CROW BOY

New York: The Viking Press, 1955. Hardcover. Very good. Later printing. Inscribed by Taro Yashima to Charlotte Huck on the verso of the front flyleaf and the half-title. Huck (1922-2005) was an internationally renowned children's literature expert whose classic textbook, Children's Literature in the Elementary School, is now in its tenth edition. A Caldecott Honor Book, concerning a shy Japanese boy having difficulty adjusting to school. Taro Yashima (1908-94) was born Atsushi Iwamatsu in Kagoshima. Active in leftist circles, he and his wife left Japan fearing political repression in 1939, ending up in New York City. During World War II, he worked for the Office of War Information and Office of Strategic Services, producing propaganda leaflets. He published the autobiographical volumes The New Sun (1943) and Horizon is Calling (1947) describing his life as an artist in Japan and his family's escape to the U.S.; both tell their stories through drawings with short captions. Initially created for his young daughter Momo, he became an acclaimed writer and illustrator of children's books, most notably Crow Boy (1955), which won the Children's Book Award. Quarto. Original pictorial boards; issued without a dust jacket. The spine is lightly sun faded, with some mild wear to the corners and tips; otherwise very good.