Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata
- Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
- SLJ 31 Days, 31 Lists: 2025 Unique Biographies for Kids
- Meet the Author
Lion Head charges into Melted Candle Man! GAOO!
Chicken Head swoops down and thrashes Lion Head! GUCHYA!
The monster battle rages on! GASHAN!
These kaiju, Japanese creatures delivered as toys to a nine-year-old boy one Christmas day from relatives in Japan, became the catalyst for artist and toymaker Mark Nagata’s career. This is the story of his journey from budding artist to world-renowned Japanese toymaker!
When Mark Nagata was nine years old, he received a Christmas package in his California home all the way from relatives in Japan. Inside the package, Mark found brightly colored plastic toys. What amazed Mark about these toys was how different they were from his own action figures, being so brightly colored with shimmering, unrecognizable writing on the boxes.
It didn’t matter that Mark didn’t understand the writing. After conjuring up names for each figure, it was clear that it was love at first sight!
Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata is a biographical account of toy designer, painter, illustrator, and collector Mark Nagata. From a very young age, Mark was a fan of many classic comic book series, movies and toys. It was the introduction to classic Japanese television shows that truly sparked his creativity, which ultimately led to his success as a toymaker, most specifically kaiju toys.
Kaiju translates to strange creature but has since come to mean large monster in Japanese. Mark bases his toy design and artwork on this type of creature and his work has flourished into an important and well-recognized art form in the United States and around the world.
Author Debbi Michiko Florence provides a note at the end of the story explaining her connection to Mark Nagata’s work, a connection that stems from a visit to the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, where she experienced the exhibit Kaiju vs. Heroes: Mark Nagata’s Journey Through the World of Toys. She became so enthralled with the exhibit and Mark Nagata’s process of creating the toys that she was even invited to his home to see the process firsthand. This additional information on the process by which the toys are created complements the story very well for the reader.
See the Magnificent World of Toys and Creative Arts video: The Origin of The Mark Nagata Monster Maker Book
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“This gorgeous picture book biography…will inspire young readers to follow their own paths in pursuing what they love.”
– School Library Journal
“YES!!! Thank you! We have GOT to break ourselves out of boring picture book bios…If you’re going to write about someone and their life, then it is your obligation and duty to do everything you can to make that person interesting to a child reader… Debbi Michiko Florence gets it.”
– Betsy Bird, Fuse 8 Productions, SLJ
Nisei Soldiers: Elite Fighting Force of World War II
During World War II, Japanese Americans, known as Nisei, were called upon to serve in the United States military—even as their families were unjustly imprisoned in camps. This graphic novel tells the gripping story of the Nisei soldiers who fought bravely in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, one of the most decorated units in U.S. military history. With courage and determination, these soldiers overcame prejudice and hardship to become heroes on the battlefield. Full of dramatic scenes and stunning illustrations, this powerful graphic novel sheds light on a lesser-known chapter of World War II.
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The Fisher Boy: A Japanese Graphic Folktale
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Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites
- Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2021
- Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
- Publisher’s Weekly starred review
- Booklist starred review
- CBC Notable 2022 Social Studies Book
- CBC Best Children’s Books of the Year 2022 List
- Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award nominee 2023-2024
- 2024 Sakura Medal nominee
Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites is a picture book biography that tells the story of the powerhouse female Japanese-American chef and her rise to fame
As a child and adult, Niki faced many naysayers in her pursuit of haute cuisine. Using the structure of a traditional kaiseki meal, the authors Debbi Michiko Florence and Jamie Michalak playfully detail Niki’s hunger for success in thirteen bites — from wonton wrappers she used to make pizza as a kid to yuzu-tomatillo sauce in her own upscale Los Angeles Michelin-starred restaurant, n/naka.
To anyone who tells her a woman can’t be a master chef, Niki lets her food do the talking. And oh, does it talk. Niki was featured on the first season of Netflix’s culinary documentary series Chef’s Table. And Chrissy Teigen proclaimed that Niki’s restaurant was one of her absolute favorites.
A smart, strong woman with starpower, Niki is only just getting started — like the young readers who will devour this book, featuring illustrations by Yuko Jones!
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“Art, storytelling, and food work together on so many levels in this beautiful tale about master chef Niki Nakayama’s life.”
– starred review, Booklist
“In 13 “Bites,” the duo follows Nakayama through food-centered memories, including bonding moments with her grandmother, embarking on a post-high school Tokyo food tour, and trying and then studying kaiseki at a cousin’s ryokan. “There, Niki was served a meal of/ many courses. One by one,/ the dishes flowed like a stream,” much like the book’s prose. Mixed media and digital art by Jones make each vignette atmospheric, with varying angles and insets, toothsome details, and watercolor washes.”
– starred review, Publishers Weekly
“This empowering picture book biography is both lively and thoughtful, and a strong choice for primary grade readers who enjoy exploring culture through food…”
– School Library Journal
“A flavorful, inspirational biography of a woman who showed the world what she could cook up.”
– Kirkus