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)

Some children's books are so beautiful that we lose ourselves to them every time we pull them off the shelves and enter their worlds. Some author-illustrators make their craft look so effortless that it makes an artsy type like me weep that we'll never possess the ability to produce such stunning work. There's so much to enjoy here in Ayano Imai's beautiful "While He Was Sleeping" as the story wraps itself around you like a gorgeous double-duvet.

Charlotte couldn't quite decide whether the main character, Mr Brown, was a fox or a bear (we settled on a Tanuki). Leading a lonely existence, Mr Brown wants for nothing, but when a cheeky woodpecker pecks a hole in Mr Brown's rather natty tall white top hat, it's the beginning of a complete change in Mr Brown's life. The woodpecker soon invites other birds to take up residence in his hat, and soon a whole flock of different birds have moved in.

Mr Brown changes. Now, rather than spending his days shopping for gorgeous suits, Mr Brown begins to love having his feathery friends around. But as seasons change and hibernation time comes along, birds fly south for the winter and soon he's back to being very lonely again.

What happens when winter ends though...

There are a handful of artists who can produce such beautiful painted works for children's books that we jump at the chance to pick up each and every title they're involved with. Levi Pinfold, Anthony Browne and of course Ayano Imai belongs in that much revered collective. If you've loved Imai's previous (utterly gorgeous) books, you're really going to love this one.

Charlotte's best bit: Poor Mr Brown coping (rather poorly) when his new-found friends desert him as the weather turns cold.

Daddy's Favourite bit: So many deft and gorgeous little artistic touches that make each illustration and panel so deep and detailed that you could fall into it like a stone into a gilded pond. Gorgeous!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Minedition Publishing)

My lovely other half The Strolling Mum can now accompany us to our Library visits as I no longer have the luxury of a wednesday off (luxury?) now Charlotte has started school. The upshot of this is that she picks out some of the books from our library haul and she picked out this particularly stunning looking book, Puss and Boots.

Translated from an original Japanese children's picture book, it tells a traditional fairy tale story with a twist. A shoemaker has fallen on hard times and his loving cat decides to help out by promoting the Shoemaker's work to try and help sell a few more pairs. A nefarious monster that can change shape takes a shine to the shoemaker's work, but though he orders many many different pairs of fine boots and shoes, he is a stingy skinflint and never pays up.

Whenever the cat tries to ask for payment, the monster merely turns into something huge, powerful and nasty and frightens the cat away before the bill can be paid.

The cat, however, does have a cunning plan to foil the monster. You will, of course, have to read the book to find out exactly what happens in the end.

It's a sumptuously presented hardback book with the sort of illustrations that classic fairy tales suit best, beautifully painted panels and superb characters save the book from a slightly wonky translation (too many westernised phrases make it feel a bit clunky in places and I'm sure that's not down to the original author at all). Great stuff though, and a nice find Mummy!

Charlotte's best bit: The (slightly gruesome) end.

Daddy's favourite bit: The lovely illustrations almost leap off the page.