Friday, 11 September 2026

World Kid Lit Month 2026: Explorer Challenger: 0-6: A Language Spoken by a Friend

  

The fluffy futon.

Written and illustrated by Yuichi Kasano.

Translated from Japanese by Cathy Hirano.

Gecko Press, 2026.

Picture book.

Originally published by Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, in 2000 under the title of Under the sun on the fluffy futon.

Grandma spreads her newly washed futon to dry in the sun. The futon is so soft and smells so clean! The cat can't resist nestling down for a snooze. Instead of chasing it away, Grandma settles in alongside, soon followed by the hen and her chicks, a little boy, the dog, the goat, and the pig family. . . . Soon the whole household is taking a nap! Until Grandma starts to find the futon so comfy that no one else can fit.

A fun and cute read. I’ve heard from translators that translating sounds is hard. That emergency service vehicles, and animals, make different sounds in different languages. I wonder how this translator handled them.

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