Are Tigers Yellow or Orange?
In a recent social media post, I questioned whether tigers are yellow or orange as part of my work on a picture book about colors. Surprisingly, most people said ‘orange,’…
Noriko Matsubara’s blog page. Noriko shares insights into the process of making children’s books and inspiration for stories.
Chigiri-e: Drawing Inspiration from Sadako’s Paper Crane for Peace
Have you ever heard the story of a thousand cranes? In Japan, the crane is considered a sacred bird. It is believed that folding a thousand paper cranes can grant…
Interview: Destynee Onwochei & Noriko Matsubara
I worked with BBC Children’s for their new Storytime App earlier this year. I illustrated one of their stories called "Olanna's Super Senses" written by Destynee Onwochei. Prior to the…
Reunion with my Year 1 teacher
Noriko Matsubara at Hachinohe Book Center, August 2019
Last August, I was giving a talk at Hachinohe Book Center in Japan, promoting my newly published book.When it was time for Q&A, an elderly lady stood up from the…
Behind the Scene – How I came to do what I do
Noriko Matsubara at home
I want to talk about why I do what I do - creating children’s books. Before I started writing and illustrating children’s books, I was doing an art project that focused…
Interview with Children’s Author Pippa Goodhart
I’m curious about how longstanding children’s authors work. How do they get so many ideas? What do they do if they get stuck? Because I have gone through stagnant periods…
Interview with Children’s Author/Illustrator Gillian McClure
Illustration by Gillian McClure
I love what I do - working as an artist, children’s book author and illustrator. But I have challenges. How can I find more time to work while raising a…
Lads and Lasses We Love – Noriko Matsubara
Noriko Matsubara at Newton Hall Library, County Durham, UK
This blog first appeared on Digital Sparkles' blog article on 12th November 2018. You can read it here.ORIGINAL POSTTell us a bit about yourself and what you doHello, my name…
How Bocchi and Pocchi began
Illustration from "Bocchi and Pocchi: A Tale of Two Socks" by Noriko Matsubara
ORIGINAL POSTIn this blog I’d like to share my inspiration for my Bocchi and Pocchi picture books and why they're about socks, as I have been asked about it quite…
A caterpillar comes to stay – inspiration for “Bocchi and Pocchi’s Big Surprise”
Illustration from "Bocchi and Pocchi's Big Surprise" written and illustrated by Noriko Matsubara
One day when I took a cabbage out of the fridge and I found a caterpillar between cabbage leaves. I told my husband to take the caterpillar outside. He refused…