Chiaki Okada, the author and illustrator of numerous picture books for children, will begin her first international book tour next week to promote "Douce lumière", the newly published French edition of "Akari" (Mitsumura Educational Co., Ltd.)* written by Kirin Hayashi.

Hosted by her French publisher nobi nobi! (Hachette Group) who published "Douce lumière" this November, Okada will be promoting this title, along with French editions of her other picture books (which you can see here on the nobi nobi! website). Okada will also be participating in workshops for children, signings, Q&As and more at the Montreuil Book Fair and at various libraries, bookstores, and other venues in Paris. We wish her all the very best on her tour. Bon voyage!

For more information about Chiaki Okada's work, please contact Paper Crane Agency here.  
*French translation rights for Akari were arranged with nobi nobi! by  Mitsumura Educational Co., Ltd. through Paper Crane Agency. ​

Images Copyright © Chiaki Okada. All rights reserved.

"STILL STUCK" by Shinsuke Yoshitake (Abrams Books for Young Readers 2017) has a great review in The New York Times! 

Author Rumaan Alam in his review "These Kids Never, Never, Never Give Up", writes about the protagonist: "It's a relatable predicament, and his response is instructive: He learns to cope."  For Alam, Yoshitake's ultimate message remains ambiguous: "keep a stiff upper lip, look on the bright side, or just hope mom will arrive, deus ex machina, to help you." But, he says, "Yoshitake's illustrations are so charming they obviate the need for an obvious lesson - my kids laughed throughout, though never harder than at the poor hero's bare bottom as mom bathes him. Each child is unique, but all children think butts are hilarious." So true.   

To read Alam's full review of this and other great books about never giving up, visit the New York Times here.
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