Books with author Akiko Miyakoshi

When a young girl named Kikko realizes her father has forgotten the pie he was supposed to bring to Grandma's house, she offers to try and catch him as he makes his way through the woods. She hurriedly follows her father's footprints in the snow and happens upon a large house she has never seen before. Curious, Kikko peers through the window, when she is startled by a small lamb wearing a coat and carrying a purse. Even more surprising, the lamb speaks, asking her in a kind voice, ?Are you here for the tea party?? Suddenly, Kikko realizes her trip through the woods has turned into something magical. Award-winning author and illustrator Akiko Miyakoshi has beautifully crafted an original fairy tale picture book that will delight and enchant. The unique visual presentation features mostly black-and-white art with the occasional use of red or yellow to help guide readers through the pages. Kikko's blend of courage and reticence along with her inquisitive nature makes her a character children will relate to, and the many unexpected twists and turns of her adventure keep the intrigue growing. The ambiguous ending --- in which it is not clear whether Kikko imagined the tea party or if the animals simply disappeared back into the woods --- provides a terrific opportunity for children to weigh in on what they think happened. This book also could launch classroom conversations about children's own experiences of being trusted with big responsibilities.

A mother rabbit and her young bunny are on their way home in the dark night. ?My mother carries me through the quiet streets,? the bunny explains. ?Most of our neighbors are already home.? The bunny can see their lights in the windows, and hear and smell what they might be doing: talking on the phone, pulling a pie out of the oven, having a party, saying goodbye. When they reach home, the father rabbit tucks the bunny into bed. But the bunny continues to wonder about the neighbors' activities. ?Are the party guests saying goodnight? Is the person on the phone getting ready for bed?? And what of the footsteps that can be heard in the street as the bunny falls asleep? ?Will she take the last train home??This beautiful picture book captures the magical wonder a child feels at being outside in the night. Award-winning author and illustrator Akiko Miyakoshi's softly focused black-and-white illustrations with just a touch of neutral color have a dreamlike quality, just right for nodding off to sleep with. The book is intriguing in that it contains twice-told stories, once as they are observed and second as the bunny imagines them. This offers a perfect prompt for young children to create extensions of other stories they have read or heard. A deeper reading could encourage critical thinking by comparing the different pastimes of the neighbors or, ultimately, what it means to be home.

Akiko Miyakoshi's enchanting picture book explores how an innkeeper who spends his days at the crossroads of others' journeys secretly longs to have adventures of his own. People from all over the world come and go at the innkeeper's little hotel. He enjoys meeting them, and many even become his friends. Only, sometimes, when he goes to sleep at night, the desire to travel far away himself wells up inside him. He dreams of packing a big bag and journeying wherever he pleases, from one unfamiliar town to another. He imagines stopping to visit friends and having wonderful and unexpected experiences. The innkeeper continues to go about his daily routine at his hotel, but, someday, he is sure, he will explore the world. This beautiful picture book from multi-award-winning and internationally best-selling author-illustrator Akiko Miyakoshi thoughtfully speaks to the common experience of longing for something new and exciting, while feeling comfort in the familiar. The artwork's muted colors and soft focus give it a dreamlike quality and, paired with the spare, simple text, invokes wonder, leaving many questions open to interpretation. This book perfectly captures the feeling of wanderlust, of being curious about the world, wanting to see other places and how other people live. It could ignite intriguing conversations with children about what they long to do. Its message is also likely to resonate with adults.

It's the day of Momo's first piano recital. As she nervously waits for her turn to play, she tells herself, "I'll be okay ... I'll be okay ..." Then she hears a voice nearby, also saying, "I'll be okay ... I'll be okay ..." It's a mouseling! And the little mouse is nervous about her first performance, too. The mouseling invites Momo through a small door backstage, where Momo is amazed to find a miniature theater filled with an audience of finely dressed mice there to watch singers, dancers and circus performers! When it's the mouseling's turn, Momo agrees to accompany her on piano. The mouse audience is so appreciative! But then, as she rises to take her bow, Momo is surprised to discover - it isn't a mouse audience at all! Here's another magical, dreamlike picture book from Akiko Miyakoshi, the multi-award-winning and internationally bestselling author-illustrator. The imaginative narrative is woven around the common childhood experience of anxiety, felt by performers but also by every child who faces a new life challenge. Momo serves as a wonderful example to children, using the power of her imagination to understand and work through her feelings. Even the youngest readers will be able to follow this story through the beautiful and fantastically detailed illustrations, which perfectly capture Momo's emotions as she transitions from the real to the imagined and back again.

As this evocative picture book begins, a little boy is excited about a trip to the beach with his parents planned for the following day. But a bad storm is coming, and he has started to worry they won't be able to go. He watches as the sky grows darker through the afternoon. His mother and father close the shutters and bring the potted plants indoors. Then the storm arrives. ?All through dinner, the rain beats hard against the shutters. The wind howls and blows,? the boy says. ?I try not to be scared.? At bedtime, he thinks, ?I wish I had a ship with big propellers that would spin stronger winds to drive the storm away.? While asleep, his wish becomes his dream, and he manages to blow away the dark clouds with his imaginary vessel. Then, to his delight, when he awakens, he finds his dream of clear blue skies has come true. Author and illustrator Akiko Miyakoshi uses spare text and black-and-white drawings to echo the tension and uncertainty a child feels when encountering severe weather. The boy knows he is safe, yet danger is near. When he faces his fear in his dream, he becomes empowered by having conquered it. This is a perfect book for a quiet storytime on a rainy day. It would also work for launching conversations about fears, particularly those that are nature related, or as the impetus for children's own imaginary stories of how they could be courageous and save the day.

A gentle, dreamlike tale about heading home in the night.A mother rabbit carries her young bunny home through the dark, quiet streets. The lights are on in many of the animal neighbors’ windows, so the bunny can see, hear and smell what’s happening inside: a pie being pulled out of the oven, a party, a goodbye hug. When they reach home, the father rabbit tucks the bunny into bed. But the bunny continues to wonder about the neighbors’ activities. “Are the party guests saying goodnight?” Will the one saying goodbye “take the last train home?” Until finally, the tired bunny falls asleep.The perfect story for the end of the day.