Description
The 17th-century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho practically invented the haiku. He's most famous for his travel journals. But how did he come to be such a traveler in the first place? This delightful volume--written entirely in haiku and illustrated with vibrant hand-painted scenes taken directly from the poet's written travelogues--tells the true story of Basho's decision to abandon his comfortable city life and of the five great journeys he then took through the length and breadth of Japan.
Co-op available National print campaign The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Japan Times, Kyoto Journal, Japan Forward, Nippon, Nikkei Asian Review, LA Times, National Book Review, Book Forum, Book Riot, Booklist, BookPage, Foreword, Kirkus, Library Journal, NPR, Pop Matters, Portland Book Review, City Book Review, Publishers Weekly, Rain Taxi, SF Chronicle, Shelf Awareness, The Guardian, Washington Post, Seattle Times, JQ Magazine, Asian Review of Books, Books on Asia. Online/social media campaign Seek children's book related blogs and websites to publish excerpts of artwork from book. General eBook marketing plans eBook will be available at the same time as print publication to maximize sales eBook ISBN will be included on all press materials, author and publisher websites, and whenever print ISBN is listed Publisher and author will be promoting both e and p through social media Note any planned price or vendor promotions and whether you will you be marketing these promotions through social media, newsletters and involving the author General tour info Virtual book talks with Japan Societies in USA Promotion through the [author's/book's] website: [https://www.authorfreeman.com and http://www.cassandrarockwoodghanem.com/] Bookseller/Library promotions Super annotations in Ingram catalog Special outreach for reviews and interviews with the author to English-language Japanese media including NHK, The Japan Times, The Asahi Shimbun, Japan Today and more. Edelweiss digital review copies to the trade and blogs.
About the Author
Freeman Ng is the author of Joan, a YA retelling of the life of Joan of Arc that Horn Book Award-winning author Tim Wynne-Jones called, "An intimate meditation, textured and ingenious," and of Who Am I?, a personalizable picture book that comes in 20 different versions. Starting in 2010, Freeman wrote and posted one haiku every day for five years, and in 2016 published Haiku Diem 1, a collection of the first year's best haiku.
Cassandra Rockwood-Ghanem is a San Francisco Bay Area-based poet and illustrator. Her award-winning visual art has been exhibited in journals and galleries throughout the United States and beyond. Her poems and creative nonfiction have been published in The New Delta Review, Rip Rap, Hawaii Review, The Lifted Brow, For Women Who Roar, The Write Launch, and elsewhere. Cassandra holds a BA from California Institute of Integral Studies and an MFA from California College of the Arts. This is her first book.
Reviews
"A glimpse into the life of a legendary poet... Whimsical haiku are paired with landscapes, rendered in bold colors that deftly blend together to invoke the feeling of misty mountains and grassy fields."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Using the style of poetry Basho is credited with popularizing, Ng recounts Basho's travels from leaving city life behind to becoming a wanderer who embarked on five epic journeys across Japan. The book is recommended for readers aged 7-10, who will likely be inspired to write their own haiku; fortunately, there is a short explanation at the end of the book on how to compose one."
-Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
"Colorful and whimsical... If you're looking for a book to get a child interested in nature, haiku, or travel, you should give this one a look."
-the !n(tro)verted yogi
"Nothing short of breathtaking... Basho's Haiku Journeys is a must-purchase for children's librarians, language arts teachers, and parents and guardians who want their children to be curious and creative citizens of the world."
-The Voracious Bibliophile
"The centuries vanish as readers turn the pages on a luminous journey through 17th century Japan. There they meet the most famous haiku poet of all and discover the vibrant beauty of the natural world. Children will be writing haiku of their own--and parents, too--as they follow the famous sage."
-Clark Strand, Author of Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey and haiku columnist for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
"Haiku is an exquisite poetic art form from Japan, rich in nature's imagery and layered in life's discoveries. Poet and author Freeman Ng has turned his love for writing haiku into a beautiful picture book biography about Matsuo Basho, Japan's most famous poet of haiku. Written in Ng's inviting haiku style and colorfully illustrated by Cassandra Rockwood Ghanem, Basho's Haiku Journeys will entrance young readers. No doubt, these young readers will want to start writing haiku themselves!"
-Caren Stelson, author of Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story and A Bowl Full of Peace
"Through Freeman Ng's inspired haiku and Cassandra Rockwood Ghanem's dreamlike, poetic paintings, we learn about Basho's solitary pilgrimage and his quest to be one with nature. Young readers will gain a sense of 17th century Japan and its geography, and come to know one of Japan's finest poets. What a wonderful companion Basho's Haiku Journeys will be to a collection of his poetry!"
-Tracy Gallup, illustrator of My First Book of Haiku Poems
"From encouraging reflection - "The oddest feeling/swirled around him like the wind/Was it happiness?" to eliciting chuckles - "A rose of Sharon/that blooms for only one day/of its short, sweet Spring./" is followed by "In all its glory/at one moment. In the next,/devoured by his horse!"-Ng's haiku will inspire young poets."
-Sally M. Walker, author of Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh and Earth Verse: Haiku From the Ground Up
Book Information
ISBN 9781611720693
Author Freeman Ng
Format Paperback
Page Count 40
Imprint Stone Bridge Press
Publisher Stone Bridge Press
