The Little One (book)

The Little One (くろいの, Kuroino, "The Black Thing") is a children's picture book by Kiyo Tanaka (田中清代 Tanaka Kiyo), published in 2018 by Kaiseisha [ja].[1] David Boyd wrote the English translation, published in 2021 by Enchanted Lion Books.[2]

The book involves a little girl who sees a creature and goes on an adventure with it, before meeting her father at the end of the book.[2]

It was published in French, as La petite chose noire, with translation by Alice Hureau.[3]

Reception

The book and its author won the "Purple Island Award",[4] of Nami Island International Picture Book Illustration Concours 2019.[5] It also won the Japan Picture Book Award [ja] 25th edition Grand Prize,[6][7] and the Shogakukan Children's Book Publishing Culture Award [ja].[8]

Kirkus Reviews stated that for the most part the work is "poignant and engrossing narrative" although it argued the aspect of her going into a closet at the creature's request "gives serious pause".[2]

Kimberly Olson Fakih of School Library Journal stated that the art style illustrates "a timeless quality."[9]

Masao Higashi [ja] (東雅夫 Higashi Masao) of Asahi Shimbun gave a positive review, praising the "fine copper engraving technique".[10]

References

  1. ^ "くろいの". Saitama Prefectural Library. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  2. ^ a b c "The Little One". Kirkus Reviews. 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ "Notice bibliographique". French National Library. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  4. ^ "【日本人作家が初受賞】世界的な絵本イラストレーションのコンクール「ナミコンクール」で、田中清代の絵本『くろいの』がパープルアイランド賞を受賞！". Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun (in Japanese). 2019-01-09.
  5. ^ "Nami Concours 2019 Winners". Nami Concours. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  6. ^ "『くろいの』（田中清代 作）が第25回日本絵本賞大賞を受賞！" (in Japanese). Kaiseisha. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  7. ^ "日本絵本賞過去の受賞作品" (in Japanese). School Library Association. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  8. ^ "第68回『小学館児童出版文化賞』最終選考結果のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
    "第68回小学館児童出版文化賞" (in Japanese). International Library of Children's Literature, National Diet Library. 2019. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  9. ^ Fakih, Kimberly Olson (2022-01-07). "The Little One". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  10. ^ Higashi, Masao (2018-12-14). "眺めたくなる影の領域　アンソロジスト・東雅夫". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese).


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