Jun Takabatake

Jun Takabatake is one of Japan’s best-loved children’s literature illustrators. His illustrations have been exhibited throughout the world and he’s won many awards including the Graphics Prize (Bologna Children’s Book Fair), a Japan Picture Book Award and the Kodansha Award for Picture Books.

Jun was born in Aichi in Japan in 1948. He has illustrated over a dozen books including Oh! Suppa which won the ‘Grand Prix’ of the Nippon Prize for Picture Books in 2004. Jun illustrated Megumi Iwasa’s delightful and hilarious story, Yours Sincerely Giraffe, translated from the Japanese by award-winning translator Cathy Hirano, about an ‘airmail’ (the postman’s a pelican) correspondence between bored Giraffe, living on the African savanna and Penguin on Whale Point. Yours Sincerely, Giraffe was published by Gecko Press in 2016 and is hilarious and unputdownable. Gecko Press also publish Dear Professor Whale illustrated by Jun.

Jun is currently a Professor at Tokai Woman’s University.

You can see Jun's funny contribution to our What Makes You Smile? project here.

  • Bologna Children’s Book Fair Graphics Prize
  • Japan Picture Book Award
  • Kodansha Award for Picture Books

Praise for Yours Sincerely Giraffe

Takabatake’s fresh, unaffected line illustrations create a seamless collaboration of art and words

Kirkus Reviews

What's been happening with Jun Takabatake?