Anna’s Kokeshi Dolls by Tracy Gallup (signed)

When I walk by a kokeshi on my shelf, I stop and stare into its face. The stillness and quiet calm me.
-Tracy Gallup

One kokeshi, two kokeshi, three kokeshi, four….

Anna is a Japanese-American girl whose grandparents live in Japan. They have been sending her adorable Kokeshi dolls made of painted wood each year for her birthday since she was very small. The dolls, like people, are all different– and beautiful!

In this charming children’s book by award-winning author Tracy Gallup, we watch Anna grow up as her Kokeshi collection grows bigger, and we see how these dolls bring Anna and her grandparents closer together as the years pass.

Part counting book, part visual narrative, this beautifully-illustrated bilingual picture book shows how simple objects can serve as a bridge between people and cultures on opposite sides of the globe. It also introduces these beautiful dolls and the ways in which they are formed and painted.

The story is in Japanese and English, with a free audio recording available online.

A note at the end gently explains the history of Kokeshi dolls and why they are made the way they are.

Purchase a signed copy from us at our backroom gallery online at: Annie’s Kokeshi Dolls.

About the Artist

Tracy Gallup has a strong connection to kokeshi dolls. On her fifth birthday her grandfather gave her a kokeshi with four interchangable heads. The gift sparked an interest in dolls from around the world, inspiring her to become a doll maker herself. Gallup is also the author of nine picture books including A Roomful of Questions, Stone Crazy, Shell Crazy, Tree Crazy, Snow Crazy and King Cat published by Mackinac Island Press, a division of Charlesbridge, and illustrated a book of poetry, Beastly Banquet, written by Peggy Munsterberg and published by Dial Books for Young Readers. Her most recent books are Anna’s Kokeshi Dolls and My First Book of Haiku Poems published by Tuttle Press, and Paint the Night published by Fifth Avenue Press. Her hometown is Ann Arbor, MI. Visit her website at TracyGallup.com

Read an interview with the artist on the Tuttle pubishing website.

$ 16.99

In stock