Download high-resolution image
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00

A Boy Named Isamu

A Story of Isamu Noguchi

Author James Yang
Read by Ren Hanami
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00
Awarded an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Picture Book Honor, this stunning audiobook brings to life the imagination of Japanese American artist, Isamu Noguchi.

If you are Isamu, stones are the most special of all.
How can they be so heavy?
Would they float if they had no weight?

Winner of the Theordor Seuss Geisel Award in 2020 for Stop! Bot!, James Yang imagines a day in the boyhood of Japanese American artist, Isamu Noguchi. Wandering through an outdoor market, through the forest, and then by the ocean, Isamu sees things through the eyes of a young artist . . .but also in a way that many children will relate. Stones look like birds. And birds look like stones.

With exquisite prose, Yang translates the essence of Noguchi so that we can all begin to see as an artist sees.
James Yang's prize-winning work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including Graphis, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author/illustrator of Stop! Bot!, Bus! Stop!, Joey and Jet, Joey and Jet in Space, and Puzzlehead. The designer of "Clockman," a sculpture on display at the National Museum of American History, Mr. Yang and his wife live in New York City. View titles by James Yang
★ “A marvel of prose, illustration, and design that invites repeated meditation.” Kirkus (starred review)

★ “[A]n attentive, balanced study of an artist’s sensibility.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★ “Yang (Stop! Bot!, 2019) renders this imagined biography of Japanese American Isamu Noguchi with the utmost tenderness… This lyrical biography will resonate with creative types of all ages and can easily be incorporated into a curriculum as a springboard for writing, research, and art projects.” — Booklist (starred review)

★ “Yang's lyrical writing and rich vocabulary reads well aloud while providing thoughts to further ponder and discuss, especially for readers in today's busy, noisy world. Though produced in picture book format, the concepts—the need for quiet, introspection, and beauty in nature—will resonate across many grade levels. This is a book for all ages.” 
— School Library Connection (starred review)

★ “Yang’s text meets child readers on their own level, framing the natural world as a source of curiosity and delight. His digital illustrations feel warm and organic…The book works as both an introduction to a fascinating artist and a tribute to the quiet joys of the natural world.” The Horn Book (starred review)

About

Awarded an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Picture Book Honor, this stunning audiobook brings to life the imagination of Japanese American artist, Isamu Noguchi.

If you are Isamu, stones are the most special of all.
How can they be so heavy?
Would they float if they had no weight?

Winner of the Theordor Seuss Geisel Award in 2020 for Stop! Bot!, James Yang imagines a day in the boyhood of Japanese American artist, Isamu Noguchi. Wandering through an outdoor market, through the forest, and then by the ocean, Isamu sees things through the eyes of a young artist . . .but also in a way that many children will relate. Stones look like birds. And birds look like stones.

With exquisite prose, Yang translates the essence of Noguchi so that we can all begin to see as an artist sees.

Author

James Yang's prize-winning work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including Graphis, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author/illustrator of Stop! Bot!, Bus! Stop!, Joey and Jet, Joey and Jet in Space, and Puzzlehead. The designer of "Clockman," a sculpture on display at the National Museum of American History, Mr. Yang and his wife live in New York City. View titles by James Yang

Praise

★ “A marvel of prose, illustration, and design that invites repeated meditation.” Kirkus (starred review)

★ “[A]n attentive, balanced study of an artist’s sensibility.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★ “Yang (Stop! Bot!, 2019) renders this imagined biography of Japanese American Isamu Noguchi with the utmost tenderness… This lyrical biography will resonate with creative types of all ages and can easily be incorporated into a curriculum as a springboard for writing, research, and art projects.” — Booklist (starred review)

★ “Yang's lyrical writing and rich vocabulary reads well aloud while providing thoughts to further ponder and discuss, especially for readers in today's busy, noisy world. Though produced in picture book format, the concepts—the need for quiet, introspection, and beauty in nature—will resonate across many grade levels. This is a book for all ages.” 
— School Library Connection (starred review)

★ “Yang’s text meets child readers on their own level, framing the natural world as a source of curiosity and delight. His digital illustrations feel warm and organic…The book works as both an introduction to a fascinating artist and a tribute to the quiet joys of the natural world.” The Horn Book (starred review)

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more