Friday, February 25, 2011

Happiest Birthday Book

Chihiro Nakagawa (author)
Junji Koyose (illustrator)
Who Made This Cake?
Front Street, 2007

There is nothing obviously East Asian about this book, still, the precision and attention to detail reminds me of Japanese style. It is the same kind of care and engineering that goes into, say, miniature sushi pencil erasers or Tomica toy cars (my favorite is the Yamazaki bread truck). Junji Koyose's lilliputian workers creatively control a variety of construction vehicles and heavy machinery to crack eggs, mix batter, spray and smooth frosting, and lift strawberries into place. The result: the perfect birthday cake made with child-like imagination. This is, hands-down, my favorite birthday book. 

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