With the review of My Magic Dress by Kayako Nishimaki and translated by Lisa Wilcut (due March 2027; read via an online reader copy) I have caught up with all the reads I want to review and have them typed up for posting. And it is nice that this last (for now) review is a sweet and cozy book, because I need that.
This book, originally from Japan in the late 1960s, didn’t do so well with adults back then. A book for children, that wasn’t a moral story? How does that work? Well, I admit I’m that person sometimes. I like a moral to a story, even if I don’t always agree with it or how it was presented. But the kids loved it. The bunny of our story is funny and sweet and well I can see how her imagination really speaks to other kids.
And even Miss Moral Needed Me said, “You know what? We don’t need no stinkin’ moral.” We need a bunny who finds a white piece of cloth, makes a dress out of it (a simple, white frock) and when she goes to the flowers, they pop on for the ride. Then when it rains, the rain drops wash the flowers away, staying until the wheat, the birds, and even the stars take their place on the dress. Is it all a game where the bunny imagines it? Or is it real? Or is it a dream which is a mixture of both imagination and reality?
The images of the book are very simple and look like what a child would do (who was around ages eight or nine) but the actual story is for toddlers up to around 7 or so (who can also start to solo or with help, read). The cover is a bit more busy than the internal images, but still they are all colorful, minimalist and like the story, cozy. They are both realistic but with an fantastical unreal element, too. What is real is that this book is due next year, but you need to know about it now so you can run out to your independent bookstore to preorder it. You will need to have this book as it is just something nice and quiet. Because like I said, I needed it and in this day and age, don’t we all need a little nice and quiet?
