Sanae Ishida

Banzai, banzai!! More darling sumos in the house — or in sumo parlance: more sumos in the heya! “Heya” or “beya” means “room” in Japanese and also refers to the sumo stable, which is sort of like a team. SUMO COLORS and SUMO SHAPES have officially flown from the printer’s coop and are flapping about in the world. I am deeply, deeply in love with these books (okay, I say that about every one of my books, but it’s always true). I’m thrilled that School Library Journal gave the latest ... Read more

UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed and I will be contacting the winner directly. Congrats Laura! "Books are a bad idea. You aren't making any money. You should get a real job." That's what my husband told me when I published my first book and has repeated a variation of these words over the years as I diligently worked on building a career as an author and illustrator, fueled by copious amounts of hope and coffee. I've wanted to make books since I was a wee girl. I used to inhale Japanese ... Read more

Styling: Rachel Grunig Photo: Manuela Insixiengmay Happy almost August, everyone! So many big events are happening, the biggest of which is that K is turning sixteen this weekend.  The image above is an outtake from my book Sewing Love, launching on August 23rd. Look how grown-up and beautiful she is! K's been in every one of my sewing books, and it's quite emotional for me to see the progression. I adore this image from Sewing Happiness, when she was a darling seven-year-old: ... Read more

Hello, my friends! It's a crazy thing, but I have three books launching in a few weeks. All three are available for pre-orders now, and I am beyond excited to share the covers with you today! Snag your copies early!  First up is the one above: Sewing Love: Handmade Clothes for Any Body. My editor called it my "magnum opus," which is high praise though I suspect she's being too kind, as she generally is. I was delighted by the review in Publishers Weekly that called the book "uplifting" ... Read more