#Booky100Keepers Day 47: "While He Was Sleeping" by Ayano Imai (Minedition)

Yesterday in our #Booky100Keepers slot we talked about the wonderful "Pandora" and the story of a lonely fox who befriends a beautiful blue bird, which changes her lonely life forever.

Completely coincidentally, today's book "While He Was Sleeping" by super-talented Ayano Imai also deals with a lonely creature who finds a whole stack of feathered friends. In fact the two stories are so close that I'm rather tickled that the cards fell this way as it wasn't intentional! (If only I was that clever!)

ANYWAY this is a beautiful book. Right from the outset Ayano Imai's artwork will completely enchant you as we meet the rather fox-like bear who is quite happy to live a solitary existence. Dapper and polite, Bear feels like he wants for nothing. Until one day something rather odd happens to his favourite hat.

A bird takes up residence there. He thinks nothing of this until another bird moves in, and another, and then a whole stack of birds. Bear is a bit grumpy about this at first, but soon the beauty of their song, and the constant company actually adds a whole new dimension to bear's life.

But all bears must hibernate. What will happen to his birdy chums while he sleeps?

If you want to get a friend, get a hat

One thing we've noticed about Japanese picture book creatives is just how amazingly talented - and how amazingly underrated they are. Ayano's work is mesmerisingly good, setting high standards of illustration amidst the sort of gentle, almost mindful writing that draws kids in. One thing we always found about this book was that C loved inventing her own ongoing stories for Bear and his birdy pals. If any book is capable of inspiring a child in their own creative efforts, it deserves high praise indeed.

 I'm amazed to find that this book's a bit of a lost classic. It truly is stunning and well worth hunting down. I'm also including a link to the only other book of Ayano's that we read, the sublime Puss and Boots (this wasn't a keeper sadly, just a library loan but it's still stunning!)

Original Review Link: 

While He Was Sleeping by Ayano Imai (MinEdition)

Puss and Boots by Ayano Imai (Minedition Publishing)