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Cool Melons - Turn to Frogs!
The Life and Poems of Issa
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Cool Melons - Turn to Frogs!
The Life and Poems of Issa

Story and Haiku Translation by Matthew Gollub
Illustrations by Kazuko G. Stone
1998, 37 pages, hardback.
Book Description from the Front Cover Flap
About the Author and Illustrator

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Book Description from the Front Cover Flap

Cool melons -
turn to frogs!
If people should come near.

Haiku poetry is among the most popular forms of verse taught to schoolchildren everywhere. For hundreds of years, children in Japan have been introduced to haiku through the work of Kobayashi Yataro, known as Issa. Born in 1763 on a farm in central Japan, Issa began writing poetry as a young child, inspired by his deep love for the natural world. In his boyhood and throughout his life, poetry was Issa's refuge in times of joy and in times of sorrow.

Issa best-loved poems, chosen by the illustrator and author especially for children and accompanied by delightful watercolor paintings, make Cool Melons a classic introduction to the work of this revered haiku master. Mathew Gollub and Kazuko G. Stone have created an inspirational book for readers young and old about poetry, nature, and life.

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Background on the Author and Illustrator

Mathew Gollub is the author of several acclaimed books for children, including The Moon was at a Fiesta, and The Twenty-Five Mixtec Cats. After receiving degrees in international studies and Japanese language from the University of the Pacific, he worked in Japan as a copywriter, newscaster, and a performing member of a Japanese drum troupe. He now lives in Santa Rosa, California, with his wife and their son.

Kazuko G. Stone's books for children include Dorobo the Dangerous and Goodnight Twinklegator, as well as many other books published in native Japan. Her research for Cool Melons include a trip to Issa's village in Japan, Kashiwabara, where she visited the house in which Issa lived and worked. A full-time artist, she lives in New York City with her husband and their two children.

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