The Snail

Award-winning illustrator Emily Hughes presents a luminous picture book about the life of renowned Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi. One of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century, Noguchi transformed modern design—his iconic Akari lamps forever changed the way we experience light and space.

But before he became a visionary, he was a child. This is his story.

Born in the United States and raised in Japan, Noguchi grew up between two worlds—never fully accepted in either. Mixed-race and often treated as an outsider, he imagined himself as a snail, retreating into the safety of his creative shell when the world felt unwelcoming. From this place of solitude, Noguchi gave the world something extraordinary: light.