Will I love It Began with a Page?

Kyo Maclear is one of my favorite authors—someone who can gracefully transition from biography to graphic novel to memoir without losing her signature style, which is lyrical without being heavy-handed and playful without being cute. Like another book on my list, this one is brilliantly illustrated by the incredible Julie Morstad, who similarly manages to perfectly capture the unique spirit of each subject while remaining singularly herself. 

This story of Gyo Fujikawa, the artist who created the first book featuring babies of all races tumbling and playing happily together, weaves together myriad themes—the women’s suffrage movement, the internment of Japanese… show more.

It Began With a Page is a wonderful book describing the life of Gyo Fujikawa who, through hard work and perseverance, brought diversity to children’s book illustration, ultimately allowing all children to see themselves in books. The text is engaging and the illustrations further help readers to understand the importance of Fujikawa’s work and how it helped change children’s books.