《Picture Book Review》 Dozo no Isu (The 'Please' Chair)

Good evening!

It was exceptionally hot from the morning today.
It feels like a distant memory that the cherry blossoms have already fallen. (Haha)

Well then, let's get started tonight!
The picture book I will be reviewing is [Dozo no Isu].

The author is Yoshiko Kayama.
The illustrations are by Kozo Kakimoto.

The first edition was in November 1981.


《About the Story》

A rabbit made a small chair and placed it under a tree in a field.

Next to it, he also put up a sign that said 'The Please Chair'.

One day, a donkey came by, left a basket filled with acorns, and while he was taking a nap...

Read for 40 years, what it wants to convey is the feeling of 'Please'. It is a masterpiece picture book that stays in your heart.


《10 Things I Like》

① The cover features the rabbit who made the 'Please Chair', and it's cute. The fact that he attached a short tail to the chair is also lovely.

② The endpapers use orange-toned paper, perhaps because the season is autumn, which creates a sense of unity with the story.

③ The title lettering is also wonderful, using a font that seems to be a motif of the wood used for the chair.

④ The illustrations are drawn with a good tempo as the animals eating and the food change, making it look delicious and cute.

⑤ The text also has a very gentle structure where, while the donkey is napping, the animals eat the food placed on the 'Please Chair' and leave their own food on the chair instead.

⑥ The warm touch and color palette further highlight the gentle aspects of the story.

⑦ The layout of the text is also consistent, making it easy for the reader to read.

⑧ The fact that not a single person just eats the food, but instead thinks about the next person, feels very Japanese.

⑨ It's funny how the donkey is confused while still half-asleep.

⑩ The ending is a happy one, with the 'Please Chair' dyed in the sunset in the background.


《Trying to Read Aloud》

My daughters (7 and 5 years old) said,

'The chair the bunny made looks like bunny ears, it's so cute! ♡'

'I wonder why the donkey doesn't wake up, too. Surely, the sound of them eating must be noisy, right?'

'The bear is eating with his mouth wide open, so it's going to disappear quickly!'

That's what they said. (lol)

I read this aloud thinking that this 'Please Chair' is a bundle of kindness and that this is truly the spirit of equality.


《Closing Words》

The 'Please Chair' that the rabbit thought of and made creates a chain of kindness, doesn't it.

Thinking of the person after you, but still unable to overcome your own desires (lol)

I wonder what it is, perhaps it's like a warning or a purification. But I think all's well that ends well.

Perhaps it's also true that because we have desires, we can be kind to others.

☆彡

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