Anno’s Journey

Join Anno, recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, on a spectacular tour of Europe! A pictorial journey through the traditional countryside, farms, and towns of northern Europe takes readers past familiar storybook characters, visual jokes and puzzles, tricks of perspective, and other surprises.

Mitsumasa Anno, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for his lasting contribution to children's literature, is a lover of travel and culture. Anno's books, through their unique perspective and mischievous sense of humor, have opened to children across the world, cultures and lands distant from their own. Without words Anno conveys the beauty, humanity, and value of all people in all times and places. As he notes, "There are differences in people, different styles of housing, social differences, different cultures all over the world. But perhaps what lies at the bottom of the heart of each human being is the same, an inherent value."

Born in Tsuwano, in Western Japan, Mr. Anno studied both art and mathematics before teaching school for ten years. He has written and illustrated over 20 books for children. He makes his home in a suburb of Tokyo. He is married and has two children.