Baby & Me, Vol. 8 (8)

Ten-year-old Takuya has a new job: to look after his baby brother Minoru…looks like it's time to put on the kid gloves!

Young Takuya has it tough. Since his mother passed away, he's had to take care of his baby brother Minoru while their father works the long hours of a Japanese "salaryman."

Meet Mr. Mukai, the enigmatic director of the Sunflower Nursery School. Some people admire his teary-eyed devotion to children of all ages. Other people think he's just weird. And everybody wants to know what he looks like without his ever-present sunglasses. When the preschoolers in Minoru's class turn against Mr. Mukai, he becomes obsessed with winning back their hearts. And when Takuya gets involved, he becomes Mr. Mukai's new favorite kid--whether he likes it or not!

Marimo Ragawa first started submitting manga to a comic magazine when she was 12 years old. She kept up her submissions for four years, but to no avail. She decided to submit her work to the magazine Hana to Yume, where she received top prize in the monthly manga contest, plus an honorable mention (Kasaku) in the magazine's Big Challenge contest. Her first manga was titled Time Limit. Baby & Me was honored with a Shogakukan Manga Award in 1995 and was spun-off into anime.

Ragawa's work showcases some very cute and expressive line work along with an incredible ability to show complex emotions and relationships. Some of her other works include N.Y. N.Y and the tennis manga Shanimuni-Go.

Ragawa has two brothers and two sisters.