Image source: Manga-News — via manga-news.com
Children's publisher L'école des loisirs and its Le Renard Doré imprint added four new Japanese illustrated picture books to their catalog. Beyond the previously covered The First Journey of Pisuke, three additional titles were recently revealed, each a 40-page color book suitable for ages 3 and up, priced at 15 euros. One of these introduces writer Etsuko Bushika, known for warm, realistic stories about children's everyday experiences, paired with prolific illustrator Shigeki Suezaki's expressive, colorful art style. Its story follows a giant camphor tree home to a nine-story community watched over by a guardian mole named Glaise; when a curious frog discovers the tree and falls down its stairs, the residents help her, and she learns about mutual aid and solidarity before deciding to settle there. Another of the new titles features the gentle writing of Kazuyo Toda.