Hi my name is Elsa Takaoka a California native living in Japan.

I write books for children. I have always been fascinated by books. I read them, review them, collect them and now create them! If given the chance I also chit-chat incessantly about picture book trends, illustration-styles and what “works” in the world of children’s literature.

I am mostly self-taught. I started out nearly four years ago by self-publishing my first book “Goo and Spot in The Do Not Wiggle Riddle”. I formed a great partnership with illustrator Catherine Toennisson and Editor Rosalie Alcala.  Together we have learned everything and anything we can about creating high- quality books for children.

Our Goo and Spot book series have had two Amazon #1 Best Sellers rankings, a total of over 50,000 downloads and we have donated over one-hundred books to schools and children around the world. Recently our book “Yumi’s Extraordinary Collection” won a Bronze Medal for  Best Illustrated Children’s eBook of the 2017 IPPY Book Awards, which has been one of our proudest accomplishments.

Self-publishing isn’t always easy, it requires investment, a steep-learning curve, serious passion and very thick skin! However the freedom it has allowed us has been worth every set-back. We have learned to take the unpretentious charm of an Indie-book and paired it with the most important traditionally published standards.

This caught the attention of J-Tech Creations, Inc. A Mobile Application Publisher in Japan that has offered us a position creating Learn to Read picture books. We hope to bring what we have learned throughout our journey while continuing to break some rules along the way!

Thank you for your continued support, it is because of this that we can do what we love- Elsa Takaoka

Smart kids read and brilliant parents encourage them!

Amazon Author Page Link

https://www.amazon.com/Elsa-Takaoka/e/B00KHJ673I/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1489387544&sr=8-1