Warabé Aska

Warabé Aska
Born
Takeshi Masuda

(1944-02-03) 3 February 1944 (age 82)
Kagawa Prefecture, Japan
OccupationsChildren's book author and illustrator
Children3
Writing career
Notable awardsCity of Toronto Book Award (1985)

Takeshi Masuda (born 1944), who uses the pen name Warabé Aska, is a children's book author and illustrator.

Masuda was born in Kagawa Prefecture on 3 February 1944. His father died during World War II, before Masuda was born, so Masuda grew up with his mother (a seamstress) and grandmother. While living in Japan, Masuda studied at a polytechnic school. He began using the name Warabé Aska in his early twenties.

He began his career as a commercial artist and graphic designer before becoming a children's book illustrator. His published his first book, Discovering Japan in 80 Days, in 1973. Before immigrating to Canada in 1979, he illustrated a dozen children's books. Following his move, Masuda continued illustrating children's books. His first book published in Canada, Who Goes to the Park, won the 1985 City of Toronto Book Award, becoming the first children's book to receive the honour. Since then, Masuda has written and illustrated children's books, as well as exhibited his artwork in galleries.

As of 2026, Masuda lives in Toronto. He is married and has three children.

Awards

Award's for Aska's work
Year Work Award Result Ref.
1985 Who Goes to the Park City of Toronto Book Award Winner
1990 Seasons Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration Finalist
1990 Seasons Studio Magazine Award Gold
1993 Aska's Birds Tehran International Biennale of Illustration 1st
1995 Aska's Sea Creatures Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration Finalist

Select publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Canadian Children's Book Centre (1999). The storymakers: illustrating children's books : 72 artists and illustrators talk about their work. Markham, Ont: , Pembroke Pub Ltd. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-1-55138-107-7. OCLC 40573953.
  2. 1 2 3 Blackburn, Angela (30 October 1996). "Artist's work has childlike appeal". The Mississauga News. pp. LS1–LS2. Retrieved 16 September 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Blackburn, Angela (10 March 1999). "The world of Lulie the Iceberg comes to life in Aska's drawings". The Mississauga News. Retrieved 16 September 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "Warabé Aska". Asian Heritage in Canada. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 McLean, Sandy (15 November 1995). "Artist Warabé Aska finds fame illustrating kids' books". The Mississauga News. Retrieved 16 September 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 "Three authors share city award". Toronto Star, March 1, 1985.
  7. ↑ "Warabe Aska". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  8. ↑ "Katz nominated for Governor General's award". The Windsor Star. 27 October 1995. Retrieved 14 September 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Cramer, Abigail (29 November 1984). "Canadian authors produce gold mine of books for young". Calgary Herald. p. D9. Retrieved 16 September 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Ladd, John (30 December 1990). "Magical nonsense in children's logic". The News and Observer. p. 5J. Retrieved 16 September 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Aska's Sea Creatures by David Day, Warabe Aska". Publishers Weekly. 29 August 1994. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  12. ↑ Stanford, Candice (23 July 2000). "'Lulie the Icerberg' is a cool read". Las Cruces Sun-News. p. C5. Retrieved 16 September 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Parsons, Marnie (16 March 2006). "Tapicero Tap Tap". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  14. ↑ "Tapicero Tap Tap". Booklist. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2026.