UFO Diary
by
Satoshi Kitamura
Illustrator: Satoshi Kitamura
A being in a yellow spaceship explains that on Monday he lost his way in space, and ended up on a strange blue planet. He met an odd-looking creature (a small boy) and although they could not speak the same language, they made friends.
This is an unusual take on the aliens-visiting-Earth theme, as it is told from the point of view of the alien. While the text is charming, it is the illustrations that enchant. Kitamura fills the spreads with mesmerising washes of colour – the dark blues of space, the Earth 'bright as a glass ball', the lush green of a field with the shadow of the spaceship looming over it.
This is a book where you need to turn the pages slowly, and sink into the pictures.
Publisher: Andersen Press
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Satoshi Kitamura
Satoshi Kitamura was born in 1956 in Tokyo. He says that when he was young he read comics and admits that these have had a great influence on his style. He says he was also influenced by anything visual from a tin of sardines to the fine art of the East and the West. He was not trained as an artist, but at the age of 19 began to do commercial work. From 1976-1979 he worked as a commercial artist in Japan, working as an illustrator for adverts and magazines. He moved to London in 1979 and worked mainly designing greeting cards. He started illustrating for Andersen Press in 1981. At this time he had an exhibition of his work at the Neal Street Gallery in Covent Garden, which Klaus Flugge visited and showed him the text of Angry Arthur.
Angry Arthur, written by Hiawyn Oram, was published in 1982 to great acclaim, winning the Mother Goose Award in 1983 and the Japanese Picture Book Award.
In 1989, UFO diary was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, an award he later went on to win for Me and My Cat, which was also shortlisted for the Kurt Mashler Award. In 2006, Satoshi’s collaboration with Colin McNaughton, Once Upon an Ordinary School Day, won The Japan Picture Book Award for best translated book.
His book, A Boy Wants a Dinosaur was shown as a children’s play at the Unicorn Theatre and his picture book Sheep in Wolves' Clothing was adapted into the television series Sheep! Which was shown on ITV.
Satoshi’s most recent book, Millie’s Marvellous Hat, was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Award in 2010.
http://www.satoshiland.com/
Satoshi Kitamura Photo: Anderson Press
Reading Age: 5+
Interest level: 3-7
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