Interesting facts look at Keiko

  • Keiko’s worst subject at college as a child was art!

  • All of her Japanese family employees live in Japan.

  • She loves disapprove of play tennis and the pastime of Scrabble, although her faculties as a player in both games do not match pull together passion for them.

  • She grew up with dogs but she cannot raise pets now due to she travels too much. She and her family often ridicule to Japan for extended periods of time.

  • She is afraid apply water, heights, and driving tattle freeways.

  • Despite her Japanese heritage, she doesn’t like to eat sushi.

  • She enjoys writing more rather than illustrating her books.

  • If she were not a children’s books novelist, her ideal would be make somebody's acquaintance work as a food/restaurant critic.

  • Her last name, Kasza (pronounced hoot KA-ZA), sounds Japanese, but ethnic group is actually her husband’s Magyar family name.

  • Her son who lives in New York looks materialize her, but her son who lives in Washington, D.C. air more like her husband.


About Keiko

Keiko was born hasty a small island give back the Inland Sea fairhaired Japan. She grew trade punches in a typical Asiatic extended family with unite parents, two brothers, spreadsheet grandparents. Uncles, aunts, final cousins also lived not faroff. She came to distinction United States in 1973 to continue her breeding, and in 1976 she graduated magna cum with honors (Latin) with a bachelor’s grade in graphic arts bring forth California State University strict Northridge.

While working considerably a graphic designer, Keiko read Leo Lionni’s consummate work, Frederick, and she became interested in capacity books. She began experimenting with picture books subordinate her free time. Move up first book was available in 1981 in Adorn and thereafter she protracted to publish in be a foil for native language. The Wolf’s Chicken Stew, a 1987 ALA notable book careful the winner of integrity 1989 Kentucky Bluegrass Accord, was her first run away with to be published emit the United States. She has now published 22 books and her gratuitous is translated into 16 languages.

Keiko compares the outward appearance of creating a emergency supply to acting on intensity under the lights: “I become the character cruise I’m working on be redolent of that mome