Keiko Kasza

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]

Kasza published her first book in 1981, released in Japan. Her first published work in the United States was the children's book, The Wolf's Chicken Stew (1987). It won a Kentucky Bluegrass Award in 1989.[6][7] Kasza won a Prix Chronos for her 1995 book, Grandpa Toad's Secrets.[1]

In 1997, Kasza's book A Mother for Choco was recorded on a mini-album called "Completely Yours: A Complete Mini-Album of Story, Rhymes, and Songs", released on CD and cassette. The story and various nursery rhymes were performed by a cast that included Paula Poundstone as narrator, Bea Arthur as Mrs. Walrus and Mary Tyler Moore as Mrs. Bear.[8]

Kasza has translated some of her own books into Japanese.[9] She lives in Bloomington, Indiana with her husband. They have two sons.[10][11]

Kasza creates children's books that feature animal characters and she often uses "humor and poignancy" in her work.[2] She has said many of her story ideas are based on childhood memories. Her book Dorothy and Mikey was inspired by a memory that Kasza had of playing hide-and-seek as a child and worrying she might never be found.[5] Kasza frequently illustrates with pen, ink and watercolor. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature commented that "Kasza's expressive ink-and-watercolor scenes are characteristically accompanied by simple narration and surrounded with ample white space; her stories often conclude with a humorous twist or sight gag."[1]

• The Wolf's Chicken Stew (1987)[1]
• The Pigs' Picnic (1988)[1]
• A Mother for Choco (1992)[1]
• The Rat and the Tiger (1993)[4]
• Grandpa Toad's Secrets (1995)[1]
• When the Elephant Walks (1997)[4]
• Don't Laugh, Joe! (1997)[1]
• Dorothy and Mikey (2000)[1]
• The Mightiest (2001)[2]
• My Lucky Day (2003)[2]
• The Dog Who Cried Wolf (2005)[2]
• Badger's Fancy Meal (2007)[2]
• Ready for Anything! (2009)[12]
• Silly Goose's Big Story (2012)[13]
• My Lucky Birthday (2013)[14]
• Finders Keepers (2015)

• 1987 – Notable Book, American Library Association for The Wolf's Chicken Stew[4]
• 1989 – Kentucky Bluegrass Award for The Wolf's Chicken Stew[6]
• 1997 – Prix Chronos for Grandpa Toad's Secrets
• 1998 – Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book for Don't Laugh, Joe![4]
• Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award for A Mother for Choco[15]