From the time she was a little girl, Gyo Fujikawa drew pictures.

Gyo’s parents had come to California from Japan looking for a better life, but sometimes Gyo felt invisible. When high school came, Gyo’s teachers recognized her gift for creating beautiful art and got behind her. Art became her profession, and now her drawings were in magazines and store window displays.

Eventually, Gyo was asked to illustrate picture books for children. She envisioned a diverse cast of characters, explaining that she wanted “an international set of babies, little black babies, Asian babies, all kinds of babies” in the pages of her books.

Had it ever been done before

Not yet.

Her Babies, published in 1963, welcomed children of all colors into the pages of a picture book for the first time, paving the way for publishers, teachers, readers, and future writers to imagine a more inclusive world.

From the beloved team of Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad comes a story that poignantly portrays the life of Gyo Fujikawa, a groundbreaking hero in the fight for racial diversity in picture books.