Two Crabs and the Moonlight

New York / Chicago / San Francisco: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good+/Very Good. Stated First Edition. Yellow ochre papered boards with pictorial of crabs on front cover and black lettering on spine. Small worn spot with a bit of surface loss near foot of spine, else fine. Illustrated endpapers. Interior is clean and unmarked. Dust jacket shows light edgewear; very shallow chipping at spine ends; not price clipped ($3.00; in an archival mylar sleeve. [33] pages. 8 x 7.5 inches. From the flap: ''Warmth and sensitivity characterize Tohr Yamaguchi's gentle story of Ake, a young river crab willing to sacrifice anything to save his mother's life. Caught in a fish net as they are crossing the brook on their way home one evening, Ake is unable to free her until he is found by the moon, who offers help, but at a price. Ake quickly and unselfishly agrees to pay what the moon demands. The extent of his love and loyalty and its effects on his mother and the moon, as it takes expression in Tohr Yamaguchi's poignant story and the sensitive and beautiful illustrations of his wife, will add a new and rich dimension to the experiences of young readers.'' John Tohr Yamaguchi (1932-?) was born in Tokyo and came to the United States in 1955 to study at Marlboro College and Columbia University. At Columbia, he took a class in writing for children taught by Ellen Lewis Buell, the children's books editor of The New York Times Book Review. His first book, The Golden Crane, was published in 1963, and was also illustrated by his wife. Marianne Illenberger Yamaguchi (1936-2015) received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1960. She and Tohr lived in New York before moving to New South Wales, Australia, where she worked as a high school art teacher and, over the course of several years, illustrated a number of significant Australian children's books.