Allen Say

DRAWING FROM MEMORY , written and illustrated by Allen Say, is the autobiographical story of Say's journey to becoming the renowned artist he is today. As a  boy growing up in Japan, Allen was shunned by his father who told him that he "expected him to be a respectable citizen, not an artist, who is lazy and scruffy". After the war began in 1941, Allen, his mother, and sister fled to a Japanese village between Hiroshima and Iwakuni. His parents later divorced and Allen remained estranged from his father. At the age of 12, Allen was given his own apartment, and he began apprenticing under the great cartoonist, Noro Shinpei. Shinpei became his Sensei (master or teacher)and spiritual father. This is the story of a young boy who followed his dreams and passion despite family and cultural pressures to do otherwise. The story is filled with Say's wonderful illustrations as well as actual photographs taken from his life. DRAWING FROM MEMORY is a 2012 Sibert Honor Book winner. (Scholastic Press,2011).