Abstract

Merry-Go-Round, a specialist children’s bookstore in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Picture-book author Taro Gomisits down with bookstore owner Yoshiaki Masuda, who has connected with countless people through books, for a wide-ranging conversation about picture books, children’s literature, children, and society.
Also included are conversations between Hayao Kawai, ShuntaroTanikawa, and Yoshiaki Masuda, as well as messages of encouragement from Hiroshi Abe and Kaori Ekuni.

Author’s Information

Taro Gomi (born 1945) is a picture book author. He transitioned from industrial design to creating picture books. Since 1973, he has published over 400 titles, which have been translated and published in more than 30 countries overseas. He has received various awards both in Japan and abroad, including the Bologna Children's Book Fair Award. His representative works include "The Goldfish Got Away," "Everyone Poops" (Fukuinkan Shoten), "Taro Gomi's Big Book of Words" (Kaiseisha), "Saru Rururu" (Ehonkan), "Proverb Picture Book" (Iwasaki Shoten), "Scribbles" (Bronze Shinsha), and "Adult Problems" (Kodansha).

Yoshiaki Masuda (born 1950) is a picture book author. In 1976, he opened Merry-Go-Round, a children's bookstore, in Yokkaichi. He hosts lectures featuring leading writers, illustrators, and editors, and presides over "Picture Book School" and "Children's Story School," training workshops for professional picture book and children's story writers. In 2007, he opened a Kyoto branch. He is dedicated to promoting children's books through writing columns for newspapers and magazines, introducing books on television and radio, and giving lectures in various locations. Her published works include "Children's Bookstores are Merry-Go-Rounds" (Shobunsha) and "134 Picture Books - Connecting Children and Adults" (edited by Shinichiro Nitta, Gakken).