Sato the Rabbit

Sato the Rabbit #1

by Yuki Ainoya, Michael Blaskowsky (Translator)

Adventure along with Sato the Rabbit as puddles on the ground become doors into the sky and stars fall into his fishing net to light the darkest night.

Do you ever wonder what wonderful things might be hiding in the world that we can’t immediately see? What stories your breakfast would tell you if it could talk, or where your pet would take you in its dreams? Haneru Sato thinks such things, so one day, he decides to find out how the world will change if he changes a little, too. He becomes a rabbit and discovers a world where every corner is a door to somewhere new and the simplest actions lead in unexpected directions. Coming from Japan, this whimsical book is the first in a trilogy.

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Japan, Juvenile, Kids

68 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 2021

About the author

Born in Yokohama, Yuki Ainoya studied Japanese painting at the Tama Art University Faculty of Art and Design. She was the winner of the the Crayon House Children's Book Grand Prize in 1990 and the 12th Japanese Children's Book Award in 2007 for the original Japanese edition of Sato the Rabbit (Shogakuan). In her spare time, she likes playing the accordion and hula dancing.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Put on a rabbit costume and shift your perspective - Donnie Darko with a positive slant!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure imagination.

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

These tiny stories are quite unique - charming, quirky and a imaginatively surreal in a sweet and comforting way! We enjoyed them a lot!

[Elsa Leuty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each story is like one of those little dreams you have when you fall back to sleep after your alarm goes off. I bet it's incredible in the original Japanese.

[Kristin Guay · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, it took me a while to warm up to this book. It is very imaginative and creative, but I was concerned some of it might get lost on young children. Then I realized that there are aspects of it that remind me a lot of Goodnight Moon, and then I realized young kids will enjoy it very much. There are seven little stories in this book entitled “A Tiny Pond”, “A Sea of Grass”, “A Night of Stars”, “Watermelon”, “A Window to the Sky”, “Walnuts”, and “Forest Ice”. Each story features a little boy named Sato, who is now a rabbit, and his adventures in nature. It is fun to see how one scene morphs into another and creates special adventures for this little rabbit. For example, white laundry hanging on the clothesline against a backdrop of long green grass eventually changes from billowing laundry to clouds floating in the sky, as the grass color changes from green to sky blue. One part I really liked was when Sato was peering into large puddles on the ground after a rainfall. He could see the pink sky and the white clouds reflected in the water. One puddle really caught his attention and he reached down and opened it up--just like you would a manhole in the road. This opened up to a beautiful world of pinks and white, just like the sky. This book is very creative, but that is exactly what I loved about it.

The illustrations provided by Yuki Ainoya are beautiful, with soft pastel colors creating a very soothing and peaceful feel. There is just as much story in the illustrations as there is in the text, so readers will want to take their time and really absorb this story slowly. I think the illustrations will lead to some fun conversations with young children.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short surreal and whimsical stories, all of them gentle and fun. The author is certainly creative and comes up with the unique ideas. I especially liked the story about cracking open walnuts to discover miniature worlds inside.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally absurd. I love it.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully whimsical and imaginative series of vignettes. I could have read a million of these.

[Chance Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

MAGIC

[Spudpuppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this existed when I was a kid bc it would’ve changed my life

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1-iv...

[gwayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommendation by way of Point Reyes Books newsletter

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In brief, surreal stories, Sato the Rabbit enjoys whimsical adventures that will delight young readers. These books take unexpected turns that ignite imagination, channeling the spirit of: Where the Wild Things Are, Julia's House, and Sam Usher's granddad series.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual, imaginative vignettes of a boy who decides to become a rabbit.

[Rainbow Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sato The Rabbit by Yuki Ainoya is a whimsical picture book packed with imagination, making it a fabulous addition to every little one’s library.

Originally published in Japan, Sato The Rabbit is being published in English for the first time, translated by Michael Blaskowsky. This is the first book in a trilogy, introducing us to a young boy named Haneru Sato, who becomes a rabbit and finds a dreamy world filled with extraordinary possibilities.

Sato The Rabbit is divided into seven tales and almost feels like an introduction to short stories for young readers. I can see reading one of these to my son for a bedtime story every night in the same way I read a short story before bed.

Starting with “A Tiny Pond”, where we discover a small pond is blowing water into the hose Sato uses to water his plants, all the way to “Forest Ice”, in which Sato experiences different emotions by drinking melted ice from different seasons, the collection provides a completely unique reading experience.

Yuki Ainoya’s beautiful illustrations bring Sato’s imaginary world to life, and the full-page spreads make you feel like you’ve truly escaped reality for just a moment.

I would like to thank Enchanted Lion for providing me with a review copy of Sato The Rabbit. This book was incredibly unique and an absolute delight to read.

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[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sato became a rabbit one day and has been one ever since. Told in short chapters, Sato goes about his days. He waters the plants around his house using a very long hose, a very special hose. In the second story, there is a sea of grass where Sato hangs his laundry that soon becomes a rollicking sea of water. A meteor storm becomes a way to light a path. A watermelon becomes a boat. After the rain, puddles reflect the sky, giving Sato a portal to the clouds. Walnut shell halves lead to unique little worlds of their own. Colored ice from the forest lets Sato taste emotions.

It’s a marvelously surreal little picture book that invites readers into Sato’s imagination as he explores the world around his home. It’s particularly marvelous that each of the inspiring elements is ever so normal, from laundry hanging near grass to eating watermelon or walnuts. The text is perfectly descriptive of what is happening, not giving away when reality becomes magical, just stating things frankly.

The art is bright and colorful, using the white space on the page to create smaller illustrations and then suddenly move to full-page spreads that delight. The colors used are deep and rich, allowing Sato in his white rabbit outfit to really stand out on each page.

Wild and imaginative, this book invites children to join in the fun. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A child named Haneru Sato decides to become a rabbit. Readers follow the little white rabbit with a child’s face through seven short chapters in this highly imaginative picture book. Dreamlike and fanciful, each adventure is as much a flight of fancy as it is a plunge into gorgeous colors and shapes. Sato catches stars during a meteor shower, and the yellow glow guides a family of bears on a moonless night; he eats delicious watermelon which becomes a boat in the sea; while cracking open walnuts, he discovers miniature treasures inside each shell – loaves of bread, a warm bath – and when he covers his eyes with the shells, he finds himself beneath a sky full of stars. The ocean, clouds, the night sky, reflections – these are the cosmic places Sato explores in each beautifully wrought adventure. Simple, brief poetic text and illustrations in rounded shapes, in light and dark toned pastel colors, add to the feeling of wonder.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think children have enormous imaginations. I think imagination expansion is an effort appropriate to adults. I think children have opposite struggles. I think they are trying to solidify their concept of the real world, get a hold of their imaginations so that they can act powerfully on a shared perceptual plane. And I think this book is capable of radically undoing the underpinnings of their effort. I think it is so gratuitously disconnected from every day reality as to be frightening for children, even if they don't say so. It's unsettling.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imaginative and strange, Sato the rabbit sees the world in a wholly different way. For instance, after cracking open a walnut, he finds "shelves of delicious bread on one side, and fragrant hot coffee on the other. There's a warm bath and a comfy bed in another." I wish I could read this book in its original Japanese as I wonder if some of its charm is lost in translation.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful whimsical picture book from Japan. I'm thrilled to see that this is an intended trilogy.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the creativity of this book and how imaginative it was!

[Erin]

Delightful in many ways. Once Sato puts on his rabbit suit, he has many dreamlike, surreal adventures that are just joyful.

[Elissa Schaeffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a sweet book--I had a smile on my face the entire time. The illustrations were fantastic.

[Gloria B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Younger Readers
Title: Sato the Rabbit by Yuki Ainoya (physical book)
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Source: Association for Library Service to Children American Library Association Award: A Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book 2022 https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants...
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Book Review:
Quote:
“Sato finds an especially luminous puddle… and tries opening it. Now Sato waits for another rainy day to find the next window to the sky” (Ainoya, 2006/2021, pp. 35-36). This describes one of the magical elements that Sato encounters in his world.
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Summary:
The story “Sato the Rabbit” is about Haneru Sato, who became a rabbit and looks at the world through his poet’s eyes. Sato’s unique perspective on the world takes readers on a relaxing, whimsical, yet exciting adventure. Sato’s magical encounters inspire readers to look at ordinary events and items from a new perspective. During Sato’s magical adventure, he waters his garden with the water that the pond is blowing out of his mouth, flies away through the ocean using his laundry sheets, catches the shooting stars to brighten up the night, travels the ocean in a floating watermelon, finds a window that connects the sky and the puddle of rain, and finds a whole new world inside walnut shells.
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Literary and aesthetic, visual features:
This story’s subtype of the genre is low fantasy, as Sato encounters magical elements in his ordinary life and events Temple et al., 2019, p. 26).

The story is told from a third-person perspective and is narrated based on Sato’s unique view of the world Temple et al., 2019, p. 41).

The plot follows Sato’s daily routines through an imaginative lens of the world. This helps the readers get to know him better as a character and visualize the scenes in Sato’s world Temple et al., 2019, p. 33).

The author uses sparse words throughout the pages to create dramatic suspense as Sato encounters magical elements in his world.

The author sets a cozy, relaxing mood throughout the story by using soft paintbrush strokes, soft paint colors, and smooth/round edges in illustrations. The soft colors and round lines used for illustration on the cover page, title page, book jacket, and end cover help to create an overall serene mood for the readers.

The story enhances Sato’s whimsical adventure by personifying the pond to blow water from its mouth.

The author sets a melancholy mood by using different shades of blue when Sato tastes sorrow, a sad flavor, from a drink with blue ice. On the other hand, the author brightens the mood and sets a warm mood by using different shades of orange to fill the happy aura in the room.

The story flows smoothly throughout the pages as the author includes descriptive details in the illustrations that closely follow Sato in his world. The author includes these details by zooming into Sato’s actions, which helps readers follow Sato’s movements with their eyes.

I read the story in the physical book. I enjoyed looking at the detailed illustrations in the physical book as I could see all the brush strokes, patterns, and drawing techniques the author used. I don't think an e-book could have captured the beautiful details, colors, and drawing techniques of the illustrations in the book.
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Classroom connection:
This book could be used for primary grades as a read-aloud and a mentor text for writing lessons.

This book could be used during a literacy block at a center for creative writing.

In writing lessons, students could do close-read with the teacher to study the author’s crafts, such as descriptive illustrations and telling the story step-by-step.

This book could also be used during a poetry unit to introduce “poets’ eyes.” The students could begin looking at the world from a fresh perspective using their “poets’ eyes.” Then, students can use these observations and turn them into short poems. It would be interesting for students to study different text directions in various cultures for inclusion and diversity lessons.

During May, the Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, students can read or listen to read-aloud books from Japan and other Asian countries.
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Diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice theme:
In Japanese culture, a person’s last name is said before his first name. The original Japanese book introduces the protagonist as “Sato Haneru” (last name, first name). However, in the translated book in English, he is introduced as “Haneru Sato” (first name, last name). In Japanese culture, people address others by their last name to show respect, especially if they are not close to them. In the translated version, the protagonist is still addressed as “Sato, " technically his last name, but American readers may think this is his first name without this background knowledge.

In Japanese culture, texts begin on the right side of the page and go downward. Then, the texts continue from top to bottom on the left of the first line. In the translated version, the texts are written in the traditional American direction from left to right, followed by the next line below the first line. In the translated version, all illustration directions have been flipped from (right to left) to (left to right) for American readers. These illustrations’ directions were all mirrored (flipped) to follow the American text direction. American readers would not have noticed these changes in the translated version without this prior knowledge.

Ainoya, Y. (2021). Sato the Rabbit. (M. Blaskowsky, Trans.). SHOGAKUKAN
(Original Work published 2006)

Temple et al. (2019). Children’s Books in Children’s Hands. (pp. 24-44). Pearson
Education, Inc.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haneru Sato became a rabbit one day. One day, while watering the garden, he imagines where the water comes from. While washing the laundry he imagines he's a ship and the grass is the ocean. He imagines catching stars during a meteor shower, which helps to light the moonless nights. His watermelon becomes a watermelon boat, he explores a luminous puddle and finds a window to the sky.

Many more adventures are in store for Sato the Rabbit in this delightful picture book. I loved the illustrations - the text is interactive so we follow a hose into the forest to see the pond blowing water into the hose. There's a page turn between the real and imaginary, giving the reader a moment to imagine for themselves. So many things can be imagined with a pair of walnut halves, or colored ice. A delightful read

Cross posted to http://kisssthebookjr.blogspot.com

[Martha Reitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I was not sure about this book because it seemed a little wacky at the beginning with Sato putting on the rabbit costume, but I grew to enjoy it. Sato turns everyday chores or little actions into a creative adventure using his imagination. Little things like eating watermelon or doing laundry turns into a new scene from his imagination. It is very cute, and I believe demonstrates how to find joys in the little things in life.

I would definitely use this book in my classroom. I think it would be a cute idea to have students pick an activity they do daily and turn it into a creative and unique story to write in their journals. It could be something like taking a bath and telling a story about a pirate ship battle. I believe that students would love the opportunity to use their imagination and turn every tasks into an adventure.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enchanting exploration of the imagination, beautifully brought to life with surreal illustrations. The story follows Sato, a boy/rabbit who embarks on magical adventures where everyday objects and moments transform into imaginative landscapes. Each page invites readers into Sato’s unique perspective, where garden hoses lead to ponds with “blowing water,” stars can be collected like fireflies, and watermelons serve as delightful boats.

Ainoya’s storytelling will spark curiosity and creative thinking in its readers with its gentle et richly vibrant art. The quiet charm and philosophical undertones will intrigue young children, while its focus on nature and wonder is so well put - there is no forcing here of ideas just simple exploration. Sato offers readers a soft escape into a world where imagination is vital and simple moments reveal fantastical possibilities. Thank you, Elsa!

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022 ALA Mildred Batchelder Honor book, translated from Japanese by Michael Blaskowsky

Haneru Sato wonders how things would be if he were a bit different, so he becomes off to explore his world in a a myriad of different ways from watering his garden, communicating with a pond, using the wind to sail off elsewhere, explore the stars, go sailing in a delicious watermelon, find alternative world in the reflections in rain puddles, taste ice from different seasons. “ but what Saito likes best of all is floating a little ice of each color in milk and drinking it.
As each piece of ice slowly melts, Sato enjoys sipping stories late into the night. “
Delightful flights of imagination just a tad askew anf brought to live with clear, vividly colored illustrations.

[Maughn Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story begins: "One day, Haneru Sato became a rabbit. He's been a rabbit ever since." The book front cover flap tells us that "Sato [...] decides to find out how the world will change if he changes a little bit, too." And in reviewing the book for the New York Times Sunday Book Review, Jennifer Krauss tells us that "while Sato wears a costume, his sensory nature has been transformed." The illustrations do make it clear that Sato is a boy wearing a costume. In any case, whether what happens to Sato is meant to be read as fantasy or as the result of his own sensitivity and imagination, each story is equally charming and philosophically arresting. This first book in a trilogy about Sato won the 2007 Japanese Children’s Book Award -- I can't wait to read the other two!

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a long picture book with a few sentences per page (at most) and lots of illustrations. It's divided up into little chapters/stories though and they are unrelated to one another. Someone else in their review mentioned the The Runaway Bunny vibe and I can see that now. Overall, I just found the book to be kind of strange. I wonder if something gets lost in translation. I really liked the watermelon chapter though!