Stories drawn by children, stories no one knows yet

At night, I turn down the lights in the room.
When I switch on the reading lamp by the bed, my child, peeking out from under the covers, looks half-sleepy and half-excited.

As I open the picture book, beyond the pages,
a world just for the two of us, my child and me, begins to unfold.

This time,
is my favorite part of the day as a parent.

“Mom, this caterpillar is saying thank you to the leaf for being so delicious.”

That's right, a child is both a “reader” and
a “creator.”

Stories that come out of nowhere.
Colorful lines spreading across the drawing paper.
These are surely,
fragments of the world the child has seen with their heart.

A power to give shape to feelings, even before they have the words.
So many wonders and straightforward emotions that adults would never think of.

“That’s amazing,”
I think.

Let’s take each of these things the child has drawn,
and turn them into the form of a picture book.

Not to show anyone else, but simply to preserve “the world this child is seeing right now”—.

When the pictures and stories they create become a book,
for the child,
“their own world”
brings the joy of ownership, and they gain confidence in their ability to create.

“Picture Book Galaxy Station” is a project that started from that very idea.
It is a place for children and parents to come together, where they can edit the child's drawings, words, and creations into a one-of-a-kind picture book for the world.

— Between us, this project was originally born from the desire of Ayu, a professional editor, to preserve her child's work.

I also run an activity called the “Parent-Child Welcome Station” to support parents of children who are not attending school, and it feels like a chemical reaction occurred with Ayu’s vision.

When you turn them into a “picture book,”
rather than just leaving them on a smartphone,
a much, much more certain “reality” remains for the future.

Stories drawn by children, stories no one knows yet.
Trying to gently catch those fragments in the palm of your hand.
Maybe it wouldn't be a bad way to spend the summer.

▶ Apply for the free online information session (July 7, 2025, from 21:00)