A Picture Book for Adults for Days When Parenting Is Tough: 'Anna ni Anna ni' (So Much, So Much)

Things are so tough right now that I don't have the energy to cherish the time I spend with my child.

When you're raising children, there are days like that.

I think the ideal is to cherish your child every day, read picture books slowly, take them for walks until they're satisfied, and live an orderly life. I also think it would be nice to spend time in a calm atmosphere, like something out of Muji.

But in reality, you change diapers, prepare meals, feed them, bathe them, and put them to bed. Even though you're supposed to be repeating the same things every day, by night, there's no energy left. Even though there are books I want to read and dramas I want to watch, I fall asleep at the same time as I put the child to bed, or I wake up to them crying at night. Especially on weekdays.

In this article, for parents who are in the middle of such busy days, I will introduce Shinsuke Yoshitake's picture book, 'Anna ni Anna ni'.

That's right, it's a picture book. You can read it in 10 minutes.

Even so, I couldn't stop crying as I thought about the time I've spent with my two-and-a-half-year-old child and the time I will spend with them in the future. To the point where my wife was worried. Even though parenting has only just begun. lol

After reading it, what I thought about while calming down a little was,

—something that is obvious, but which we usually forget.

This book is not a story that will suddenly make parenting easy. Even so, after reading it, the time you spend with your child—from feeling their cuteness or their 'I did it!' moments, to the slightly troublesome times like changing diapers, putting them to bed, nursing them while fearing fevers or infections, or dealing with them playing with their food or dumping out their toys—might look just a little bit different.

Now, let me introduce a little bit about what kind of book it is.

'Anna ni Anna ni' is a short picture book.
The days with the child are depicted in the form of 'Even though they were so much like this, now...' Even though they wanted it so much. Even though I was so worried. Even though they were so small.

When put into words, that's all it is.
Really, that's all.

But, in that repetition, it is packed with many things: the many scenes you will encounter at least once when raising children, the helplessness of those moments, the preciousness of daily life, the flow of time and growth that passes even when you want to hold onto it, and the experiences you have as a parent precisely because of your child's growth.

Shinsuke Yoshitake's illustrations have a soft touch and don't over-explain the scenes or emotions. And the expressions are wonderful. My favorite is the mother's face in this book, which looks like a mix of exasperation and affection, as if to say, 'Oh, this child, what can I do?' The face she makes when she's surprised by the child is also good.

When you're raising children, you probably make that face many times. You're not angry. You are troubled. You also think it's a hassle. Even so, they are cute. While thinking, 'There's nothing I can do about this,' you still try to do something. It's a face that seems to mix all of those things together.

Recently, I sometimes see opinions on social media saying, 'If it's that hard, you shouldn't have had children,' in response to posts venting about the hardships and exhaustion of parenting. It makes me sad.Parenting is a world where 'incredibly cute' and 'incredibly exhausting' easily coexist. Because adults are human, too. The official website also introduces it this way.

Everyone was a child once. I don't know when exactly one becomes an adult. So, I think it's okay to admit that tough things are tough. That is one of the points that makes reading this book a relief.


And parenting, truly, cannot be done with only beautiful emotions. There are days when you are sleepy, days when you have no patience, days when you just want to spoil them, and days when you feel irritated and just want them to go to sleep. Of course, there are also days when you want to be alone. Even so, when you look back on it later,

I suppose that is what I will think. Or rather, I want to think that way.
Within that "so much," there is a time that can never be returned to..

Recently, my eldest daughter is almost out of diapers. That is a very happy thing. She will be able to go to the bathroom by herself. I will be a little less needed as a parent. Life will become a little easier. But, even though I changed her diapers every single day, the day when I won't change them anymore is just around the corner. And I probably won't even notice when that "last diaper change" was.

The last time I carry her. The last time I put her to sleep. The last time she mispronounces a word. The last time she says, "Daddy, do it." I think you usually only realize those things after they are over.
By the time you realize it, you can't go back.

There will surely be countless days ahead where I have no patience, but after reading this book,I might be able to think, "I might never have this experience again," and accept those moments positively, or perhaps find the strength to push through just a little bit more.. It made me feel that way.

The reason I encountered this book is that my wife gave it to me as a birthday present. Thinking about it now, it was a wonderful choice. If I had gone to the bookstore myself, I don't think I would have chosen it on my own. Or rather, I didn't even have the idea of buying a picture book for myself in the first place. I recommend it even to people like that.

The author, Shinsuke Yoshitake, is a famous picture book author known for works like 'Maybe,' 'Still Stuck,' 'What Happens Next,' and 'The Bookshop of If.' Although I had heard the name, I had never properly read his work before. As someone who has lived life as a science researcher, picture book authors felt like a somewhat distant existence.

That is precisely why 'Anna ni Anna ni' was a shock to me. Rather than a picture book for children, it is apicture book for adults.It is a picture book that draws out the memories within a parent, as well as their imagination for the future. Every time I turn the page, I see the scenery of my own home through the filter of the parent and child depicted there.


When I read it the first time, I cried as a parent. But when I read it the second time, it was a little different. I remembered my own mother.

I, too, must have been thought of by someone as "so small." Even though I was so much trouble. Even though they worried so much. Even though we were together so much. Now I have become an adult and a parent. And my parents are also getting older. When my parents look at their grandchildren, what are they feeling? Are they remembering a little bit about the time they were raising us? This picture book makes you think even about that.

There are picture books that you can only truly receive because you have become an adult. Because it is not a long explanation, but

short words and pictures, there is space for your own memories to enter.'Anna ni Anna ni' was exactly that kind of book.Tomorrow, I will surely change diapers again, have food spilled on me, and spend time putting the kids to sleep. Being busy is the daily routine. Even so, I thought I would try to look at my children's faces a little more closely.




Even though they were so small.
Someday, the day will come when I think that.

And that is surely a happy thing. I think it is also proof that I am keeping my children firmly in my memory.

If anyone has read it, I would be happy if you could tell me in the comments about your favorite scene in 'Anna ni Anna ni' or what you remembered after reading it.