is a Japanese children's picture book author and illustrator. In 1983, he received the Mother Goose Award for the Most Exciting Newcomer to British Illustration for ''Angry Arthur'' (written by Hiawyn Oram). In 2000, his book, ''Sheep in Wolves' Clothing'' was made into the obscure HIT Entertainment series,

Sheeep ''Sheeep'' is a British children's animated television series that aired on CBBC in the United Kingdom and was produced by Grand Slamm Children's Films and HIT Entertainment. It is based on the book ''Sheep in Wolves' Clothing'' by Japanese au ...

. He moved from Japan to London before returning to Tokyo in 2009.

Biography

Satoshi Kitamura was born in 1956 in Tokyo. After dropping out of school to pursue art, Kitamura decided not to attempt a 10-year apprenticeship as a potter and instead worked as a graphic artist. He was not trained as an artist, but at the age of 19 began to do commercial work as an illustrator for adverts and magazines. He moved from Tokyo to London in 1979 where he worked mainly at designing greeting cards. More than twenty publishers declined his work until Klaus Flugge of Andersen Press asked him to illustrate ''Angry Arthur'' in 1981 after he had an exhibition of his work at the Neal Street Gallery in Covent Garden. Since then he has published more than 20 of his own books, as well as illustrating many more. He says that when he was young he read comics and admits that these have had a great influence on his style. He refers to Kamishibai as an early influence, as well as the story of

Heinrich Schliemann Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeologi ...

told by a primary school teacher. His work is known for quirky perspectives, brilliant

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s, attention to detail and unique characters and for regularly including animals or animal characters, most frequently cats. Boots the cat is a recurring Satoshi Kitamura character featuring in two board books and ''The Comic Adventures of Boots'', a picture book whose style is reminiscent of graphic novels and comics. Regular collaborators include Hiawyn Oram, Roger McGough and

John Agard John Agard FRSL (born 21 June 1949 in British Guiana) is an Afro-Guyanese playwright, poet and children's writer, now living in Britain. In 2012, he was selected for the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.

. Satoshi Kitamura worked with

Colin McNaughton Colin McNaughton (born 18 May 1951) is a British writer and illustrator of over seventy children's books. He is also a poet, focusing mainly on humorous children's poetry. He trained in graphic design at the Central School of Art and Design in ...

to create ''Once Upon an Ordinary School Day'', published in 2004, In 2000, ''Sheep in Wolves' Clothing'' was adapted into an animated series by HIT Entertainment (who would later acquire Pingu, Fireman Sam and

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

) that was animated by Grand Slamm Children's Films (who had also worked with HIT to animate

Kipper A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split in a butterfly fashion from tail to head along the dorsal ridge, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold-smoked over smouldering wood chips (typically oak). In the United Ki ...

Percy the Park Keeper ''Percy the Park Keeper'' is a British animated 1996-1999 children's television series based on the popular books by British author Nick Butterworth. It features Percy, and many wild animals, including the Badger, the Fox, the Owl, the Mice, the ...

and Angelina Ballerina for CITV) and screened on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

, lasted 2 seasons, Starred Absolutely Fabulous actress,

Julia Sawalha Julia Sawalha (born 9 September 1968) is an English actress who played Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She is also known for her portrayal of Lynda Day, editor of the ''Junior Gazette'', in ''Press Gang'', as ...

as the voice of the character, Georgina and silent character, Kid's various noises and also sold to overseas markets, including Australia. In 2009 he left London and returned to Japan to care for his parents, but continues to travel and work for publishers across the globe. Apart from writing and illustrating children's books, Satoshi has been commissioned for various projects including Tokyo Underground posters, signage at Birmingham Children's Hospital and designing stationery. He also translates

David McKee David John McKee (2 January 1935 – 6 April 2022) was a British writer and illustrator, chiefly of children's books and animations. For his contribution as a children's illustrator, he was UK nominee for the biennial, international Hans Chris ...

's Elmer the Patchwork Elephant series for the Japanese market.

Awards

*the Mother Goose Award for the Most Exciting Newcomer to British Illustration for ''Angry Arthur'', written by Hiawyn Oram. (1983) *the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Notable Book of the Year for ''When Sheep Cannot Sleep'' *the National Art Library Award (from the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

for his illustrations in ''A Ring of Words'', a

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

edited by

Roger McGough Roger Joseph McGough (; born 9 November 1937) is an English poet, performance poet, broadcaster, children's author and playwright. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Poetry Please'', as well as performing his own poetry. McGough was one o ...

(1999)). *a Smarties Silver Award for '' Me and My Cat?'' (2000)

Reviews

‘The bold, bright, beautiful style of Satoshi Kitamura stands out like a beacon.’ (T.E.S.) ‘There could be no better way to start than with Kitamura’s wonderful illustrations.’ (Observer) ‘Satoshi Kitamura has produced some of the most delightful picture books of the last dozen years.’ (New York Times Book Review)

Books illustrated

*''Twinkle, Twinkle Firefly'' by

Grace Nichols Grace Nichols FRSL (born 1950) is a Guyanese poet who moved to Britain in 1977, before which she worked as a teacher and journalist in Guyana. Her first collection, ''I is a Long-Memoried Woman'' (1983), won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. In D ...

, 2010 *''Tiger Dead! Tiger Dead! Stories from the Caribbean'' by John Agard, Grace Nichols, 2009 *''Millie's Marvellous Hat'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 2009, shortlisted for the

Kate Greenaway Medal The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...

*''The Young Inferno'' by John Agard, 2008 *''Let's Send an Efuto'' by Satoshi Kitamura, Motoko Matsuda, 2007 *''Stone Age Boy'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 2007 *''What's Wrong with My Hair?'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 2007 *''Efuto'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 2007 *''Play With Me!'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 2007 *''Hello, Who's There?'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 2006 *''Jackdaw Jinx'' by Kathy Ashford, 2006 *''The Carnival of the Animals'' by Gerard Benson, Judith Chernaik, Cicely Herbert (editors), 2005 *''Pablo the Artist'' by Satoshi Kitamura 2005 *''Igor, the Bird that Couldn't Sing'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 2005 *''Once Upon an Ordinary School Day'' by

, 2004 *''Hello H2O'' by John Agard, 2003 *''Einstein: The Girl Who Hated Maths'' by John Agard, 2002 *''Under the Moon and Over the Sea'' by John Agard, Grace Nichols (editors), Satoshi Kitamura (contributing illustrator), 2002 *''The Comic Adventures of Boots'' by Satoshi Kitamura 2002 review *''For Every Child the Rights of the Child'' by

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

(foreword) Satoshi Kitamura (contributor), 2000 *''Points of View with Professor Peekaboo'' by John Agard, 2000 *''Weblines '' by John Agard, 2000 *'' Me and My Cat?'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1999 *''Kaze, Tsmetai Kaze'', (The Wind, The Called Wind) by Leslie Norris, 1999 *''Morris MacMillipede - the Toast of Brussels Sprout'' by Mick Fitzmaurice, 1999 *''The Spotted Unicorn'' by

, 1998 *''A Friend for Boots'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1998 *''Bathtime Boots'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1998 *''The Ring of Words'', Roger McGough (editor), 1998 *''From the Devil's Pulpit'' by John Agard, 1997 *''Cat is Sleepy'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1997 *''Dog is Thirsty'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1997 *''Duck is Dirty'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1997 *''Squirrel is Hungry'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1997 *''Goldfish Hide And Seek'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1997 *''Out of the Deep'' by Hiawyn Oram, 1996 *'' Sheep in Wolves' Clothing'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1996 (Adapted into a

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

by HIT Entertainment in 2000) *''Paper Dinosaurs: A cut-out book'' by Satoshi Kitamura 1996 *''The adventures of Morris MacMillipede'' by Mick Fitzmaurice, 1996 *''Fly with the Birds: A word and rhyme book'' by Richard Edwards, 1996 *''We animals would like a word with you'' by John Agard, 1996 *''Eureka!: Me and my Body'' by Stephen Webster, 1994 *''Eureka!: Inside my House'' by Stephen Webster, 1994 *''Eureka!: Living and Working Together'' by Brenda Walpole, 1994 *''Eureka!: Hello, is anyone there?'' by Brenda Walpole, 1994 *''A Boy wants a Dinosaur'' by Hiawyn Oram, 1993 *''A Creepy Crawly Song Book'' by Carl Lewis (music) Hiawyn Oram (lyrics), 1993 *''The Oxfam Book of Children's Stories: South and North, East and West'' by Michael Rosen (editor), 1992 *''From Acorn to Zoo and Everything in Between In Alphabetical Order'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1992 *''Lily takes a Walk'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1991 *''Speaking for Ourselves'' by Hiawyn Oram, 1990 *''UFO Diary'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1989 *''Ned and the Joybaloo'' by Hiawyn Oram, 1989 *''A Children's Chorus'' (anthology), 1989 *''Captain Toby'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1988 *''When Sheep Cannot Sleep: The counting book'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1988 *''In the Attic'' by Hiawyn Oram, 1988 *''My Friend Mr. Morris (Share-A-Story)'' by Pat Thomsen, 1988 *''Scrapyard'' by Andy Soutter, 1988 *''What's Inside: The Alphabet book'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1987 *''The Happy Christmas Book (anthology)'' by Alison Sage (compiled by) Helen Wire (compiled by), 1987 *''Paper Jungle: A cut-out book'' by Satoshi Kitamura, 1986 *''The Flying Trunk'' Naomi Lewis, 1986 *''Sky in the Pie'' by Roger McGough, 1985 *''The Great Games Book'' by Satoshi Kitamura (contributor) 1985 *''Angry Arthur'' by Hiawyn Oram, 1983

Refere me

External links

Satoshiland
is a comprehensive fan site for Satoshi Kitamura.
Illustrations by Satoshi Kitamura in ''The Guardian''''The Guardian'': "Postcard from Japan"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitamura, Satoshi Japanese children's writers Japanese illustrators Living people 1956 births