Book Birthday Blog with Ian Tadashi Moore

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog! 

Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators

Big Congratulations to Ian Tadashi Moore on the release of his new book, Tamaishi!

1: How did you come up with the idea for your book?

All I remember at this point is that it began from a story about a pebble wanting to be like a boulder. At first, they were best pals and it was more of a picture book but it has since morphed into the book it is now, with a different relationship between the two characters.

2: What was the most difficult part of writing this book? 

Switching between drawing and writing. When I'm doing one I feel like I've forgotten how to do the other. But one informed the other, the writing providing insight into where illustrations might be helpful, and the drawings providing some ways to make the book not feel like walls of words.

3: In the voice of your main character, tell us what you hope readers will experience or learn while reading your book.

"Nothing is quite what what it first seems… I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings, we'll try something new!"

4: Who is your author idol and how have they influenced your work?

The characters and writing style of Norton Juster and Peter Mayle inspired my own. The emotion and simplicity of Quentin Blake and Shel Silverstein's illustrations helped me see that black and white can absolutely be beautiful.

5: What are your marketing plans for your book? Where can we find it?

I'll be contacting Nicolas' books in Ann Arbor and Just Imagine Books in Chelsea. I'll have a site setup for direct selling via Amazon Payments and Paypal at iantm.com/books

A little bit about the book: Tama is a tiny pebble in the valley where all the little things live. He’s fun-loving, friendly and curious, but one day he’s told by the other rocks that he’s “not big enough” to help them. He sets off on a series of adventures to try and being things that he’s not, meeting friends old and new along the way. He almost gets trapped in the Great Sea and learns that while no one is perfect,  you are wonderful just as you are.
**Tamaishi is available in paperback and as an audiobook CD.**

A little bit about the author: Ian Tadashi Moore is a designer and illustrator in southeast Michigan. He has authored and illustrated two books, Zōsan (2015) and Tamaishi (2018). He’s the husband of a talented singer/actress and the father of two lego-building, play-pretending, musical boys, and wears many other hats: pianist, composer, photographer, web developer, typographer, and programmer, during the day designing and programming for public health research. Before that he taught graphic design and helped bring the work of Detroit students’ poetry to life through publication.  

You can find him at iantm.com  Ian's author page or @ittekudasai.