"Now... I don't claim to be a whiz at illustrating kids books. Far from it. Nor do I pretend, for that matter, to be particularly comfortable with creative collaborations. Usually I prefer to hole up alone in my studio and doodle with esoteric and largely unprofitable paintings and drawings. However, I've long admired the work of some of the classic kids books illustrators like Jean de Brunhoff, Clement Hurd, Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, and Richard Scarry. And over the years, my children and I have also enjoyed looking at some of the newer board books by Margaret Wise Brown and Sandra Boynton. "

"When I was given the opportunity to participate in this project, I readily accepted, partly as a personal challenge to try my hand at something different and partly because I was specifically requested by the author. "

-Richard Grassi
Komatsu-shi Ishikawa-ken   Japan
(81)761227990