about the book
You might think this is a fiction novel if you just picked it up and started reading, but you would be wrong. This is the true story of Minamoto Yoshitsune, the greatest samurai in Japanese history!
When Yoshitsune was just a baby in the year 1160, his father, a powerful samurai, went to war with a rival samurai family, the Tairas. His father lost and was killed. Yoshitsune’s mother was captured, his half-brother was banished, and he himself was sent to grow up in a monastery. He developed into a small, skinny boy and, being at a Buddhist monastery, never learned the warrior arts.
When he became a teenager, Yoshitsune sneaked away and escaped. He vowed to learn the warrior arts and get revenge for his family. At this point in his life, most martial artists would have considered him too old to start training—it would have been like a boy who had never even played little league showing up to start playing with the Yankees! But Yoshitsune was determined, and quickly became a master.
Then, his battles started—heads are chopped off, limbs severed, eyes shot with arrows! Yoshitsune will let nothing stand in his way, rising to fame in his bid to restore the honor of his family against the Tairas!
about the author
As a child, Pamela S. Turner really, REALLY loved books. When her parents would tell her to turn out the light at night, she obeyed—but she kept reading by the light of the little red glow of the temperature control unit of her electric blanket! Pamela also loved sketching; she went through so many sketchbooks that her mom had to buy her rolls of shelf paper, just to use as a canvas! When she was four years old, Pamela not-so-shockingly determined to become a writer.
However, other things happened between turning four and the rest of her life. She studied social science in college and spent a year studying abroad in Nairobi, Kenya, where she met her husband, Rob, who was also an exchange student. Living in East Africa was an adventure for both of them, so they decided to get married and continue the traveling adventures, living in places as far afield as the Marshall Islands, South Africa, the Philippines, and Japan. Their three children were all born in different countries!
Eventually, Pamela and her family moved back to the United States, and that was when she decided to follow her four-year-old dream to be a writer. Better late than never! In Japan, the story of Hachiko had captivated her, and so Pamela decided to bring that story to English-speaking children. Hachiko became her first book, and since then, many more have followed.
Pamela and Rob live in Oakland, California, where aside from reading and writing she loves scuba diving, snow skiing, and practicing kendo—Japanese sword fighting.
Sources:
Author website
Author biography: Charlesbridge
Also by Pamela S. Turner:
Crow Smarts : Inside the Brain of the World’s Brightest Bird (Scientists in the Field). HMH Books for Young Readers. 2016.
The Dolphins of Shark Bay (Scientists in the Field). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2013.
Project Seahorse (Scientists in the Field). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2010.
The Frog Scientist (Scientists in the Field). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2009.
Life on Earth—and Beyond : An Astrobiologist’s Quest. Charlesbridge Publishing. 2008.
A Life in the Wild : George Schaller’s Struggle to Save the Last Great Beasts. Farrar Straus Giroux (BYR). 2008.
Gorilla Doctors : Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientists in the Field). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2005.
about the illustrator
A nerdy kid who spent most of his time drawing, Vermont native Gareth Hinds did well in school, loved to read, and wanted to be a ninja when he grew up. He drew for his high school newspaper, co-edited and illustrated a literary magazine, and painted a mural on a wall of the school.
Even with all the time he spent holding pencils, paint brushes, and tubes of paint, Gareth planned on becoming an engineer. Fortunately for his fans, he had a change of heart! He attended the Parson School of Design and then went on to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he studied experimental drawing, mixed media, and sculpture.
Upon graduation, Gareth lucked into a job creating computer games—a job he loves. In his spare time he writes and illustrates graphic novels. His goal is to make the literary classics more accessible to everyone, especially those who might be intimidated by the long length or archaic language of the original books.
In art school, he was told to pick just one style and stick to it, but Gareth never could. He likes to experiment and feels different stories need different artistic treatments. He decided that he would make each project uniquely his own and “do them obsessively well.” It usually takes him a whole year to do just one novel. Although his art teachers might not agree, this seems to be working very well for him.
Gareth lives in Washington, D.C.
Sources:
Illustrator website
Illustrator interview: Teach
Other graphic novels by Gareth Hinds:
Macbeth. Candlewick Press. 2015.
Romeo & Juliet. Candlewick Press. 2013.
The Odyssey. Candlewick Press. 2010.
Merchant of Venice. Candlewick Press. 2008.
King Lear. Candlewick Press. 2007.
Beowulf. Candlewick Press. 2007.
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