There's something magical in Eiko Kadono's works, and it's not just in the antics of her most beloved character, Kiki, a young witch in training. The author of more than 200 books for children, Kadono is also an accomplished translator of children's books from English to Japanese, including the works of Mick Inkpen, famous for his "Kipper" series, and Dick Bruna, of "Miffy" fame.
It's no wonder Kadono was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Author Award in 2018, only the third Japanese children's writer to be recognized. In honoring Kadono, the jury praised her female characters as "singularly self-determining and enterprising, figuring out how to cope with all kinds of complications without suffering too many self-doubts."
Her best-known series, "Kiki's Delivery Service," is a great place to start; Kiki is a beloved cultural icon in Japan, thanks to the Studio Ghibli film of the same name.
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