Sato the Rabbit - by Yuki Ainoya (Hardcover)

About the Book

In this surreal collection of short vignettes, we are transported to the world of Sato the Rabbit: a world very much like our own, yet one that is imbued with an added dimension of wonder and curiosity, in which ordinary objects and everyday routines become magical encounters.

Book Synopsis

In this surreal collection of short vignettes, we are transported to the world of Sato the Rabbit: a world very much like our own, yet one that is imbued with an added dimension of wonder and curiosity, in which ordinary objects and everyday routines become magical encounters.

A 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book
A 2021 Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of 2021
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of 2021
A 100 Scope Notes Most Astonishingly Unconventional Book of 2021
A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of 2022

"One day, Haneru Sato became a rabbit. He's been a rabbit ever since."

With these surrealist, yet matter-of-fact opening lines, we are transported to a world very much like our own, yet one that is imbued with an added dimension of wonder and curiosity. In Sato's world, ordinary objects and everyday routines can lead to magical encounters: a rain puddle, reflecting the sky, becomes a window that can be opened and peered through. A walnut is cracked open to reveal a tiny home, complete with a bathtub and a comfy bed. During a meteor shower, Sato catches stars in a net, illuminating the path home for a family taking an evening walk.

This whimsical tale is the first in a trilogy from Japan.

Review Quotes

"A child's vivid imagination transforms everyday activities into magical interactions. Similarly charming artwork illustrates the interconnectedness among nature, children, and creativity in six other episodic expeditions featuring distinct themes...alongside Sato, readers travel through the seasons while sharing his myriad, surprising lenses on the universe. The journey culminates in a homecoming when Sato settles into bed, cozily "sipping stories late into the night." The painterly illustrations suggest homage to Where the Wild Things Are, works by Eric Carle, and others. Sweet, surreal, and contemplative." --Kirkus

"Each story starts with Sato doing a more or less normal activity. He does laundry. He eats watermelon. He cracks open walnuts. He goes for a walk to an observatory. And then each story takes a turn and Sato has a fantastical, almost-poetic, experience. He catches stars, he rides a watermelon, he opens a puddle to find a window to the sky. The illustrations with their saturated colors and fun details enhance the poetic feel. Sato swims in the bright teal sea next to his hot pink watermelon boat. He wears a bathing suit that matches the green striped rind; a whale spouts in the distance. This is a world that I would love to step into where the forest ice is full of feelings and colors and stories. A beautiful world for young readers." --Jackie Friedman Mighdoll, World Kid Lit

"Sato...walks upright through a natural world reminiscent of the Chirri & Chirra series--one that offers enchanting and sometimes droll revelations. He waters his garden, and a spread traces the water along a twisting, turning course through the forest back to its source, a pond that, in Blaskowsky's natural-sounding translation, "is blowing water into the hose as hard as it can." Each episode is over in a few pages, and every one offers kaleidoscopic, pleasingly sensorial images made for dreaming on." --STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly

"A surreal symphony of vibrant colors and images, Sato the Rabbit is a whimsical trilogy of picture books for readers age 4-8... All three books in Sato the Rabbit are a satisfying ode to the deep power--and beauty--of the imagination." --Nanette McGuiness, World Kid Lit

A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of 2022

A 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book

"In seven short imaginative tales, Sato's imagination transforms the details of ordinary life into fanciful antics that embrace and enhance the natural world." --American Library Association

"Gentle lighthearted humor throughout the text delights the reader and endears them to the imaginative and ingenious Sato." --Dr. Marie A. Lejeune, 2022 Batchelder Chair

A 2021 Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of 2021

"In a set of seven small vignettes that span the seasons, Sato's daily activities -- watering the garden, doing the laundry, splashing in puddles -- turn into magic. Cracking open a walnut reveals an inviting miniature world. Eating a watermelon turns into a seafaring adventure. ("Nothing compares to eating watermelon on the sea.") Observing a meteor shower leads to a star-collection mission. Paintings in a naive style burst with saturated color -- watermelon red, night-sky blue, spring chartreuse. For fans of Doi's Chirri & Chirra books, this import provides another cozy glimpse into mystery, independence, and imaginative play. " --STARRED REVIEW, The Horn Book

A 100 Scope Notes Most Astonishingly Unconventional Book of 2021

"Enchanted Lion is a publisher who appreciates the unconventional side of children's literature, and Japanese import Sato the Rabbit is a perfect example of this. Just your average, everyday story about a boy who has decided to be a rabbit and his whimsically surreal life and adventures." --Travis Jonker, 100 Scope Notes (A School Library Journal blog)

"Our hero in this compact little picture book (translated by Michael Blaskowsky) is a boy who wears a rabbit costume and sees all sorts of wonderful possibilities in the world. While watering the garden, he imagines--as we see in a beguiling painting--that a distant pond is "blowing water into the hose as hard as it can." Noticing the sunset reflected in a puddle, Sato the Rabbit lifts up its rosy surface, like a luminous manhole cover, and finds himself transported to the sky. In another story, Sato cracks walnuts and discovers tiny loaves of bread and a pot of hot coffee inside one set of shells, a miniature bed and steaming bath inside another. The soft lines and delectable colors of Ms. Ainoya's pictures, and their charming details (the walnut bath has a loofah and a little towel rack), will have 4- to 8-year-olds wishing they could climb into Sato's world. Their parents may wish it, too." --The Wall Street Journal

"Dreamlike and fanciful, each adventure is as much a flight of fancy as it is a plunge into gorgeous colors and shapes. Sato catches stars during a meteor shower, and the yellow glow guides a family of bears on a moonless night; he eats delicious watermelon which becomes a boat in the sea; while cracking open walnuts, he discovers miniature treasures inside each shell - loaves of bread, a warm bath - and when he covers his eyes with the shells, he finds himself beneath a sky full of stars. The ocean, clouds, the night sky, reflections - these are the cosmic places Sato explores in each beautifully wrought adventure. Simple, brief poetic text and illustrations in rounded shapes, in light and dark toned pastel colors, add to the feeling of wonder." --Youth Services Book Review

About the Author

Born in Yokohama, Yuki Ainoya studied Japanese painting at the Tama Art University Faculty of Art and Design. She was the winner of the the Crayon House Children's Book Grand Prize in 1990 and the 12th Japanese Children's Book Award in 2007 for the original Japanese edition of Sato the Rabbit (Shogakukan). In her spare time, she likes playing the accordion and hula dancing.

A Seattle native with a life-long connection to Japan, Michael Blaskowsky spent seven years living on the Japanese island of Hokkaido after graduating from Eastern Washington University. His translations cover a wide range of topics, with a focus on literature, the arts, gaming, and the sciences.