Sora and the Cloud - by Felicia Hoshino (Hardcover)

About the Book

A curious child hops on a friendly cloud and has a magical journey flying through the sky. Features delightful watercolors and a bilingual Japanese translation.

Once a baby, now Sora is a boy who explores the world around him. First crawling and then walking, Sora soon learns how to climb a tree. Up there a friendly cloud awaits! Hopping aboard, Sora embarks on a fantastic trip. Curious birds, squealing kites and whispering fireworks whirl by as Sora and the Cloud share a breathtaking adventure in the sky. Along the way the Sora connects his past experiences with the present, which poignantly underscore how joyful memories of childhood and parenthood bind a family together.

"It is tempting to label 'Miyazaki-like' anything appealing to children and Japanese in origin. But in this instance the analogy fits."
- New York Times

Book Synopsis

A curious child hops on a friendly cloud and has a magical journey flying through the sky. Features delightful watercolors and a bilingual Japanese translation.

Once a baby, now Sora is a boy who explores the world around him. First crawling and then walking, Sora soon learns how to climb a tree. Up there a friendly cloud awaits! Hopping aboard, Sora embarks on a fantastic trip.

Curious birds, squealing kites and whispering fireworks whirl by as Sora and the Cloud share a breathtaking adventure in the sky. Along the way the Sora connects his past experiences with the present, which poignantly underscore how joyful memories of childhood and parenthood bind a family together.

ForeWord magazine: Children's Book of the Year: Bronze Medal Winner - 2011.

An acclaimed artist, Hoshino authors her first picture book, inspired by her own experiences as a mother to her son Sora: a growing boy enjoys the ultimate daydream - to soar like a cloud! This wonderful flight of fancy is created in Hoshino's hallmark style: a unique combination of mixed media creates ethereal environments with subtle shading, and contemplative characters who invoke the innocence of youth.

Empowering themes of self-discovery, familial awareness, and cultural exchange, with colorfully expressive illustrations will prove popular with early elementary readers and teachers. Parents will appreciate the bilingual Japanese translation and informative glossary, which highlight how Hoshino sincerely shares her heritage with readers of all ages and backgrounds.

"It is tempting to label 'Miyazaki-like' anything appealing to children and Japanese in origin. But in this instance the analogy fits." - New York Times

From the Back Cover

"Hoshino's ink-and-watercolor spreads both provide historical information and convey the story's emotional weight--and do both with grace." - Publishers Weekly

A noted children's artist, Hoshino authors her first picture book, inspired by her own experiences as a mother. The growing boy Sora enjoys the ultimate daydream - to soar like a cloud!

Up in a tree a friendly cloud awaits! Hopping aboard, Sora and the Cloud share a breathtaking adventure in the sky. Birds, kites, and fireworks whirl by, as Sora connects his past experiences with the present. This poignantly underscores how joyful memories of childhood and parenthood bind a family together.

This wonderful flight of fancy is created in Hoshino's evocative style of mixed media. Plus the bilingual Japanese translation highlights the empowering themes of self-discovery and cultural exchange.

Review Quotes

"Sora and the Cloud soars in more ways than one, and is a perfect story to share with very young ones who are starting to look at the world with wonder and amazement." - Paper Tigers

"I loved the illustrations, the writing, and the translation. But the genius in this book is the way it portrays the passage of time....This is the perfect book for a Japanese-English bilingual family, anyone interested in introducing other cultures to their kids, and both Japanese and English monolingual families. I hope this will become a classic, it has all the hallmarks of an award winner." - Perogies and Gyoza

"Prolific Japanese-American illustrator Felicia Hoshino makes her authorial debut in this delightful picture book...The bilingual text (Hoshino's English is accompanied by Hisa's Japanese translation) displays a simple exuberance that perfectly matches the light, joyful subject matter...Hoshino's soft, Japanesque watercolors perfectly punctuate Sora's adventure and include plenty of references to Hoshino's native city of San Francisco (the Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars, to name a couple)...With its local appeal, cultural relevance, and textual and aesthetic grace, this is a welcome addition for Bay Area collections." - Bayviews, The Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California

"Sora's airborne fantasy is charmingly depicted with a dreamlike palette of pastel colors. Young readers will revel in finding visual connections within the illustrations as they identify repeated motifs. They will also enjoy poring over the intricately detailed spreads that show a bustling city street and an old-fashioned amusement park. The San Francisco setting in combination with the bilingual text deftly shows the child's Japanese American identity. Non-Japanese speakers won't miss anything vital due to the cultural and translation notes that introduce Japanese vocabulary and enrich readers' experience. Children will want to revisit Sora's imaginary adventure again and again."

"The classic Japanese children's song 'Tako no uta' (or 'Song of Kites') is a cheerful ode to flying. It is also one of many Japanese cultural references embedded in Sora and the Cloud, Felicia Hoshino's rich, clever and appealing book. Offering both English and Japanese text, it is itself a lovely tribute to the joys of soaring high.... The nameless cloud is a benign yet mysterious and uncontrollable presence as it lifts Sora, Totoro style, into the sky. There he views a skyscraper mid-construction, an amusement park, a festival of kites and other boyish marvels. Hoshino's intricate and delicate drawings deliver this parade of sightseeing pleasures in a way that is at once dreamlike and visceral."

About the Author

Felicia Hoshino is an award winning artist. Her previous book A Place Where Sunflowers Grow won the 2007 Jane Addams Children's Book Award, 2007 International Reading Association "Notable," and San Francisco Chronicle's Best Books of 2006.

Felicia Hoshino was born in San Francisco, California where she continues to live with her family. As a student at City College of San Francisco, she enrolled in as many art classes as she could find, from figure drawing and ceramics to illustration and graphic design. Upon deciding to make art her career, she continued her education at California College of the Arts, where she earned a BFA in Illustration.

Felicia's prize-winning illustrations can now be seen in children's magazines Cricket, Spider and Ladybug and in children's books such as Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin and A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, both accepted into the Society of Illustrator's The Original Art exhibition. Her most recent book is My Dog Teny, published by Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California.

In addition to creating mixed-media images for children's books and magazines, she enjoys illustrating children's portraiture, cooking with her husband and decorating the walls at home with art created by her son and daughter. Visit her website at felishino.com.