Happy Pub Day to Misako Rocks’s How to Draw Kawaii Manga Pets
Celebrating the publication of How to Draw Kawaii Manga Pets by Misako Rocks!, out today from Quarto! This early middle grade how-to-draw book is perfect for kids who love drawing cute animals.
Have you ever wanted to draw your pet, or the pet you wish you had? In the fourth book in the Learn Manga with Misako series, Misako shows kids how to draw irresistibly cute cats, dogs, bunnies, and amphibians, plus magical pets like dragons and unicorn bunnies. Step-by-step lessons and QR codes linking to Misako's video tutorials let young artists draw right alongside a real manga pro.
Early Praise
"An easy-to-follow yet thorough guidebook for artists of all skill levels…" – School Library Journal
Sample Pages
Rights
- Foreign Rights: Available via Quarto
- Film/TV Rights: Available via Janna Co.
- Merch/Commercial Rights: Available via Janna Co.
For rights inquiries, please contact me at janna@jannaco.co.
School Library Journal review: Chibi Big Emotions (How to Draw Kawaii Manga series) by Misako Rocks!
School Library Journal review: Chibi Big Emotions (How to Draw Kawaii Manga series) by Misako Rocks!
“Rocks! (Bounce Back) takes readers step-by-step through the process of illustrating chibi characters in this upbeat how-to book. Chibi is the Japanese word for small, and chibi characters are toddler-shaped, cute, and highly emotional. Artists often use chibi versions of characters to express strong feelings, and some manga characters, such as the Guardian Characters in “Shugo Chara!” are always drawn as chibis. While many how-to-draw manga books focus only on character designs and ignore the rest of the manga-making process, this book starts with the basics, explaining how to render chibi faces and hair, then moves on to full bodies, fashion, and how to use chibis for different kinds of storytelling. Younger students may struggle to follow the instructions, but budding artists of all ages can enjoy copying the super-cute illustrations. Some of the pages are designed to be drawn on, but they also have QR codes that allow users to print pages for their own use. Other QR codes in the book link to the author’s video tutorials. VERDICT With a cheery tone and lots of examples to reference, this is a great how-to book for budding manga artists.”
2026/06/28: The Growing Demand for Kid-Friendly Manga: A Guide for Librarians panel
The Growing Demand for Kid-Friendly Manga: A Guide for Librarians panel
HOSTED BY: The American Library Association
WHEN: Sunday, June 28, 2026
WHERE: ALA Annual 2026, Chicago
Click here to RSVP or learn more.
Kid-friendly manga is one of the fastest-growing and most requested areas in children’s and middle grade collections—but it can also be one of the hardest to curate. With so many titles aimed at teens or adults, librarians often struggle to identify age-appropriate manga that still excites young readers.
In this session, manga creator Misako Rocks! (Bounce Back, Macmillan and How to Draw Kawaii Manga, Quarto); Briana Lawrence (The Essential Manga Guide, Running Press); and Sara Smith, a District Librarian for a rural district in California and the creator of The Graphic Library (Manga Goes to School: Cultivating Engagement and Inclusion in the K-12 Settings, ALA Editions), will explore the growing demand for kid-friendly manga and why it matters for school and public libraries. Together, they’ll provide practical strategies for discovering, evaluating, and promoting manga that works for middle grade readers. Attendees will leave with a collection development tips, and programming ideas to connect kids with manga they’ll love—while building stronger and more diverse manga graphic novel collections.
How to Draw Chibi with Misako Rocks!
Congratulations to Misako Rocks! on the publication of the third book in her "How to Draw Kawaii Manga" series: CHIBI Big Emotions! I recently caught up with her about everything she's doing this year -- it's a whirlwind!
You have a new book coming out, How to Draw Kawaii Manga: Chibi! Tell me a bit about it. What kind of a book is it? Who is it for?
This is my third activity book in the How to Draw Kawaii Manga series from Quarto. This one is called "CHIBI: Big Emotions!"
It’s perfect for anyone who loves drawing bubbly, kawaii (cute) characters and creating manga stories with chibi characters. It also makes a great gift!
Why are chibi characters so popular right now?
“Chibi” means “small” in Japanese.
Chibi characters are adorable little characters with oversized heads and tiny bodies. In manga, artists often turn characters into "chibi" versions when their emotions go wild, helping to show excitement, surprise, or strong feelings in a fun way! They're usually funny and wildly expressive, so that's why kids (and everyone) love them!
What are some of your favorite pages or moments in the book?
My favorite pages are pages 34 and 35, where I show regular manga bodies versus chibi bodies. Readers can clearly see the differences between the two styles. I hope this helps inspire them to create their own characters.
You’ve been posting drawing videos aimed at kids on YouTube for a while now, and you’ve posted some really fun ones recently! Why do you like teaching drawing to elementary aged kids so much?
I love how curious and passionate they are! They’re eager to learn manga and even Japanese culture. I’m constantly inspired by them while teaching.
What is different about teaching drawing to kids, versus teaching it to adults?
Older students enjoy learning more advanced manga drawing techniques because they’re able to focus on details.
Younger students can get overwhelmed by those details, so I try to keep things simpler. I love how they use their imagination to create fun manga characters.
I always keep their different capabilities in mind when teaching both groups.
You have a lot of fun stuff coming up this year to promote both of your book series, the Bounce Back series with Macmillan, and the How to Draw Kawaii Manga series with Quarto. What are some of the things you’re looking forward to?
I’m incredibly grateful to do what I do. This year, I’m especially excited to be releasing THREE fun and kawaii books (How to Draw Kawaii Manga Chibi, How to Draw Kawaii Manga Pets, and the fourth volume of the Bounce Back series, Double Trouble: Lost in Japan). It still feels a bit unreal to have that many books coming out!
I’m looking forward to visiting library conferences, book festivals, and schools to talk about my book projects and connect with readers and educators. I try to keep the events calendar on my website updated, but so much is always happening, it's hard to keep up!
I’ve also started putting more focus into my YouTube—finally—and I’m excited to share even more drawing content with young artists.
Where can people connect with you and find out more about How to Draw Kawaii Manga: Chibi?
Please sign up for my newsletter on my website, www.misakorocks.com to receive a FREE coloring book!
I’m also active on YouTube and Instagram. Please come visit me there too.
You can purchase How to Draw Kawaii Manga: CHIBI at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Bookshop.org, and your favorite local bookstore. Thank you!
Learn Manga With Misako
I recently caught up with Misako Rocks! to chat about her newest release, How to Draw Kawaii Manga Characters, which came out from Quarto Kids in April 2024.
Misako has been teaching kids to draw manga and anime for at least ten years. During the pandemic, she started Learn Manga with Misako, her online school to teach manga drawing to elementary school students.
I was curious to find out why she's just as passionate about teaching kids as she is about writing and drawing her own stories. As it turns out, she had a lot of interesting things to say about that!
From the perspective of your students, why do you think they're interested in learning how to draw manga with you?
[MISAKO] They already had an interest in drawing manga, but also, the thing is, they like drawing manga with me. I have realized that it’s like we are creating “Misako time” together. It's kind of like art therapy.
That's a really interesting point.
The kids need some kind of place where they can feel safe, they can laugh at stupid stuff, they can release frustration and of course create fun art. I think it really helps them to feel positive and even make mistakes. I just make them draw, I don't let them think so much, and that kind of helps them break away from their perfectionist habits. So yeah, I think that's why.
Wow, that's really cool to hear. But is it possible for you to capture that experience that the kids have with you in real time in your books? How do you do that?
So yeah, the books are just paper, not a direct interactive experience with me. But if they want to listen to my story, they can just scan the QR codes in the books and go to YouTube. When I'm teaching, I'm talking a lot. So in a way, yeah, they feel like they can take my lesson live with me.
I love that.
I feel like I can be their “aunt from another family.” So they can feel relaxed and just talk to me about everything. Sometimes when I ask just one question, like, “What did you do after you finished lunch at school today?” twenty of them start talking right away.
You must be doing something right, because so many parents complain that when they say to their kids, “How was your day at school?,” the kids say, “Fine.” And nothing else. [laughing]
Maybe part of what makes you a popular teacher is that you just listen to them without judgment.
Yes. Yes, without judgment. Sometimes I have extra sessions, besides lessons, and I ask them more questions to help me with writing the Bounce Back books. For instance, I might say to them, “Hey, if you have a fight with your friend, how do you make up with each other afterwards?” That kind of stuff.
And they tell me really detailed stories. Maybe ten kids are there, trying to help me understand their lives. But the good thing is that I feel like they end up helping each other as much as me.
They help each other feel better about themselves by sharing their experiences. It’s so great to see this happening because they all live in completely different states, some of them live in different countries like Canada. But they are trying to give advice to each other. It’s such a good feeling. So that’s why I want to keep doing this.
Yay! I hope you keep teaching kids, too.
Check Out Misako's New Book!
How to Draw Kawaii Manga Characters by Misako Rocks is available now! The next book, How to Draw Manga Fashion, releases in June 2024.
You can find Misako at www.misakorocks.com and learnmangawithmisako.com. Connect with her on social media at www.instagram.com/misakorocks and
www.twitter.com/misakorocks.