Jillian Tamaki

Jillian Tamaki is a cartoonist and illustrator from Calgary, Alberta, who now lives in Toronto, Ontario. Her first picture book, They Say Blue, won the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, among many other accolades. She co-created the highly acclaimed graphic novels Skim and This One Summer with Mariko Tamaki, and she is the creator of the webcomic SuperMutant Magic Academy, and Boundless, a collection of short comics for adults. She has won many awards for her work, including a Caldecott Honor, a Printz Honor, the Eisner Award, the Doug Wright Award and the Ignatz Award. Her work has also been named to the list of New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books.

Praise for They Say Blue:

TD Canadian Children's Literature Award Finalist
Governor General’s Literary Award, Young People’s Literature — Illustrated Books
New York Times Notable Children’s Books of 2018
NPR’s 2018 Great Reads
CBC Books Best Canadian YA and Children’s Literature of 2018
School Library Journal Best Books of 2018
New York Public Library Best Books for Kids 2018

“If They Say Blue is ‘about’ anything, it’s a peek into a child’s curious, questing, observant mind as she moves beyond received wisdom — what is it ‘they’ say again? — to thinking and feeling and yearning for herself.” — New York Times

“Thinking, imagining, noticing — these, Tamaki suggests, are the tools we have to understand our world.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Attuned to a child’s psychology and patterns of critical thinking, this visually stunning work is a must-purchase for libraries.” — School Library Journal, starred review

“With her first picture book, Jillian Tamaki displays a mastery of the form along with a sensitive understanding of the imaginative life of a small child.” — Quill & Quire, starred review

“Readers experience the colors and sensations of the world through the varying moods and observations of one little girl....this is a reminder to slow down, savor the present, notice small details, and relish childlike wonder.” — Kirkus Reviews

“The illustrations also clearly communicate the wide emotional landscape experienced by young children . . .The language is lyrical and soothingly . . . a wonderful book to use when investigating colour and seasons and the bigger world around us as well as exploring the emergence of critical thinking in children.” — Resource Links

Praise for This One Summer, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki:

“[T]he illustrations powerfully evoke the densely wooded beach town setting and the emotional freight carried by characters at critical moments … Fine characterization and sensitive prose distinguish the story.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Jillian and Mariko Tamaki … skillfully portray the emotional ups and downs of a girl on the cusp of adolescence in this eloquent graphic novel. … Keenly observed and gorgeously illustrated — a triumph.” — Kirkus, starred review

Praise for Skim, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki:

“… [Skim is a] stunningly emotional graphic novel … The delicately lined art alternately expands and contradicts the prose to achieve layers of meaning, tone and irony… With honesty and compassion, this innovative narrative communicates a life just beginning, open and full of possibility.” — Horn Book, starred review

• Winner Boston Globe–Horn Book Picture Book Award, 2018