Sato the Rabbit, Morning Light [Forthcoming!]
Sato the Rabbit, Morning Light [Forthcoming!]
OUT JULY 15, 2025! Please note that due to shipping costs, all the books included in the same order as Sato the Rabbit, Morning Light will ship together, in July 2025.
Written & illustrated by Yuki Ainoya
Translated from Japanese by Michael Blaskowsky
Follow along on Sato the Rabbit’s wondrous adventures with light, in this fourth installment of the popular series from Japan!
Every morning, Sato the Rabbit opens his eyes to the soft light of day, ready to embrace all that the universe has in store for him. One day, the bright morning light that peeks out from his curtains becomes a bar that transports him to a forest, where he gathers dappled sunlight into a warm fire and sets the night dew aglow. Another day, Sato wakes up to find his room transformed into a lighthouse floating on the big, wide ocean, where he scoops up the light that comes through the colorful glass windows to create a special signal that ushers in fish and seabirds bearing wonderful treats.
The fourth in the Sato the Rabbit series, this is a charming picture book for all those who imagine and play and dream, who find magic in the everyday, and who open themselves up to wonder.
ISBN: 978-1-59270-439-2 • 7” (W) x 8” (H) • 40 pages • HCJ
REVIEWS
"Have you encountered Sato the Rabbit before? If not, you’re in for a treat." —Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production (A School Library Journal blog)
PRAISE FOR THE SATO THE RABBIT SERIES
A 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book
A 2021 Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of 2021
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of 2021
A 100 Scope Notes Most Astonishingly Unconventional Book of 2021
A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of 2022
“Our hero in this compact little picture book is a boy who wears a rabbit costume and sees all sorts of wonderful possibilities in the world… The soft lines and delectable colors of Ms. Ainoya’s pictures, and their charming details, will have 4- to 8-year-olds wishing they could climb into Sato’s world. Their parents may wish it, too.” —The Wall Street Journal
STARRED REVIEW! ★ “Sato... walks upright through a natural world reminiscent of the Chirri & Chirra series—one that offers enchanting and sometimes droll revelations… Each episode is over in a few pages, and every one offers kaleidoscopic, pleasingly sensorial images made for dreaming on.” —Publishers Weekly
STARRED REVIEW! ★ “In a set of seven small vignettes that span the seasons, Sato’s daily activities—watering the garden, doing the laundry, splashing in puddles—turn into magic. Paintings in a naive style burst with saturated color—watermelon red, night-sky blue, spring chartreuse. For fans of Doi’s Chirri & Chirra books, this import provides another cozy glimpse into mystery, independence, and imaginative play.” —The Horn Book
STARRED REVIEW! ★ “Captures the imaginative wonder of a child’s perspective and embraces a genuine but never cloying whimsy… The artwork pops with color and texture and depicts beautiful, dreamlike vistas. Sato endears himself to readers; he is inquisitive, clever, and generous.” —Kirkus Reviews
STARRED REVIEW! ★ “Haneru Sato, the most imaginative Japanese boy in a bunny suit to ever grace the page, returns. And who better to guide readers along a journey of absolute imagination? … In Sato’s world, it’s not that nothing is what it seems; instead, everything is exactly what it seems to be when viewed from his unique perspective. A beautiful addition to all collections.” —School Library Journal
STARRED REVIEW! ★ “Sato, in text and (gorgeous) pictures, is industrious, curious, experimental, and focused, using the found materials around him to fashion inventions (a curtain made of rain, a rolled-up red carpet made of fallen leaves) that enhance his surroundings and provide an arena for his imagination. In other words, Sato is every child at play.” —The Horn Book