Baby & Me, Vol. 9 Format: Paperback

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."

When Takuya's friend Hitoshi finds a strange woman's photo in his father's cookbook, he panics. Could his ultra-feminine dad really be having an affair? But Hitoshi's problems are just beginning, as an innocently dropped handkerchief leads him to a gang of bank robbers, a secret code, and more. Before they know it, Takuya and his friends have been kidnapped, and it's up to Hitoshi's dad--with a little help from Minoru--to save the day!

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.