Utako Yamada

She is married in Tokyo and has two sons.

• Name — Utako Yamada 山田 詩子 • Born — 1963 • Birthplace — Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture • Occupation — Author, illustrator • Genre — Children • Website — http: www.karelcapek.co.jp/

Utako was born in 1963 in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. After graduating in the Ritsumeikan University's Department of Sociology in Kyoto, she moved to Kokubunji, Tokyo, in 1987 and opened her tea shop, Karel Capek which is named after a Czech writer. At the time she is planning on selecting and blending tea, doing recipes and sweet packages, she became active on illustrating and writing stories and creating characters, some of them are based on her real life experiences. In 2002, she opened the Karel Capek Sweets shop in Kichijoji, which focuses on tea and sweets. She also worked on designing products for tea and tea accessories. Utako created 3 official children's books published in Japan, one which is translated in English. She also translated some of the Winnie the Pooh storybooks in Japanese and write various recipe books regarding tea and sweets. Utako also collaborated with Sanrio to make merchandise and tea-related goods based on the Wish me mell series.

• British Sweets for Teatime (November 2003, Bunka Shuppan Kyoku) • Kōcha no o hanashi tītaimudaiarī (2002, FELISSIMO) • Kōcha no o hanashi suri (November 2001, FELISSIMO) • Kōcha no o hanashi tsu (November 2001, FELISSIMO) • Kōcha no o hanashi wan (November 2001, FELISSIMO) • My First Tea Book: Life with Delicious Tea (November 1998, Media Factory) • Kōcha-suki no menyūbukku (February 1999, Bunka Shuppan Kyoku) • Tanoshī tītaimubukku (October 2001, Shufutoseikatsusha) • The Story of Cherry the Pig (September 2002, Kaiseisha. Translated and Published in English by Barnes & Noble) • Little Rabbit Pipin's Birthday (October 2003, Kaiseisha) • Mitsuba chi bajī-chan (October 2006, Kaiseisha)