Storytime & Signing with Debbi Michiko Florence

Bel Canto Books is delighted to host a storytime + signing with Debbi Michiko Florence, author of MONSTER MAKER: THE STRANGE CREATURES OF MARK NAGATA at KUBO LB.

Kindly RSVP so we can plan accordingly. Please stay home if you feel sick.

This event will be held indoors at KUBO LB (3976 Atlantic Ave, Long Beach CA 90807).

E VENT SCHEDULE

3:00pm - Doors open and event check-in begins

3:10pm - Event welcome

3:15pm - 4:30pm - Storytime and author signing

4:30pm - Event ends

ABOUT THE BOOK

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of more than 25 books for young people, including the Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series. A third-generation Japanese American, Debbi grew up in Los Angeles and loved watching TV shows and movies of Ultraman and Godzilla as a child. Today, she lives in Connecticut with her husband and two rescue dogs, and has a growing collection of Mark Nagata's kaiju.

ABOUT BEL CANTO BOOKS

Founded by Jhoanna Belfer, a Filipina-American poet and former hospitality executive, Bel Canto Books offers a curated selection of fiction, nonfiction and children's books, organized around a theme of the month, in particular celebrating books by women and people of color. Learn more at belcantobooks.net.

ABOUT KUBO LB

KUBO LB is a creative community space for Filipinx, BIPOC, LGBTQ, and Women led small businesses. KUBO LB is a space to support and educate small businesses through retail, business workshops and more. Learn more at kubolb.com.

MONSTER MAKER: THE STRANGE CREATURES OF MARK NAGATA by Debbi Michiko Florence, illustrated by Inko Ai Takita

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