#994 of 1001 · April 22, 2023

For this next entry in my Final Ten Books, Gentle Readers, I have Kiyo Tanaka’s The Little One. On her way home one day, a young girl spies a shadowy little creature perched on a wall. She begins to see it again and again, and finally she decides to follow it. The mysterious entity leads her through a hole in a wall, past a blooming garden, and into a little house. After a tranquil tea ceremony, they crawl inside a closet and up into the attic, which somehow contains a dark, cozy dimension filled with flowers, trees, and a creature whose thick coat of fur is the perfect spot for a nap. Later, the girl happily returns home, meeting her father along the way. Just who or what is the Little One? This question is left enigmatically unanswered. The combination of Tanaka’s thoughtful writing (translated from Japanese by David Boyd) and her understated black and white art provides a lulling, introspective journey of the mind. Though it is not stated directly in the text, the child’s dream about her mother delicately suggests a note of loss and grief as the backdrop to the gentle tale. #little #one #littleone #friend #friends #friendship #mystery #magic #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks