Most Popular Books by Kyo Maclear

"Three months after Kyo Maclear''s father dies in December 2018, she gets the results of a DNA test showing that she and the father who raised her are not biologically related. Suddenly Maclear becomes a detective in her own life, unravelling a family mystery piece by piece, and assembling the story of her biological father. Along the way, larger questions arise: what exactly is kinship? And what does it mean to be a family? Unearthing is a captivating and propulsive story of inheritance that goes beyond heredity. Infused with moments of suspense, it is also a thoughtful reflection on race, lineage, and our cultural fixation on recreational genetics. Readers of Michelle Zauner''s bestseller Crying in H Mart will recognize Maclear''s unflinching insights on grief and loyalty, and keen perceptions into the relationship between mothers and daughters. What gets planted, and what gets buried? What role does storytelling play in unearthing the past and making sense of a life? Can the humble act of tending a garden provide common ground for an inquisitive daughter and her complicated mother? As it seeks to answer these questions, Unearthing bursts with the very love it seeks to understand"--

A joyful celebration of Japanese cultural traditions and body positivity as a young girl visits a bath house with her grandmother and aunties NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY New York Public Library • NPR • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus Reviews • Horn Book • The American Library Association • ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project You''ll walk down the street / Your aunties sounding like clip-clopping horses / geta-geta-geta / in their wooden sandals / Until you arrive... / At the bath house / The big bath house. In this celebration of Japanese culture and family and naked bodies of all shapes and sizes, join a little girl--along with her aunties and grandmother--at a traditional bath house. Once there, the rituals leading up to the baths begin: hair washing, back scrubbing, and, finally, the wood barrel drumroll. Until, at last, it''s time, and they ease their bodies--their creased bodies, newly sprouting bodies, saggy, jiggly bodies--into the bath. Ahhhhhh! With a lyrical text and gorgeous illustrations, this picture book is based on Kyo Maclear''s loving memories of childhood visits to Japan, and is an ode to the ties that bind generations of women together.

A clever and whimsical environmental fable about a bird who is a human-watcher from a dynamic author-illustrator duo. Warble is a small yellow warbler who lives on the beautiful island of Icyland, where he pursues his hobby of human watching. But on a warm day, a deep fog rolls in and obscures his view. The rest of the birds don''t seem to notice the fog or the other changes Warble observes on the island. The more the fog is ignored, the more it spreads. When a Red-hooded Spectacled Female (Juvenile) appears, Warble discovers that he''s not the only one who notices the fog. Will they be able to find others who can see it too? And is the fog here to stay? Kyo Maclear''s witty story, brought to life with the delicate, misty artwork of Kenard Pak, is a poignant yet humorous reminder of the importance of environmental awareness.

The uplifting journey of a bashful cloud ("kumo" in Japanese) who discovers the rewards of feeling seen. Kumo is a cloud whose only wish is to float unseen. When she’s assigned cloud duty for the day, she feels overwhelmed by self-doubt and her fear of being noticed. But after learning that closing your eyes isn’t a good solution to your troubles, Kumo pulls her fluff together and does her duties — drifting, releasing rain and providing shelter — meeting some new friends along the way and inspiring the imagination (and capturing the heart) of a small daydreamer like her. Kyo Maclear’s sweetly humorous and lyrical parable about shyness, vividly brought to life by Nathalie Dion’s ethereal illustrations, is an affirmation of the pleasures of community and the confidence that can arise from friendship and visibility.

His mum is a spoon. His dad is a fork. And he’s a bit of both. He’s Spork! Spork sticks out in the regimented world of the cutlery drawer. The spoons think he’s too pointy, while the forks find him too round. He never gets chosen to be at the table at mealtimes until one day a very messy … thing arrives in the kitchen who has never heard of cutlery customs. Will Spork finally find his place at the table? This “multi-cutlery” tale is a humorous and lively commentary on individuality and tolerance. Its high-spirited illustrations capture the experience and emotions of anyone who has ever wondered about their place in the world.

Julia and Simca are two young friends who agree that you can never use too much butter -- and that it is best to be a child forever. Sharing a love of cooking and having no wish to turn into big, busy people who worry too much and dawdle too little, they decide to create a feast for growing and staying young. A playful, scrumptious celebration of the joy of eating, the importance of never completely growing up and mastering the art of having a good time, Julia, Child is a fictional tale loosely inspired by the life and spirit of the very real Julia Child -- a story that should be taken with a grain of salt and a generous pat of butter.

A writer’s search for inspiration, beauty, and solace leads her to birds in this intimate and exuberant meditation on creativity and life—a field guide to things small and significant. When it comes to birds, Kyo Maclear isn’t seeking the exotic. Rather she discovers joy in the seasonal birds that find their way into view in city parks and harbors, along eaves and on wires. In a world that values big and fast, Maclear looks to the small, the steady, the slow accumulations of knowledge, and the lulls that leave room for contemplation. A distilled, crystal-like companion to H is for Hawk, Birds Art Life celebrates the particular madness of chasing after birds in the urban environment and explores what happens when the core lessons of birding are applied to other aspects of art and life. Moving with ease between the granular and the grand, peering into the inner landscape as much as the outer one, this is a deeply personal year-long inquiry into big themes: love, waiting, regrets, endings. If Birds Art Life was sprung from Maclear’s sense of disconnection, her passions faltering under the strain of daily existence, this book is ultimately about the value of reconnection—and how the act of seeking engagement and beauty in small ways can lead us to discover our most satisfying and meaningful lives.

When you have to leave behind almost everything you know, where can you call home? Sometimes home is simply where we are: here. An imaginative, lyrical, unforgettable picture book about the migrant experience through a child''s eyes. When a little girl and her younger brother are forced along with their family to flee the home they''ve always known, they must learn to make a new home for themselves -- wherever they are. And sometimes the smallest things -- a cup, a blanket, a lamp, a flower, a story -- can become a port of hope in a terrible storm. As the refugees travel onward toward an uncertain future, they are buoyed up by their hopes, dreams and the stories they tell -- a story that will carry them perpetually forward. This timely, sensitively told story, written by multiple award--winner Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Sendak Fellowship recipient Rashin Kheiriyeh, introduces very young readers in a gentle, non-frightening and ultimately hopeful way to the current refugee crisis.

A funny and stylish picture book based loosely on the relationship between the literary figure Virginia Woolf and her sister, the painter Vannessa Ball. Vanessa''s sister, Virginia, is in a wolfish mood - growling, howling and acting very strange. It''s a funk so fierce, the whole household feels topsy-turvy. Vanessa tries everything she can think of to cheer her up, but nothing seems to work. Then Virginia tells Vanessa about an imaginary, perfect place called Bloomsberry. Armed with an idea, Vanessa begins to paint Bloomsberry on the bedroom walls...

A story of friendship, first crushes, opera and the high drama of middle school told by award-winning Kyo Maclear in her debut graphic novel. Somewhere in the universe, there is the perfect tune for you. It’s almost the end of middle school, and Charlie has to find her perfect song for a music class assignment. But it’s hard for Charlie to concentrate when she can’t stop noticing her classmate Emile, or wondering about Luka, who hasn’t been to school in weeks. Then, the class learns about opera, and Charlie discovers the music of Maria Callas. The more she learns about Maria’s life, the more Charlie admires her passion for singing and her ability to express herself fully through her music. Can Charlie follow the example of the ultimate diva, Maria Callas, when it comes to her own life? Key Text Features speech bubbles captions bibliography Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character''s thoughts, words, or actions). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story''s or drama''s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

In winter Charles and his trusty toboggan set out to find the wish tree, and along the way he helps to make the wishes of his friends Squirrel, Fox, and Beaver come true.

While the other pandas try to rush her from one activity to another, Flo enjoys relaxing, stopping to smell the roses, and really seeing the world around her in this witty picture book. Full color.

Sometimes the unlikeliest friends form the greatest friendships. A funny, charming picture book from a dynamic duo. Friends Yak and Dove are complete opposites. Yak is large and Dove is small. Yak has fur and Dove has feathers. Yak is polite. Dove is ill-mannered. Yak likes quiet. Dove likes noise. One day as Yak and Dove list their differences they come to the conclusion that maybe they aren''t meant to be friends. In the hope of finding a new best friend, Yak holds auditions. But when a small feathered contestant sings Yak''s favorite song, the two begin to think that maybe they are alike after all . . . Yak and Dove whimsically captures the highs and lows of friendship through the three interconnected tales of two very different friends.

The Liszts make lists. They make lists most usual and lists most unusual. They make lists in winter, spring, summer and fall. They make lists every day except Sundays, which are listless. Mama Liszt, Papa Liszt, Winifred, Edward, Frederick and Grandpa make lists all day long. So does their cat. Then one day a visitor arrives. He''s not on anyone''s list. Will the Liszts be able to make room on their lists for this new visitor? How will they handle something unexpected arising? Kyo Maclear''s quirky, whimsical story, perfectly brought to life with the witty, stylish illustrations of Júlia Sardà, is a humorous and poignant celebration of spontaneity.

A boy born of an adulterous affair, whose race and parentage are unclear . . . an obsessive journalist who feels alive only on the edge of danger . . . a beautiful but distracted young woman who seems ill-equipped for life—when these three mismatched people come together in London during the 1960s, their lives are changed forever. Stray Love is the unforgettable story of Marcel, an orphan growing up in postwar England. When his guardian, Oliver, is promoted to foreign correspondent and posted to Vietnam, Marcel is left in the care of the free-spirited Pippa. But just when it seems they will never be reunited, Marcel is sent to join Oliver in Vietnam. As the war escalates, Oliver is finally overwhelmed by emotions he can’t outrun—including his doomed love for Pippa. But Marcel, running through the streets of Saigon, or bonding with his Vietnamese nanny, Anh, is finally starting to feel at home in the world. Is this why Oliver suddenly decides to tell Marcel the truth about his life? And is it the “real” truth or simply Oliver’s version of it?

A vibrant historical picture book about Tokyo''s bicycle food deliverers, or demae, who balanced towering trays of steaming hot noodles on their shoulders while navigating crowded city streets. A RANDOPLH CALDECOTT HONOR WINNER • A BOOKPAGE, KIRKUS REVIEWS, AND HORN BOOK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR When the deliverymen set off in the morning, the children wait for the flicker of pedal and wheel. It''s the demae-- delivery men-- setting off to deliver steaming trays of noodles to hungry customers all over the city. They are acrobats: whizzing past other bicycles, soaring around curves, avoiding the black smoke of motorcycles. When the children see them, they want to be them. And so they practice with bowls of wobbling water stacked on trays. The day passes, and, finally, exhausted, the demae return home, to their families, and, yes, to steaming bowls of noodles. This beautifully crafted, visually exciting story by a powerhouse author and illustrator team is sure to be adored by food lovers, young and old.

A glorious celebration of all the reasons to love the rain! Internationally acclaimed writer Kyo Maclear has partnered with printmaker Chris Turnham to create a colorful and lively celebration of rain. Flowers bloom in the garden. Umbrellas bloom on the streets. There are puddles for jumping and, later, a cozy home for hot chocolate and books. There''s so much to love about the rain! • CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR: Kyo Maclear is an essayist and novelist who has written more than a dozen books for children. • GORGEOUS ART: Chris Turnham''s print-making expertise—especially his masterful use of color and texture—spills over into the stunning images throughout this book. • TALENTED DUO: Publisher''s Weekly said Kyo and Chris''s debut book The Wish Tree "hums with understated everyday magic," while School Library Connection said it was a "warm and magical tale of friendship and the intrinsic beauty of nature." • CELEBRATES NATURE: Whether you love rain or sun, whether you are out-and-about or stuck inside, this book is a great reminder of the natural beauty all around us. • PERFECT FOR HOME OR SCHOOL: This book is an ideal fit for a cozy family read at home or school story time reading tied to curriculum about the weather or the seasons. • A BOOK TO COME BACK TO: Children will return to this book again and again to discover new details. Perfect for: • Parents, caregivers, and grandparents • Teachers and librarians • Nature-lovers • Those who love the rain or anyone living in rainy regions!

A colorful celebration of cities and the people living in them. Just like people, there are so many ways a city can be. And this lively picture book explores all of them. From quiet and dreamy to bright and buzzing, the magnificent diversity of our world is celebrated by connecting the uniqueness of its places with the people who live in them. Wild, gritty, bookish, or sheltering—if you were a city, how would YOU be? CELEBRATING CITIES AND PEOPLE: Vivid illustrations introduce readers to cities and their citizens across the globe. A FUN READ-ALOUD: Kyo Maclear is an acclaimed writer for all ages. Her lively text is perfect for reading aloud both at home and at school. A FRESH WAY TO THINK ABOUT OURSELVES: Sometimes it can be hard to come up with the right words to describe who we are and how we feel. This thought-provoking book gives readers a new way to think about themselves and to express their identities. Perfect for: Parents Grandparents Gift-givers Educators

Naiko works in the Undeliverable Mail Office where, immersed in things lost and missing, she searches for clues to match undeliverable mail with addresses. Her job allows her to achieve a semblance of order in a disorderly world. It is a shock, then, when Naiko’s co-worker Andrei, an enigmatic Romanian refugee, suddenly vanishes. This astonishing debut novel unfolds in compelling, delicately wrought layers. Naiko’s shifting understanding of Andrei’s past becomes an opaque reflection of her own existence, and objects—from the pens hoarded by Naiko’s mother in her retirement home to the personal effects of Jewish women that Andrei’s grandmother sorts through at Birkenau—become touchstones for memories and meaning, loss and love.

"One winter Kyo Maclear felt unmoored. Her father had recently fallen ill and she suddenly found herself a little lost. In the midst of this crisis, she met a musician who loved birds. When he watched birds and began to photograph them, his worries dissipated. Curious, she began to accompany him on his urban birdwatching expeditions and witnessed the magic of a transient city. Birds Art Life Death asks how we might gain perspective and overcome our anxieties by learning to cherish the urban wild spaces in which we live." --Provided by publisher.

A young girl does not want to go away for summer vacation; she wants to stay in the city with her friends. But after a few days at the beach, she falls under the ocean�s spell and begins to wonder how she can bring it and its magic back home with her. A lyrical, thoughtful look at the deep connection to be made with the natural world.

Beclouded Visions is an exploration of the many and varied ways in which atrocity has shaped the requirements of art, vision, and collective memory in the twentieth century. The atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki serve as a starting point, but what begins as a study of visual culture related to the atomic bombings soon generates questions that can be applied to multiple sites and practices of communal remembrance. Drawing on a diverse array of images—ranging from military photographs to survivor paintings—Maclear asks what it means to see such representations. What does it mean to put a face to horror? Does "seeing everything" make us more humane? Is it possible to become inured to images of violence? She probes the nature of our fascination with images of horror, and she questions our attachment to pictorial realism and graphic memory. Placing philosophers such as Jacques Derrida, Walter Benjamin, and Theodore Adorno in the context of ongoing debates about history and memory, Beclouded Visions provides a refreshing perspective on art, remembrance, and mourning.

Gyo Fujikawa''s iconic children''s books are beloved all over the world. Now it''s time for Gyo''s story to be told -- a story of artistic talent that refused to be constrained by rules or expectations. Growing up quiet and lonely at the beginning of the twentieth century, Gyo learned from her relatives the ways in which both women and Japanese people lacked opportunity. Her teachers and family believed in her and sent her to art school and later Japan, where her talent flourished. But while Gyo''s career grew and led her to work for Walt Disney Studios, World War II began, and with it, her family''s internment. But Gyo never stopped fighting -- for herself, her vision, her family and her readers -- and later wrote and illustrated the first children''s book to feature children of different races interacting together. This luminous new book beautifully and openly touches on Gyo''s difficult experiences and growth. Through Julie Morstad''s exquisite illustrations, alternating between striking black-and-white linework and lush colour, and Kyo Maclear''s artful and accessible writing, the story of this cherished figure is told at last.

For readers of all ages, a charming fable about a bad little boy who meets a good little book. An ode to old favorites and printed books. While banished to a dusty study one day "to think things over", a boy pulls a book off a shelf and with great reluctance begins to read. As the afternoon passes, the story nabs him and carries him away. Before long, this good little book becomes his loyal companion, accompanying him everywhere ... until, one day, the book is lost. Will this bad little boy get back his good little book? Will the good little book survive on its own without a proper jacket? A quirky, enchanting tale of literary love and loss -- and love found again -- that will win the heart of even the most reluctant reader.

A dazzling first-person picture book biography of the life of iconic fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli by the award-winning team who created Julia, Child. Here is the life of iconic fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who as a little girl in Rome, was told by her own mamma that she was brutta. Ugly. So she decided to seek out beauty around her, and found it everywhere. What is beauty? Elsa wondered. She looked everywhere for beauty until something inside of Elsa blossomed, and she became an artist with an incredible imagination. Defining beauty on her own creative terms, Schiaparelli worked hard to develop her designs, and eventually bloomed into an extraordinary talent who dreamed up the most wonderful dresses, hats, shoes and jewelry. Why not a shoe for a hat? Why not a dress with drawers? And she invented a color: shocking pink! Her adventurous mind was the key to her happiness and success--and is still seen today in her legacy of wild imagination. Daring and different, Elsa Schiaparelli used art to make fashion, and it was quite marvelous. Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad, the dynamic duo who created the critically acclaimed Julia, Child, team up again to bring to life the childhood memories and the inspiring milestones of the legendary Elsa Schiaparelli. With its warm, lyrical text and enchanting illustrations, Bloom shows readers how ingenuity, vision and self doubt all made Schiaparelli truly beautiful. A gift for her older fans and younger audiences who have yet to discover her genius, Bloom is sure to be an enthralling classic.

July, 1997. Eight artists infiltrate the public spaces of one of Canada’s most famous tourist destinations-Banff, Alberta. Each performer has a disguise and two goals: first, to address the contradictions at work in the national park’s townsite-mountain town versus tourist Mecca-and second, to examine the roles people play in conforming to society’s expectations. Performances that include a lesbian park rangers recruitment drive, a sound parade down Banff’s main avenue and a soap giveaway by two soothsayers investigate assumptions about identity, masquerade and tourism with a fresh eye. Private Investigators: Undercover in Public Space documents the often surprising results when artists move their work to public space. No expectations, including those of the artists themselves, are left challenged.

Born of an adulterous affair, ethnically ambiguous and growing up in the racially charged 1960s, life was never going to be kind to Marcel. Living with his white surrogate father, Oliver, Marcel clings to the piecemeal memories of his mother, desperate to know who his real parents are. But the world is changing: coups, revolutions, the end of colonialism. When Oliver leaves Marcel to pursue his dream as a foreign correspondent, Marcel is set adrift in swinging London, a city of magic, of possibilities - and of devastating realities. When Marcel joins Oliver in Vietnam, and discovers the truth about his mother, his world is shattered. Years later, when Marcel is asked to take care of eleven-year-old Iris, he is intrigued by her uncanny observations about the world. Her easy grace compels Marcel to confront the past, and to pick up the thousand small fragments that have shaped the man he has become. A profound novel of betrayal and resurrection, A Thousand Tiny Truths asks how long can you carry the wounds of the past before moving into a wholehearted future?

A tongue-in-cheek tale loosely inspired by the 1960s Fluxus art movement finds Martin and his neighbors confronting their fears about change when an eccentric newcomer demonstrates how change can be big or little or even small enough to fit in a not-so-scary box.

See below for English description. Charles aimerait tant trouver un arbre de souhaits! Même si son frère et sa soeur ne croient pas qu''une telle chose existe, il saisit son toboggan et part à l''aventure. Sa route sera semée d''expériences merveilleuses qui lui feront découvrir que les souhaits se réalisent parfois de façon inattendue. Le texte poétique et des illustrations chaleureuses réussissent avec brio à évoquer l''atmosphère douce et réconfortante du temps des fêtes. À relire toute l''année afin de renouer avec la magie de cette période si paisible. Charles wants to find a wish tree. His brother and sister don''t believe there is such a thing, but his trusty companion Boggan is ready to join Charles on a journey to find out. And along the way, they discover that wishes can come true in the most unexpected ways. The poetic text and heartwarming illustrations evoke the true essence of the holiday season and will inspire wishers everywhere. This gem of a book deserves center stage year round. Original title: The Wish Tree