| Twenty winners, including Grand Prize winners Ms. Sato and Ms. Chiba, awarded |
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Interview with the Grand Prize winner <Picture book category> Ms. Minako Chiba |
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<Profile of the winner> |
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Aiming to create stories that stay with readers even after they become adults |
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| Q: | Had you known about the Nissan Children's Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix for some time? |
| A: | Yes. I think it is the most famous of all the picture book grand prix. After I decided to try my hand at picture book making, I did a lot of research on the Internet and such. Although there seem to be quite a few other contests available, what made me decide on this one was the fact that winning entries would get published. |
| Q: | What made you interested in creating picture books? |
| A: | I usually create art pieces in ceramics, but I have recently become interested in painting. Paintings allow for a wide range of expression. I feel I am able to freely express my world through paintings. I have always liked picture books, and I read them often. That's how I began to feel that I would like to try making one myself. |
| Q: | The mysterious painting style in your award-winning book is very appealing. What are some points in which you used your ingenuity? |
| A: | To not include many details in the background. I purposely painted the background, etc. in a vague style so as to allow the readers to expand their imaginations. |
| Q: | Which scene is your favorite? |
| A: | The one in which the Kaminaris are chasing after Haru, trying to take away his belly button. The Kaminaris treat Haru with kindness at first, but they gradually begin to go after his belly button. It's the climax scene of this book. I made the faces of the Kaminaris a bit scary as well. |
| Q: | What type of people would you like this book to be read by? |
| A: | Of course I want children to read it, but it would make me happy if adults also took an interest in it. However, with this story I ran with my desire for expression so in some respects the story itself is not quite polished. Upon reflection, I feel I need to put more thought into it if I want adults to appreciate it. |
| Q: | What types of books would you liked to create in the future? |
| A: | I would like to make books that will be read for generations. Don't you often see picture books that you read when you were a child at the bookstore and feel nostalgic? Picture books that you loved will always remain somewhere in your heart even after you grow up. And such books survive the changes of the times. I also would like to make books that will impress something upon children's hearts-books that the readers will want to pick up again once they have become adults. |
