Mado, Michio 1909-

PERSONAL: Born 1909.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER: Writer.

WRITINGS:

Fukei shishu, Kado Sobo, 1979.

Mado Michio Zenshishu, Rironsha (Tokyo, Japan), 1992.

Mado-san to Sakat-san no Kotoba asobi, Komine Shoten (Tokyo, Japan), 1992.

The Animals: Selected Poems, illustrated by Mitsumasa Anno, Margaret K. McElderberry (New York, NY), 1992.

The Magic Pocket: Selected Poems, illustrated by Mitsumasa Anno, Margaret K. McElderberry (New York, NY), 1992.

Also author of Tempura piripiri, 1968.

SIDELIGHTS: Michio Mado is one of Japan's best-known writers of poetry for children. Two of his collections have been published with English-language translations provided by Empress Michiko of Japan, a poet in her own right. The Animals: Selected Poems was the first of Mado's works to be available in a language other than Japanese. A Publishers Weekly contributor called the poems in this collection "delicate, thoughtful, and quiet small gems that reflect the poet's intense affinity for nature." Each of the twenty verses appears in Japanese on the left page, and in English on the facing page. Papercut illustrations by award-winning illustrator Mitsumasa Anno enhance the text. A Kirkus Reviews contributor commented that Mado "responds to the world of nature with rueful wonder and a gently philosophical tone. Lovely." In reviewing the collection for the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Betsy Hearne predicted that it "will make a fresh contrast to the traditional haiku so often represented in Western anthologies." Horn Book reviewer Martha V. Parravano found that the poems "seem to capture the essence of their subjects."

The Magic Pocket: Selected Poems was also illustrated by Anno, and is similar in format to The Animals. Booklist reviewer Carolyn Phelan remarked that Anno's subdued, delicate artwork "never overwhelms the verse, but instead softly reflects it and makes it more accessible." A Kirkus Reviews writer called Mado's phrasing "exquisitely pared down and precise." A Publishers Weekly contributor felt the collection of fourteen poems "doesn't match the ingenuity of its predecessor," but said "a few poems deliver surprises by way of fresh metaphors or perspectives." Another viewpoint was offered by School Library Journal reviewer Judith Constantinides, who felt that with The Magic Pocket, Mado achieved "equally excellent results…. All in all, a highly artistic effort."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Book Links, January, 1999, review of The Animals: Selected Poems and The Magic Pocket: Selected Poems, p. 51.

Booklist, May 1, 1987, Tayo Shima, review of Tempura piripiri, p. 1372; December 1, 1992, Janice Del Negro, review of The Animals, p. 664; February 1, 1999, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Magic Pocket, p. 977.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February, 1993, Betsy Hearne, review of The Animals, p. 184.

Horn Book, July-August, 1993, Martha V. Parravano, review of The Animals, p. 485; September-October, 1998, Susan P. Bloom, review of The Magic Pocket, p. 617.

International Examiner, November 3, 1993, Elaine M. Aoki, review of The Animals, p. 5.

Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 1992, review of The Animals, p. 1382; November 1, 1998, review of The Magic Pocket, p. 1606.

Publishers Weekly, November 9, 1992, review of The Animals, p. 88; November 23, 1998, review of The Magic Pocket, p. 65.

School Library Journal, February, 1993, John Phil-brook, review of The Animals, p. 100; October, 1998, Judith Constantinides, review of The Magic Pocket, p. 126.