Browse Books in Translation

Written by Betina Birkjær
Illustrated byAnna Margrethe Kjærgaard
Translated from Danish by Sinéad Quirke Køngerskov

Stump loves being with his grandparents. His days with them are filled with flowers, jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, and so much love! But one day, Stump's grandfather starts to be forgetful, losing his words, which the illustrations how as falling away from him. Stump tries his best to keep his grandfather’s lost words safe, by collecting them in a special box. But Grandpa seems to forget more and more every day, and before long, Stump and Grandma realize that they must find new ways to connect with Grandpa, to maintain their bond of love and show him that he's not alone.

This poignant, tender picture book depicts the warmth of the relationship between grandchild and grandparents, as well as the struggle of coping with a loved one's dementia with honesty and sensitivity. Following the story, there is an afterword to the adult reader about dementia and recollection, written by the head of the Danish Center for Reminiscence, which provides some practical tips, such as those depicted in the story (familiar smells, sharing items from the past), for establishing a meaningful way of being together when caring for a relative with dementia.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-373-9

8” (W) x 10” (H) • 44 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: December 14, 2021

Written by Glenn Ringtved
Illustrated by Charlotte Pardi
Translated from Danish by Robert Moulthrop

Aware their grandmother is gravely ill, four siblings make a pact to keep death from taking her away. But Death arrives all the same. He comes gently, naturally. And he comes with enough time to share a story with the children that helps them to realize the value of loss to life and the importance of being able to say goodbye.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-187-2
8.5" (W) x 12" (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: February 16, 2016

Written by Élise Fontenaille

Illustrated by Violeta Lópiz

Translated from the French by Karin Snelson and Emilie Robert Wong

With lush art by two-time NYT Best Illustrated recipient Violeta Lópiz, a picture book about a boy and his larger-than-life immigrant grandfather, who shares with him the kind of learning that’s not taught in classrooms.

At six years old, the child-narrator of this picture book loves nothing more than spending time with his grandpa, Luis—especially in his marvelous garden, where green beans reach as high as the sky. Luis’s garden is where the little boy practices reading and writing. But just as importantly, it’s also where he learns wonderful things from Luis, like the names of all the birds in the trees and new expressions that are so much fun to say. Luis's playful vocabulary is as vibrant and full of life as his garden, and phrases that are particular to his way of talking, like "at the drop of a cat" (which means right away), are soon adapted into the little boy's lexicon, too.

A talented cook, artist, and gardener, Luis has much wisdom to impart and many experiences to share with his grandson—even though, as a war refugee, he never went to school himself and never learned to read and write. A loving testament to the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and the breathtaking beauty of the natural world, illustrated with evocative, multilayered art by Violeta Lópiz.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-382-1

8.25” (W) x 11.3” (H) • 36 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: January 24, 2023

Written and illustrated by Jacques Goldstyn
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

This is a charming, touching story about an imaginative boy whose best friend is an oak tree named Bertolt. The boy admits to being an outsider, but insists that while he is alone, he is never lonely. Being independent suits him, and he considers his difference to be his advantage. This book is about the imagination and the wonderful ways in which we nurture ourselves in the process of becoming who we are, and because Bertolt dies in a winter's storm, it is also a book about finitude and loss, sorrow and acceptance.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-2299
7" (W) x 9" (H) • 80 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: March 14, 2017

Written by Nadine Brun-Cosme
Illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

Big Wolf lives alone under a tree at the top of a hill. He is alone, but happy. One day, another wolf arrives: a little wolf. Without a word, Little Wolf sits down next to Big Wolf. He stays all night and all the next day. At first, Big Wolf is suspicious and worried that Little Wolf will grow bigger and become a rival. After a while, however, he starts to feel fond of his small companion. That night, he decides to let Little Wolf share his blanket. The next day, he shares some of his lunch. Just as Big Wolf is starting to get used to his new friend, Little Wolf disappears. Big Wolf is too proud to cry, but the reader cannot miss the great emotion that overwhelms him. Big Wolf loses his appetite and cannot sleep. He spends his time staring at the horizon, waiting for Little Wolf to return, but without the slightest reason to hope that he will.

Will Little Wolf return? If he does, Big Wolf’s heart might just burst with joy. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

ISBN: 978-1-59270-084-4
9.5" (W) x 11.75" (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

Written by Nadine Brun-Cosme
Illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

High, high up in a tree is a little leaf. Little Wolf dreams of touching and even eating this leaf. In fact, he wants nothing more. The only problem is that his little leaf refuses to fall.

Big Wolf is willing to do anything to make Little Wolf happy, so one winter’s morning, Big Wolf says, “I’m going up.” At first, his climb up the big tree goes smoothly, but the higher he goes, the more slippery and dangerous it gets. Little Wolf waits below, wondering whether his little leaf is worth such trouble after all. Climbing to the top of a frost covered tree isn’t easy. What if something happens to Big Wolf?

Big Wolf & Little Wolf: The Little Leaf that Wouldn’t Fall is a lovely story about two friends and the many ways in which friendship teaches patience, boldness, and love.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-088-2
9.5" (W) x 11.75" (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: November 1, 2009

Written by Joy Sorman
Illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Translated from French by Sarah Klinger

Blob the fish is excited. He's just won the ugliest animal in the world contest! But the popularity and fame that accompany Blob's win soon go to his head. And the loneliness of his new title goes to his heart. And of course, fame doesn't last forever.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-207-7
7.38" (W) x 10" (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: October 31, 2017

Written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna

Child of Glass is about Gisele, a fragile, strong, transparent girl who denounces the meanness that can mark life in the world. In sparse, poetic language that all of us, however young or old, can understand, Child of Glass reminds us of our birthright to become ourselves. Freedom isn’t about accepting what is; it’s about asking the questions and taking the actions that allow us to be at home in the world.

A story about difference, exclusion, and ultimately self-acceptance, Child of Glass explores the interplay between inner and outer and the journey we have to go on to become ourselves.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-303-6

8" (W) x 10" (H) • 52 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: December 3, 2017

Written and illustrated by André François
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

Originally published in 1956 Crocodile Tears is apicture book from the famous graphic designer and illustrator André François that tells how to catch a crocodile by going to Egypt. And it tells how to get a crocodile home, and even what happens after that! A smart, fun, gorgeous classic!

ISBN: 978-1-59270-227-5
10.63" (W) x 3.38" (H) • 44 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: March 14, 2017

Written and illustrated by Rémi Courgeon
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

Feather is about a musical girl who is also tenacious, tough, and a real fighter. Living in a household consisting of her father and three brothers, Feather often gets the short end of the stick, meaning the laundry, cooking, and grocery shopping. One afternoon, she gets a black eye and all her plans change. This is a great book about being a girl, taking charge, and realizing your dreams!

ISBN: 978-1-59270-210-7
9.25" (W) x 12.38" (H) • 36 pages • Hardcover Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: August 22, 2017

Written by Michaël Escoffier
Illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

The final book in Michaël Escoffier and Kris Di Giacomo's surprising, clever, and fun wordplay trilogy that includes Take Away the A and Where's the Baboon? Here you will find ridiculously delightful art, an engaging narrative, and wordplay that will keep even preschoolers deeply engaged.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-201-5
8.25" (W) x 11.75" (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date:

Written by Sylvaine Jaoui
Illustrated by Anne Crahay
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

The growth of a tree and of a child parallel each other in this exquisitely constructed die-cut picture book about our nestedness in the natural world.

I am a seed.
I grow bigger and bigger each day.
I’m starting to become who I am.

So begins this story, which is also how a child’s life begins… as does a tree’s. With an affirming, poetic text and gorgeous, delicate art as revealed through die-cuts on almost every spread, I’m Like a Tree and a Tree’s Like Me is a beautiful picture book about how we begin, how we grow, how we’re nourished, and how we live. By drawing parallels between a growing child and a growing tree, author Sylvaine Jaoui and illustrator Anne Crahay remind us of the myriad ways that humans and plants are connected as living beings.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-424-8

8.5” (W) x 11” (H) • 44 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: April 15, 2025

Written by Thomas Scotto
Illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick and Karin Snelson

This story follows a little boy named Raphael, whose daily rhythm is steeped in his immense affection for his friend Jerome. The two boys share jokes and snacks and plan future adventures to the Himalayas. Even when Raphael’s constant talk of Jerome is driving his parents crazy, he remains steadfast: “Raphael loves Jerome. I can say it. It’s easy.” And the truth is, when he’s with Jerome, Raphael feels happy, liked, and understood―even special. Thomas Scotto’s simple, strong, and insightful prose and Olivier Tallec’s delightful, expressive illustrations give much emotion and immediacy to the story.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-250-3
11.1" (W) x 8.8" (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: April 3, 2018

Written and illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

Being a hero is hard! Check-out these mini heroes as they ride the emotional rollercoaster of life.

Clad in bright suits that bespeak their daring deeds, these mini heroes live their daily lives assailed by all sorts of difficulty and disaster. Whether jumping rope on the playground, eating towers of ice-cream, or hanging upside-down from the ceiling, they are never short of plans and prospects! Sometimes, it’s true, they have to pause, which may be the greatest challenge of all.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-290-9
7" (W) x 8.25" (H) • 56 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: August 27, 2019

Written by Germano Zullo
Illustrated by Albertine
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

A man drives his truck up to a cliff's edge. Unable to go any further, he opens the back door of his truck and a flock of birds flies out, but, as the man soon discovers, a small timid bird remains. Surprised and delighted, the man acts kindly towards the bird and an intimacy develops. After lunch, the man tries to show the bird that he should fly off and join his friends. The man's comic attempt at flight deepens the encounter between these two very different creatures. Soon the bird flies off and the man drives away, but in a surprise twist the bird and his friends return, and in a starkly lyrical moment we see them all experience something entirely new.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-118-6
8.38" (W) x 8.38" (H) • 72 pages • Hardcover Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: March 20, 2012

Written by India Desjardins
Illustrated by Pascal Blanchet
Translated from French by Carolyn Grifel

Marguerite will no longer leave her house, not even on Christmas. She prefers to stay home, rather than take the risk of falling or coming down with a cold. She settles into the solitude and isolation of her safe, interior world. But just as she's about to enjoy a peaceful dinner in front of the TV, her doorbell rings . . . This is a touching story about overcoming fear and the role of chance in life.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-178-0
8.5" (W) x 11.2" (H) • 72 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 14 and up

Publication Date: November 3, 2015

Written by Noémie Révah
Illustrated by Olimpia Zagnoli
Translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

A book about patterns and personalities, Mister Horizontal & Miss Vertical tells us a story about two very different people who come together even though they like very different things.

This story was inspired by a René Maltête photograph in which a father wears horizontal stripes, a mother vertical stripes, and their child sports a checkered shirt. This boldly graphic concept book is built around lines and their direction.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-161-2
8.38" (W) x 10.25" (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: October 28, 2014

Written and illustrated by Gaëtan Dorémus
Translated from French by Sarah Klinger

Told from two different perspectives, My Baby Crocodile is about a chance meeting between a crocodile and what he believes to be a "baby crocodile." This meeting profoundly changes their lives, which then continue along their own individual paths, though the bonds of love and intimacy remain. The story plays with ideas about the relationship between parent and child as well as with those about how how deeply chance and the choices we make affect us throughout our lives.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-192-6
9" (W) x 13" (H) • 56 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: April 12, 2016

Written & illustrated by Gaëtan Dorémus

Translated from French by Emilie Robert Wong

A bear cub sets out to discover the world—with a little encouragement from a nearby parent—in this charming picture book from the author-illustrator of New York Times Best Illustrated Book Bear Despair.

The best way to explore the world is on all fours! With its four little paws, a curious bear cub dances across pebbles, feels the tickling grass, splishes and splashes in puddles. So delightful are the curious cub’s encounters that even prickly weeds or a little tumble are just part of the fun!

From sensory experience to sensory experience, the bear cub goes on a journey of discovery and surprise that leads it far away from where it started. Perhaps even too far away? Help!! But the moment of panic is soon resolved when the cub is lifted up by two loving arms into a big hug from a parent.​

From acclaimed author-illustrator Gaëtan Dorémus, a charming, brightly colored picture book about exploration, play, budding independence, and security.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-388-3

7.3” (W) x 8.9” (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 0-3

Publication Date: Jan 21, 2025

Written and illustrated by Kerascoët
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

Paul is neat, Antoinette is messy. Paul wants to stay inside and work on his model ships, Antoinette wants to go outside and find bugs. We have seen a few great odd couples in picture books already, but filled with possibility as the world is, there's always room for one more pair, especially if they are as charming and unforgettable as these pigs, born from the brushes and prolific imagination of Kerascoët.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-196-4
8.2" (W) x 10.2" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: November 15, 2016

Written & illustrated by Icinori

Translated from French by Emilie Robert Wong

This magnificent new title from Icinori starts as a word book of things to be thankful for and turns into a thrilling adventure story along the way.

What starts as a series of “thank yous” addressed to common objects that inhabit our daily lives gradually builds into a fantastic journey across landscapes, seasons, and inner discoveries. Deceptively simple, each page acknowledges the contributions of a different object (spoon, rock, beasts) or concept (summer, slumber, surprise), with each image building on the next to create a dazzling narrative that invites readers to puzzle and play, explore and discover, appreciate and marvel. Aaron Becker’s Journey meets Carter Higgins’s Circle Under Berry in this visual tour de force and invitation to look at the world with new eyes.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-423-1

8.6” (W) x 8.6” (H) • 176 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: December 10, 2024

Written and illustrated by Delphine Durand
Translated from French by Sarah Klinger and Delphine Durand

A book full of advice about caring for a flop! What is a flop? A flop is malleable, can’t make a telephone call on its own, can’t wear a collar, and many other things besides. There are also hundreds of different sorts of flops. In a humorous, pseudo-scientific guide, Delphine Durand creates a world teeming with flops, describing their characteristics and lifestyles with great humor and precision.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-260-2
7" (W) x 9.38" (H) • 64 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: July 16, 2019

Written by Kirsten Hall
Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe

A gold leaf appears in the forest. As soon as the animals notice it, each wants it more than anything else in the world. But in their struggle for it, the leaf is destroyed. Heartbroken, the animals wonder: Will we ever again see such a leaf?

ISBN: 978-1-59270-214-5
8.5" (W) x 11.2" (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: May 2, 2017

Written & illustrated by Blexbolex
Translated from French by Karin Snelson

It’s a graphic novel! It’s an art book! It’s an action-packed fantasy adventure from French visionary Blexbolex, for readers young and old.

In the corner of a quiet, long-abandoned house, something is bubbling up and protesting. Suddenly, out from their hiding spots burst three young shapeshifting magicians—an elephant, a blackbird, and a human girl—each of whom embarks on their own journey. But a fierce young Huntress and a mechanical lion-dragon named Clinker are hot on their trails... and won't rest until every last magician is vanquished.

Fans of Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's work or The Wizard of Oz will feel right at home in the pages of The Magicians, with its fabulously eclectic characters and entertaining, suspenseful, dreamlike story inspired by video games, science fiction, fantasy, and fairy tales. Magic is the beating heart of this multi-world universe—the magic of nature, the magic of childhood, the magic of creativity and imagination. Here, Blexbolex celebrates the mysterious, beautiful mess of life.

Every gorgeous page features a silkscreen-style illustration that brilliantly layers three Pantone spot colors, in a festive palette that suggests “vintage circus.” From the heavy cardstock binding with French flaps, to the bronze metallic endpapers, to the book's paper evoking that of classic comic books, Blexbolex carefully selected the materials that would best realize his vision. The result? A visually stunning work of art.

Blexbolex is an award-winning French graphic artist living in Berlin. Enchanted Lion Books has previously published English translations of four of his picture books, including People, Vacation, and two New York Times Best Illustrated selections: Seasons and Ballad.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-404-0

8.7” (W) x 10.8 (H) • 210 Pages • Paperback

A truly extraordinary gift for children and adults of any age.

Publication Date: November 7, 2023

Written by Nadine Robert

Illustrated by Valerio Vidali

Sometimes all you need is someone who accepts you as you are.

This is a subtle story about an elephant who is down in the dumps. Illustrated with a striking contrast between shadow and light, the moody blue elephant appears to live in a different world from his colorful savannah friends. Empathy is a tricky emotion for children and adults alike to grasp, but The Shadow Elephant manages to walk the thin blue line between sadness, understanding, and emotional connection. Sometimes, it’s okay to be sad and to show it. It’s also okay not to have a quick fix. Better, in fact, to acknowledge someone else’s feelings without judgement, which can be the very best gift of all.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-312-8

11 ⅝” (W) x 9 ⅝” (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: October 13, 2020

Written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

Eddie is five and a half, and thinks she is the only one in her family who isn’t really good at something. So when she hears her little sister say “birthday—Mommy—fluffy—little—squishy,” it’s extra important for her to find this amazing present before anyone else does. So, gregarious, charming, clever little Eddie goes all around the neighborhood to all her fabulous friends—the florist, the chic boutique owner, the antiques dealer, and even the intimidating butcher—to find one. It’s a magical adventure that draws on Eddie’s special gifts, ones that she herself learns to appreciate.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-180-3
8.9" (W) x 11.9" (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: September 1, 2015

Written by Jean-Pierre Siméon
Illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

What is a poem?

Arthur’s beloved fish, Leon, languishes in his bowl—he is suffering from boredom. “Hurry,” his mother says, “give him a poem!” Unsure of what a poem is, Arthur goes and looks for one in the pantry, in the closet, under his bed. Eventually he asks his neighbors, each of whom gives him a different response. In the end, Arthur tells Leon everything he has learned, finding that he might just be a poet after all.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-067-7
10.2" (W) x 10.2" (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: March 1, 2007

Written & illustrated by Olivier Tallec

In his first wordless picture book, Olivier Tallec shows the pointlessness of war through his smart, comic, emotionally astute illustrations.

Here Tallec portrays two characters, separated only by narrow walls, who watch each other ceaselessly through the seasons. Moving between day and night, long stretches at their binoculars, and mundane daily tasks, they fight their cold war, full of suspicion, never daring to bridge the gap between them.

As time passes, a snail shows up, and then a bird, and one day, to their utter surprise, they come face-to-face in a different way, and they discover that their differences don't make them enemies.

Waterloo & Trafalgar has a die-cut cover and interior section-cut flip pages, all of which contribute to allowing the reader to see things in different ways. And that, in the end, is so much of what this book is about: seeing and seeing otherwise.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-127-8

7.6 x 0.65 x 10.25 inches • 64 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: October 9, 2012

Written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna

Translated from the French by Karin Snelson and Emilie Robert Wong

In this dark adaptation of Snow White, acclaimed artist Beatrice Alemagna tells the story from the point of view of the jealous stepmother queen, to complicate the question of goodness and set into high relief the shadow side, with its capacity for evil, of human life.

Once upon a time, a child was born with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony: the princess Snow White. She is possessed of beauty and innocence, but there in the shadows lurks a queen who will remarry her widower father, a queen who is as empty and envious, as narcissistic and fractured as is every life that gets stuck in the endless reflecting pool or mirror of the self. Void of love, it is hatred that animates her. But like all true fairy tales, this story doesn't ask us to judge and condemn the queen and her hatred, but rather to consider the kinds of behaviors and situations that invite evil, and where true innocence or goodness might lie.

Following the first-person account of the queen, this picture book for older readers illuminates her blinding obsession and insatiable jealousy, right up to the point of her violent undoing. Told through a series of riveting, unsettling images as well as a bold adaptation of the Grimm's original text, this version of Snow White brilliantly puts us all in touch with the messy, shadowed, fraught, and fragile inwardness we each possess.

This is the second book to appear under Unruly, an imprint of picture books for older readers, and will include an author's note and a short note to readers about how it continues to build this experimental framework of visually complex, sophisticated picture books for teens and adults.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-381-4

9.75” (W) x 13.8” (H) • 96 Pages • Hardcover, featuring a special Swiss binding

This book, published under our Unruly Imprint, is for teens and adults.

Publication Date: October 25, 2022

Written by Thierry Lenain
Illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Translated from French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick

Sitting on an island, a young child watches the world. He observes its troubles and he thinks ​about how the world could be different, and better.

What if it was the child who decided to be born? Here, from the belly of his mother, now round like an island, the child looks out at the world. Despite all of the trouble and heartache, he decides to be born, strong in his belief that he can help make the world a better place. Stunningly illustrated by Olivier Tallec, with strong colors and sketchy lines, WHAT IF... is a book that gives us a sense of purpose in being born, reminding us that our task is caring for the world and for each other.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-281-7
11.68" (W) x 9.06" (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: April 30, 2019

Written by Dafna Ben-Zvi
Illustrated by Ofra Amit
Translated from Hebrew by Annette Appel

What do you do when you’re feeling so-so? Do you curl up in a ball or talk with a friend?

Snoozie is a cat who doesn’t like moving. Sunny is a dog who’s afraid of the rain. They’re very different, but they are the best of friends. One day, while playing on a balcony, they discover a small, timid dog buried in a basket who has been feeling “so-so” for quite some time. How will this chance encounter change all their lives?

Affectionately written by Dafna Ben-Zvi, with sweet and expressive illustrations by Ofra Amit, and translated from Hebrew by Annette Appel, this is a tender story about feeling sad and finding uplift in the presence of accepting friends. 

ISBN: 978-1-59270-282-4
6.375" (W) x 9.1875" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: December 1, 2020

Written by Gianni Rodari

Illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna

Translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar

Written by Gianni Rodari, the father of modern Italian children's literature, and charmingly illustrated by award-winning artist Beatrice Alemagna, this bright, sweet story reminds us what children are really like in the most essential and beautiful way!

★A 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Book ★

Little Giovanni is always daydreaming, always paying attention to the small miracles that lead him to lose track of the big picture. So even though he's promised his mama to keep his eyes open on his walk, he can't help but get distracted. Cheerful, carefree, and curious, Giovanni literally loses himself as he discovers the wide, wonderful world around him. Here, Rodari highlights the gorgeous way children give themselves over to their attention to the world by having Giovanni lose parts of himself as he walks along. Should his mama worry? No! Because: “That's just the way children are.” Following her New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Telling Stories Wrong, Beatrice Alemagna returns to illustrate another of Gianni Rodari's delightful stories from Telephone Tales. With a Batchelder Award winning translation by Antony Shugaar, this classic story from one of Italy's most beloved and important authors of children's literature asserts the power of flights of fancy and the value of childlike wonder.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-403-3

8.58” (W) x 12.95” (H) • 32 Pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: October 24, 2023

Written by Giovanna Zoboli
Illustrated by Lisa D'Andrea
Translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar

It seems fair to say that there have never been as many mice in any book as there are in this one! This may well be because the protagonist, a singular and most ambitious cat, has promised himself that by the age of eighteen he will have imagined ONE MILLION MICE! Every stripe of mouse is imagined here, except for one—the most mysterious mouse!

ISBN: 978-1-59270-213-8
8.5" (W) x 12.2" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: September 20, 2016

Written and illustrated by Vittoria Facchini
Translated from Italian by Anna Celada

A mother gives her two children five cherries each. One is a girl, one a boy, but they become hard to identify as the game goes on and they throw off traditional markers of gender identity—a headband, a pair of shoes—and their play becomes deeper and more revealing. The ungendered language of the imagination has full reign here as the children experiment with the cherries, turning them into everything from sleeping potions and medals on a general’s uniform to magical cures and a bouquet of flowers. Facchini’s audacious art makes this a book ripe for re-reading. 

ISBN: 978-1-59270-2220
8.25" (W) x 12" (H) • 56 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: June 27, 2017

Written & illustrated by Bruno Zocca
Translated from Italian by Debbie Bibo

A fun and thoroughly entertaining ode to bedtime books that still promises to leave the little ones heavy lidded and ready for sleep.

This delightful picture book starts with a very big—and very relatable—problem: No matter how hard she tries, our protagonist just can’t seem to fall asleep. Could she have skipped a step in her bedtime routine? Just in case, it’s best to do it all over again! So she brushes her teeth, puts on her pajamas, and says good night to Daddy. 

But no luck—she still can’t get to sleep! So she ventures outside, where she meets a very sleepy bear who shares her same problem. To help him, she runs inside for a book to read him a bedtime story. In the blink of an eye, the bear is snoring away, and the girl suddenly gets it. That’s it! She forgot to have her dad read her a bedtime story. 

And so, it’s back to the house, back to her dad, back to bed, and finally… to sleep! Children and parents alike will love this story that celebrates the magic of bedtime stories.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-483-5

190 mm (W) x 265 mm (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: May 19, 2026

Written by Gianni Rodari
Illustrated by Roman Muradov
Translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar

From Gianni Rodari, the father of modern Italian children’s literature, comes a pithy, humorous tale about life and death, health and wealth . . . and bandits and balloons! A refreshed translation from Batchelder Award–winner Antony Shugaar, illustrated with all-new art from Roman Muradov.

“Gianni Rodari gave free rein to his imagination, with inspired panache and gleeful lightness. At the same time, he had a precise and meticulous love for detail, for rich and exact language, and so all of his inventions are set in a very concrete world with real form and action.” —Italo Calvino

Baron Lamberto is very old, very rich, and very sick. He lives in a villa on a private island in the middle of Lake Orta, tended to by his trusty butler, Anselmo, who keeps track of the baron’s 24 maladies, 24 banks, and endless eccentricities. After a mysterious trip to Egypt, the baron hires six people to take up residence in the attic of his villa. Their only task? To repeat his name, “Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto,” throughout the day. Why? It’s anyone’s guess, but—wonder of wonders—Baron Lamberto does appear to be getting better and better, little by little, day by day. But trouble looms when Lamberto’s nefarious nephew Ottavio enters the scene, scheming up a way to get his hands on the baron’s fortune. And things go from bad to worse when a band of 24 bandits (all named Lamberto, too, by the way) lays siege to the baron’s villa and attempt to hold him for ransom.

In typical Rodarian fashion, Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto is a thoroughly enjoyable, deeply thought-provoking read. While it playfully skewers the absurdities of the rich, the bureaucracy, the media, and more, it also encourages readers to liberate their imaginations, to expect the unexpected, and to embrace the kind of possibilities that normally only happen in fairy tales.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-415-6

6.25” (W) x 9.5” (H) • 136 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 10-14 and 14 and up.

Publication Date: March 18, 2025

By Alessandro Sanna
With an introduction by Ammiel Alcalay
Translated from Italian by Ammiel Alcalay

From acclaimed Italian artist Alessandro Sanna, an astonishing wordless series of paintings about humans, inhumanity, and war that also contemplates the creative and destructive power of our hands.

A stone falls to the Earth. It picks up speed, rolling down the steep side of a mountain until it comes to rest in an empty plain. But the plain won’t remain empty for long: out of the shadows emerge two figures, who immediately start to grapple, using that very stone as a weapon to kill.

But those same hands, our human hands, holding the same weight of stone, also shape and forge, chisel and build, creating as they destroy, rendering beauty and violence alike. What is the relationship of those twin impulses? In these pages, artist Alessandaro Sanna uses the shaping force of his hands to explore the seemingly endless, perversely steadfast human capacity for destruction. Unflinchingly tracing humanity’s long history of war, from the havoc of armies on horseback, to the violence of the conquistadores, to the carnage of the First World War, to the ghastly terror of the atomic bomb, and the cruel, shockingly intentional attack on the Twin Towers, Sanna records our compulsion to destroy. The hands mold clay, streak color across a sky, define a world, give beauty to the eye; and yet fires burn, an acrid smell arises, smoke blots out the sun. For what and why?

Includes an introduction from esteemed poet and scholar Ammiel Alcalay, as well as an artist’s note.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-421-7 • 7.9” (W) x 10.9” (H) • 188 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

This book, published under our Unruly Imprint, is for teens and adults.

Publication Date: Feb 4, 2025

Written and illustrated by Alessandro Sanna
Translated from Italian by Michael Reynolds

Told as a story of cosmic beginnings, this version of Pinocchio is about the formative energy and magic that reside in the wood that becomes the boy. This version is also about life on the molecular level and what it means to think about our composition as human beings from the point of view of energy and cosmic matter.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-191-9
8.8" (W) x 12.2" (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 10-14

Publication Date: August 23, 2016

Written by Gianni Rodari
Illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna
Translated by Antony Shugaar

Once upon a time, there was a young girl called Little Yellow Riding Hood. Or maybe it was Red? Little Red Riding Hood?

Grandpa keeps mixing things up. But what fun it is! Not only does his granddaughter get to correct him, but in the process they create a really great story, too!

Telling Stories Wrong, written by Gianni Rodari, widely considered the father of modern Italian children’s literature, is illustrated here with great affection by artist Beatrice Alemagna, who counts Rodari as one of her “spiritual fathers.”

ISBN: 978-1-59270-360-9

9.75” (W) x 11.7” (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: June 22, 2021

By Gianni Rodari
Illustrated by Valerio Vidali
Translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar

Every night, at nine o’clock, wherever he is, Mr. Bianchi, an accountant who often travels for work, calls his daughter and tells her a bedtime story. Set in the 20th century era of pay phones, each story has to be told in the time that a single coin will buy. One night, it’s the story of a carousel so beloved by children that an old man finally sneaks on to understand why, and as he sails above the world, he does. The next night, it’s a land filled with butter men, roads paved with chocolate, or a young shrimp who has the courage to defy expectations and do things differently.

Reminiscent of Scheherazade and One Thousand and One Nights, Gianni Rodari’s Telephone Tales is composed of many stories within a story. Each is set in a different place and time, with unconventional characters and a wonderful mix of reality and fantasy. Awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1970, Gianni Rodari is widely considered to be Italy’s most important children’s author of the 20th century. Gorgeously illustrated by Italian artist Valerio Vidali​, these stories entertain with wit, surprise, and imagination.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-284-8
6.25" (W) x 9.5" (H) • 212 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 10-14

Publication Date: September 8, 2020

Written by Gianni Rodari
Translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar
Illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova

In this enchantingly whimsical tale from Italy's great children's author, Gianni Rodari, a young onion named Cipollino sets out into the world to study scoundrels, and in so doing, he undoes the tyrannical Prince Lemon, while making a legion of friends along the way.

Cipollino is young, brave, clever, and determined—exactly the kind of valiant hero that’s bound to triumph in fairy tales. In this colorful, episodic adventure story, in which nearly everyone is animal, vegetable, or fruit, Cipollino leaves home and sets off into the world to free his wrongfully imprisoned father. In the process, he faces off against scoundrels of all kinds with wit and humor, while winning both allies and friends. What hangs in the balance is the freedom of an entire kingdom from the ridiculous rules of the all-powerful Prince Lemon and the dignity of each blueberry, string bean, and spider! This is a charming, comic, highly-readable work of fiction for readers 9 and up, which also has the distinction of being one of Hayao Miyazaki’s 
"50 Favorite Children’s Books" of all time.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-416-3

6.25” (W) x 9.5” (H) • 248 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 10-14

Publication Date: October 28, 2025

By Gianni Rodari
Illustrated by JooHee Yoon
Translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar

Factual as well as whimsical, and humorously illustrated, this is the first English-language publication of the answers given by one of Italy's greatest and most beloved children's authors to children's questions about animals, nature, technology, and culture.

Gianni Rodari is widely regarded as the father of modern Italian children's literature. A firm believer in the great intelligence of children, he worked both as a teacher and a journalist. For a number of years, children across Italy sent their questions to his weekly newspaper column—questions Rodari answered, most inventively, with rhymes and little poems. Why didn't he reply with facts alone? Because he wanted to provoke children into thinking about questions, norms, and language itself. The Book of Whys collects a selection of these questions—from "Why does an elephant have a trunk?" to "Why does a car need fuel?" to "Why are we born?"—along with Rodari's answers, which beautifully serve to highlight the complexities, simplicities, and absurdities of our world.

With a fresh translation from Antony Shugaar, who also translated Rodari's Telephone Tales (the 2021 Batchelder Award winner), and playful illustrations in colored pencils from artist JooHee Yoon (Beastly Verse; The Tiger Who Would Be King, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2015; Inside Out and Upside Down), The Book of Whys is a playful, surprising, and poetically informative book for all those who are curious about the world and ready to play with the ways things are.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-364-7
6.4" (W) x 9.6" (H) • 156 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: January 23, 2024

Written by Riccardo Bozzi
Illustrated by Violeta Lopiz and Valerio Vidali
Translated from Italian by Debbie Bibo

A lyrical book about the adventure of life, The Forest is also a magnificent visual work, both painterly and a technical feat of paper engineering. Here, sensory experience and the textures of the material world are rendered through die-cuts, embossing, cutouts, and two gatefolds. A beautifully considered work.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-218-3
8.5" (W) x 10.5" (H) • 72 pages • Paperback with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: June 5, 2018

Written by Gianni Rodari
Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe
Translated from Italian by Jack Zipes

From the father of modern Italian children’s literature, this is one of the great works on the imagination and how stories get made—with radiant illustrations from Matthew Forsythe and a refreshed translation from Jack Zipes.

Translated into English by acclaimed children’s literature historian Jack Zipes and illustrated for the first time ever by Matthew Forsythe, this edition is the ultimate guide for all teachers and creatives. “I hope this small book,” writes Rodari, “can be useful for all those people who believe it is necessary for the imagination to have a place in education; for all those who trust in the creativity of children; and for all those who know the liberating value of the word.”

ISBN: 978-1-59270-305-0
6” (W) x 9” (H) • 316 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: Teens and adults

Publication Date: May 13, 2025

Written by Pierdomenico Baccalario and Alessandro Gatti
Illustrated by Simona Mulazzani
Translated from Italian by Brenda Porster

A big town in winter—a snowflake is about to fall from the sky. In the same moment, an ink drop flies out of its bottle into the sky when a big gust of wind blows its bottle over. The wind carries them through the sky. Where will each land?

A snowflake and an ink drop—can you imagine a more unlikely couple of friends? And yet, might it be that they are destined for each other—more kindred in spirit than their differences would suggest?

Two worlds, two intersecting stories told in vivid color illustrations, as well as through ingenious laser cuts and foldouts that are full of surprise.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-186-5
10.2" (W) x 13.5" (H) • 56 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: November 10, 2015

Written by Hiroshi Osada

Illustrated by Ryōji Arai

Translated from Japanese by David Boyd

Artist Ryōji Arai and poet Hiroshi Osada, the Japanese team behind critically acclaimed Every Color of Light, offer up another meditation on the natural world in this ode to water.

A lyrical moment between parent and child in a boat on a river unfolds into an examination of the water that surrounds them, and the nature and life sustained by it: "It’s only oxygen and hydrogen. Simple as could be, and yet nothing means more to life as we know it." Arai's lush art and Osada's evocative poetry, beautifully translated from Japanese by David Boyd, work together to enchant readers and refresh their spirit, opening their eyes to the wonders of water, the universe, and life.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-357-9

8” (W) x 11” (H) • 44 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: November 23, 2021

Written and illustrated by Kaya Doi
Translated from Japanese by Yuki Kaneko

The first in a wonderfully imaginative series about two girls that is marked by revealing and lyrical small details.

The first book in a completely charming series by a well-known Japanese author and illustrator, Chirri & Chirra introduces us to two little girls who go on wonderful adventures together through the natural world. Vibrant, lively, and astonishingly sweet in a pure, unsentimental way, these pages present us with relatable children, small animals, lots of food, atmosphere, and many mysteries.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-199-5
9.25" (W) x 6.5" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: September 6, 201

Written & illustrated by Kaya Doi
Translated from Japanese by David Boyd

From beloved Japanese author-illustrator Kaya Doi, this ninth volume in the Chirri & Chirra series is set amidst the cherry blossoms of Japan, giving readers a gorgeous explosion of petaled pinkness!

Chirri & Chirra, Among the Cherry Blossoms, the ninth book in our beloved Chirri & Chirra series, takes readers on yet another charming adventure filled with delicious food, animal friends, and the beauty of nature. Here, Chirri and Chirra ride their trusty bicycles to a giant cherry tree. After tasting delicious cherry-blossom sweets, they go inside the tree, where they find a sakura-themed beauty parlor! Decked out in chiffon scarves and spritzed with sweet perfume, their next stop is the viewing deck, where they sip cherry-blossom tea and enjoy the most amazing experience of all: the moment when the petals, shaken loose by a gust of wind, float down to the ground in a gorgeous shower. 

A translator’s note about sakura trees is included.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-482-8

9.25” (W) x 6.5” (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Written and illustrated by Kaya Doi

Translated by David Boyd

Chirri and Chirra frolic in the moonlight in the latest whimsical adventure of this much-beloved picture-book series.

With the light of their trusty bicycles and a glorious full moon illuminating the darkness, Chirri and Chirra take on the night, accompanied by their new cat friends. From fizzy full-moon drinks that give them cat ears and tails to sparkling flower necklaces that grant them access to a special night market, the inseparable duo enjoys all the dreamy treats that nighttime has to offer, basking in the warmth and light of discovery, generosity, and friendship.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-384-5

9.25” (W) x 6.5” (H) • 40 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: December 27, 2022

Written and illustrated by Kaya Doi
Translated from Japanese by Yuki Kaneko

Chirri and Chirra go on an imaginative adventure where they discover the small overlooked mysteries of the natural world.

Chirri and Chirra go on an imaginative adventure where they discover the small overlooked mysteries of the natural world. In their second adventure Chirri and Chirra become very small, and explore the magical world hidden away in a grove of tall grass. Filled with friendly, industrious bees and equally inventive bugs, this is a book that brings the lovely particularity of life in Japan—marked by food and nature—to young readers here.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-225-1
9.25" (W) x 6.5" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: June 20, 2017

Written and illustrated by Kaya Doi
Translated from Japanese by David Boyd

Having explored blossoming fields, a magical mound of tall grass, crystal caves and underground passageways, here Chirri and Chirra explore life in town.

Chirri and Chirra venture down forest paths and through alleyways into a yarn shop and an old woman’s house, where they enjoy hot drinks and soup. When they’re done, they find a wonderful surprise hidden in the branches of a tree. Memorable for Doi’s luminous appreciation of the natural world as well as her respect for beautiful edibles, the fifth book in the charming Chirri & Chirra series is sure to delight!

ISBN: 978-1-59270-278-7
9.25" (W) x 6.5" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: December 31, 2019

Written and illustrated by Kaya Doi

Translated by David Boyd

Dring-dring, dring-dring! As the distinctive sound of their bicycle bells chimes in with the patter of rain, Chirri & Chirra set off on a new whimsical adventure.

In this seventh installment of the beloved series, the twins serendipitously happen upon a cafe that is only open on rainy days. In their matching raincoats, they peacefully sip tea with a side of sweet rock candy as they watch the droplets fall, before concluding the day with a beautiful rainbow and the company of their animal friends. Kaya Doi’s illustrations, rendered in glowing colored pencil, are warm and inviting, ushering her readers into pages that feel like a haven from the rain outside.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-307-4

9.25” (W) x 6.5” (H) • 40 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: July 6, 2021

Written and illustrated by Kaya Doi
Translated from Japanese by Yuki Kaneko

Chirri and Chirra travel into the heart of an icy palace, where they discover all sorts of creatures, sights, and foods.

Book three in the charming series from Japan, Chirri & Chirra, The Snowy Day is filled with foxes, bears, birds, goats, and cats all taking shelter together in an icy cavern, enjoying everything from freshly-baked delights to long soaks in hot springs. Over the course of their adventures, Chirri and Chirra even become guests to a family of bears, spending the night in their igloo and dreaming of the northern lights. A winter wonderland worth remembering for its soft radiance and abundant joy!

ISBN: 978-1-59270-203-9
9.25" (W) x 6.5" (H) • 36 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: November 7, 2017

Written and illustrated by Kaya Doi
Translated from Japanese by David Boyd

Join Chirri and Chirra on their enchanting adventure beneath the waves.

Chirri and Chirra are pedaling along when they find a cave. At the end of the cave, they see a light. Oh! They are under the sea! They pedal through a maze of coral and pass through an opening in the seaweed, into a scene of seashells of all colors and shapes. Naturally, they come upon sea treats, such as parfait à la conch and marine soda jelly topped with pearl cream. They even experience the famed “South Sea Musical” performed by multitudes of beautiful fish. 

This is the happy, lovely world of Chirri and Chirra, where they stumble upon the most wonderful surprises under the sea. 

ISBN: 978-1-59270-302-9

9.25" (W) x 6.5" (H)  • 36 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: May 12, 2020

Written and illustrated by Kaya Doi
Translated from Japanese by David Boyd

Chirri and Chirra go underground in this charming addition to the Chirri & Chirra series.

Behind a hole in their basement wall, Chirri and Chirra discover a network of tunnels. Join them as they visit moles, discover caves full of glowing flowers, poke at the roots of growing plants, traverse a subterranean lake, and spend the night with a family of badgers! The fourth book in the Japanese Chirri & Chirra series, this underground adventure is sure to charm and delight.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-244-2
9.25" (W) x 6.5" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: July 2, 2019

Written by Hiroshi Osada

Illustrated by Ryōji Arai

Translated from Japanese by David Boyd

Gentle and lyrical, Every Color of Light is a bedtime story narrated by the elements. Illustrated by the masterful Ryoji Arai, Every Color of Light, opens on a lush, green forest in the rain. The quiet calm is suddenly shattered when the wind picks up and lightning cuts the sky. Yet out of this turbulence, the moon rises, the flowers open, and raindrops roll and drip down to the forest floor. We go to sleep with the forest, sinking into the calm reflection of the moon in a pool’s surface. Harmonizing our human experience to the natural world, Arai invites the reader to hold imaginative space for our oneness with the natural world.

Ryôji Araihas an illustrative style all of his own. He took the Japanese picture-book world by storm in the 1990s with his debut picture book, Melody. Since then, he has won many awards, including the international Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2005, the highest international award in children’s literature. Hiroshi Osada debuted as a poet with This Journey. In 2000, his first collaboration with Ryōji Arai, A Forest Picture Book, earned the Kōdansha Publishing Culture Award for Children’s Literature. 

ISBN: 978-1-59270-291-6

8” (W) x 11” (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: October 13, 2020

Written and illustrated by Yuki Ainoya

Translated by Michael Blaskowsky

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.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-318-0

7” (W) x 8” (H) • 68 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: November 23, 2022

Written and illustrated by Yuki Ainoya

Translated by Michael Blaskowsky

In this third installment of the whimsical series originally published in Japan, the titular Sato continues his adventures, exploring both expansive landscapes—snowy fields, forests, oceans made of tea—and tiny microcosms of worlds, found in unlikely places—like within a freshly-baked pie! In Sato's reality, which is in many ways similar to our own, seemingly commonplace occurrences are portals to new and fantastical experiences, and every object possesses an intrinsic magic and aliveness. Like all of the installments in the trilogy, this collection of vignettes reminds us to look closely at what is small and often overlooked, and to open ourselves to wonder.

Featured in The New Yorker! "The Sato books encourage parents to meet their children where they are—in a space of focussed exploration—rather than relentlessly pulling kids toward adulthood through narratives that educate or pontificate. In fact, reading them in the bright quiet of morning, with an attentive child, feels like childhood itself." —Nausicaa Renner, for The New Yorker

ISBN: 978-1-59270-355-5

7.4” (W) x 8.2” (H) • 72 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: May 3, 2022

Written and illustrated by Yuki Ainoya

Translated by Michael Blaskowsky

A pillow of fresh spring water, a moon basket, and flowers that grow more fragrant at night: such is the gentle and surreal world of Sato.

The seven tales in this collection are a celebration of the senses, and of the harmony that can exist between nature and a gentle creature like Sato the Rabbit, who observes the world with love and wonder. Charmingly surreal, these snapshots of life remind us of the imaginative power we all have to shape the world.

Featured in The New Yorker!"The Sato books encourage parents to meet their children where they are—in a space of focussed exploration—rather than relentlessly pulling kids toward adulthood through narratives that educate or pontificate. In fact, reading them in the bright quiet of morning, with an attentive child, feels like childhood itself." —Nausicaa Renner, for The New Yorker

ISBN: 978-1-59270-306-7

7” (W) x 8” (H) • 72 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: November 23, 2022

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) • 48 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: May 6, 2025

Written & illustrated by Kaya Doi
Translated from Japanese by David Boyd and Asa Yoneda

From the acclaimed creator of the Chirri & Chirra books, Kaya Doi, comes this absolutely adorable book about Tama the cat and her baby sister.

Tama the cat has never seen a baby before. So when a newborn comes to Tama's house, the cat is in for a big surprise! As Tama quickly learns, babies cry and fuss and sleep and sleep, but they also laugh and play and explore, and give the sweetest smiles and the warmest hugs. Soon, Baby starts to crawl and begins to follow Tama around, and the pair becomes the best of sisters and the best of friends. And no matter how old she gets or how big she grows compared to the cat, Baby will always be Tama's little sister!

Written and illustrated by Kaya Doi, this is a playful and heartwarming picture book about welcoming a new baby into the family—perfect for baby showers and older siblings!

ISBN: 978-1-59270-461-3

148 mm (W) x 195 mm (H) • 42 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: May 12, 2026

Enchanted Lion Books is grateful for the support from the Japan Foundation for the publication of the book.

Written and illustrated by Kiyo Tanaka

Translated from the Japanese by David Boyd

One day, a young girl sees a mysterious little figure sitting on a wall. It seems to be following her through town on her way back home, so, curious, she goes to say hello: "Hello, little one, what are you doing here?" It's now her turn to follow the little one as it leads her to a garden and a cup of tea.

And then, the pair enter a pitch-black closet and close their eyes, opening them to reveal... a magical attic that contains roots to hop over, trunks to hide in, vines to climb, branches to slide down. There's even an enormous, cuddly creature, so soft and warm and perfect for napping and dreaming!

Though silent and unnoticed by anyone else, the little one forms a beautiful friendship with the young girl in the space of an afternoon, showing her affection and care and sharing with her the fun and healing that comes out of imagination and play. Each illustration in this beautiful book was created via a delicate copperplate etching by author-illustrator Kiyo Tanaka, lovingly crafted to depict a dream-like world full of friendship, where anything is possible.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-358-6

8.9” (W) x 7.2” (H) • 72 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: December 7, 2021

Written & illustrated by Ryoji Arai

Translated from Japanese by David Boyd

From Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Ryoji Arai comes a gorgeous picture book about a child learning to accept mistakes, while having a magical experience in the wild, beautiful snow.

After accidentally ripping the pages of his father’s favorite book, a pensive, heavy-hearted boy leaves his cozy, warm house to ski through the snow. There, in the quiet and the cold, he stumbles upon a small stage that’s all lit up—a tiny snow theater, with tiny snow people and tiny ballerinas—that soon transforms into a large snow theater, presided over by the majestic snow queen.

As the boy joins the chorus of snow children, the snow queen lifts up her arms and snow falls and falls and falls, until all the boy can see is white—a snowstorm! And it’s at that precise moment that the boy’s father, who let his son go off alone but never lost track of him, is there to take his hand as they return home together.

Originally published in Japan and written and illustrated by one of the country’s most important picture book makers, The Snow Theater is a quietly enchanting tale about the wild beauty of nature, the powers of the imagination, and the unconditional love of a parent for their child.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-460-6

8.25” (W) x 11.6” (H) • 44 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: December 2, 2025

Written by Lee Juck

Illustrated by Lee Jinhee

Translated from Korean by Stine Su Yon An

A beautiful picture book of cosmic dimensions about the tranquility and happiness that come from no longer feeling alone, by Korean singer-songwriter Lee Juck and award-winning illustrator Lee Jinhee.

A long, long time ago, in a far, far corner of the universe, there lived a lonely little star. One day, a comet appears—is this finally the star’s chance to make a friend? Inspired by Halley’s Comet, this picture book written by Korean singer-songwriter Lee Juck and illustrated by acclaimed artist Lee Jinhee is about the moments of connection—however brief or rare—that give us the joy and hope to shine bright across the vast universe.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-400-2

225 mm (W) x 266 mm (H) • 48 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: October 15, 2024

Written by Lee Juck

Illustrated by Kim Seung-youn

Translated by Asuka Minamoto, Lee Juck, and Dianne Chung

A gentle, delicately illustrated story about loss that has a cosmic dimension.

A boy’s grandfather goes away suddenly, never to return. How could he leave so suddenly? His smell remains in his sweater, and his shoes are there to be worn. Plus, his friends at the fountain just saw him! The boy lingers in the midst of his grandfather’s things and starts to imagine him returning to the planets and stars, the faraway home from which he must have come.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-313-5

7.5” (W) x 10” (H) • 48 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: November 30, 2021

Written by Lee Eun-hee

Illustrated by Yoon Mi-sook

Translated by Asuka Minamoto

Graphically gorgeous, with sweetness and flair, this is a book to get any kid hooked on the wonders of the water cycle!

A long, long time ago, when the earth was extremely hot, a huge amount of vapor was released, creating clouds. As the clouds got bigger and heavier, it started to rain. Three of those raindrops were brothers who came down to cool the hot earth and traveled, as water does, to every corner of the earth, including apartment building pipes and muddy rivers. Written by a scientist, this is a great book for all curious children and budding young explorers.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-323-4

8 7⁄8” (W) x 9 1⁄4” (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover of Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: November 30, 2021

Written by Kjersti Annesdatter Skomsvold
Illustrated by Mari Kanstad Johnsen
Translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson

For traveling into sleep on the wondrous and whimsical wings of play, there is no better book than Bedtime for Bo!
It’s time for bed, but Bo isn’t ready to stop playing. Why sleep when you can be a baby giraffe, a walrus, or a sea otter instead? Mommy joins in the fun with lively imagination and love, while still guiding Bo through his nighttime routine.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-374-6

9.8” (W) x 13.4” (H) • 76 Pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: August 9, 2022

Written by Håkon Øvreås
Illustrated by Øyvind Torseter
Translated by Kari Dickson

Jack hatches a plan to land himself in the newspaper: he’s going to rescue the chairman’s prize-winning hen. Of course, that means he has to “borrow” it first. And if getting into the newspaper happens to impress the new girl in town? All the better. But when the “borrowing” goes wrong, things suddenly get…tricky. To get out from all this trouble, Jack’s going to need some superhero help.

Enter Black, to the rescue! Along with his faithful companions Brown and Blue. While Brown and Blue might not completely understand what has happened or why they’re involved, neither does Jack, really. But they’re ready for action and raring to go! The second book from Håkon Øvreås’ award-winning My Alter Ego Is A Superhero trilogy, Black is illustrated throughout by the always superb Øyvind Torseter.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-275-6
6" (W) x 9" (H) M• 200 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 10-14

Publication Date: October 31, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-59270-268-8
6" (W) x 9" (H) • 200 pages • Paperback

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: October 31, 2017

Written by Håkon Øvreås
Illustrated by Øyvind Torseter
Translated from Norwegian by Kari Dickson

New in the neighborhood and hounded by fort-wrecking bullies, things are looking glum for Rusty. And to top it all off, his grandfather has just died. Rusty is stuck sorting out his emotions while the adults are busy sorting out the “practicalities” with the hospital. But one dark night, after watching a superhero movie on TV, Rusty gets an idea… 

Dressed in brown pants, a black-and-brown striped shirt, a brown mask and cape, and his mother’s brown belt, the superhero BROWN is born! Guided by his grandfather’s ghost, two cans of paint, and a little help from his friends, Brown can do anything! Just as long as nobody's parents find out. The fantastical first book in the award-winning My Alter Ego Is A Superhero series from Norway, Brown has been sold into twenty-seven languages and is illustrated throughout by the now-familiar and beloved Øyvind Torseter.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-212-1
6" (W) x 9" (H) • 136 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 10-14

Publication Date: June 4, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-59270-251-0
6" (W) x 9" (H) • 136 pages • Paperback

Ages: 10-14

Publication Date: June 4, 2019

Written by Inger Hagerup
Illustrated by Paul René Gauguin
Translated from Norwegian by Becky L. Crook

Contemplate a hedgehog’s bristles, a crab’s bad mood, a pea who believes it was meant to be a butterfly, and ​other wonderful images​ in Inger Hagerup’s poems.

​Generations of Norwegian children have grown up reading and reciting poems by Inger Hagerup (1905-1985). A​live with sound, shape, and color​, t​he combination of handwritten, informal verse and Paul René Gauguin’s avant garde illustration​s​ has proven ​to be an​ irresistible​ and endlessly delightful combination for children and adults a like​. ​

ISBN: 978-1-59270-286-2
6.625" (W) x 9.5" (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: October 1, 2019

Written & illustrated by Øyvind Torseter

Translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson

An astonishing, high-adventure graphic novel that playfully remixes The Odyssey, Moby Dick, and more, from Norway’s greatest cartoonist.

Fresh out of a job, with his apartment slated for demolition and his possessions seized, Mulysses is in need of $5,000—and fast! As luck would have it, he crosses paths just in time with a wealthy collector, who offers him the fortune he seeks if he succeeds in bringing back the world’s biggest eye, fabled to grant its owner enormous power. Like Ulysses, Ishmael, and many others before him, Mulysses takes to the sea in search of both adventure and himself.
In addition to his high comedic, cartoonist talents, Øyvind Torseter is one of Norway’s most acclaimed illustrators. This is his ninth book with Enchanted Lion.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-276-3

10.25” (W) x 8.25” (H) • 156 Pages • Hardcover

Ages: 10-14

Publication Date: April 11, 2023

Written by Stein Erik Lunde
Illustrated by Øyvind Torseter
Translated from Norwegian by Kari Dickson

It's quieter than it's ever been. Unable to sleep, a young boy climbs into his father's arms. Feeling the warmth and closeness of his father, he begins to ask questions about the birds, the foxes, and whether his mom will ever wake up. They go outside under the starry sky. Loss and love are as present as the white spruces, while the father's clear answers and assurances calm his worried son. Here we feel the cycles of life and life's continuity, even in the face of absence and loss, so strongly and clearly that we know at the end that everything will, somehow, be all right.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-124-7
8.2" (W) x 9.8" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: February 5, 2013

Written by Inger Hagerup
Illustrated by Paul René Gauguin
Translated from Norwegian by Becky L. Crook

Contemplate soaring swallows and scolding seagulls, a mosquito who wakes up one morning as an elephant, a little apple tree determined to bloom and a mountain that finally moves, after a million years, at least. These and many more delightful images​ await in the wonderful world of Inger Hagerup’s poems.

Following Little Parsley, this new Hagerup volume was first published in Norway in 1971. At the time, it was a literary scandal for offering free verse to children, who were best suited, as the critics claimed, to the orderly rhymes of established poetic forms. Time and the inherently free and wild forms of youthful imagination have proven the critics completely wrong. Gorgeously illustrated by Paul René Gauguin, with his most antic line, as well as hand lettered, and playfully translated by Beck Crook, this collection of Hagerup poems is pure pleasure.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-277-0

6.625" (W) x 9.5" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: December 3, 2019

Written by Inger Marie Kjølstadmyr
Illustrated by Øyvind Torseter
Translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson

Pierre the tailor has a big dream:

To fly from the Eiffel Tower just like a bird, in a coat of feathers. To make this outlandish vision a reality, he decides to sew a garment that is up to the task: his very own, resplendent bird coat. This is a tale of passion, risk, and impossibility that celebrates the essential value of creativity and dreams in our lives.

Illustrated in the distinctive hand of award-winning Norwegian illustrator Øyvind Torseter, this tale was inspired by the true story of Franz Reichelt, dubbed "the flying tailor," who in 1912 jumped from the Eiffel Tower in an attempt at flight.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-366-1

9” (W) x 8.5” (H) • 52 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: October 18, 2022

Retold and illustrated by Øyvind Torseter
Translated from Norwegian by Kari Dickson

A fun twist on an old fairytale called "The Troll with No Heart," The Heartless Troll is about a troll who's hidden his heart and the seventh son of a king who goes in search of his six brothers. The young man's journey brings him to a mountain, a captive princess, and a terrifying troll. The illustrations are by turns fanciful and lovely as well as dark and terrifying, but a continuous thread of good humor and playfulness runs through the whole story.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-193-3
7" (W) x 9" (H) • 120 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 10-14

Publication Date: September 13, 2016

Written and illustrated by Øyvind Torseter
Translated from Norwegian by Kari Dickson

One of Brain Pickings’s 13 Best Children's, Illustrated, and Picture Books of 2013

The protagonist of The Hole has discovered a hole in his apartment and tries to find an explanation for it. He seeks expert advice. But not everything can be explained. Perhaps he'll just have to accept that the hole is there? The Hole has simple, expressive drawings created by pen and computer, and there's a hole punched right through the book, so it really exists, even if it can't be explained.

Comic yet philosophical, simple yet deeply expressive, The Hole is quite simply… brilliant!

ISBN: 978-1-59270-143-8
9.2" (W) x 10.8" (H) • 64 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: August 27, 2013

Written & illustrated by Øyvind Torseter
Translated from Norwegian by Kari Dickson

Surprising, comic, and thought-provoking, this book, from Norway’s greatest cartoonist, Øyvind Torseter, which has a splendid physical hole punched right through it, tells the story of a mysterious, missing hole and the hilarious search for it!

Set directly after the events of The Hole, in which a hole inexplicably appeared, was sent to a lab for testing, and was then returned to its hapless owner, here the same hole now goes missing, leading its owner on a quest to find it and bring it home. Full of twists and turns, curious characters, and many surprises, this is an urban quest for the ages that evokes laughter, while sparking questions and wonder alike. 

In these pages, Norwegian artist and illustrator Øyvind Torseter recontextualizes the titular hole as an array of circular objects, masterfully blurring the line between absence and presence and delivering an entertaining and thought-provoking read from cover to cover.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-508-5

234 mm (W) x 276 mm (H) • 80 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: November 17, 2026

OUT NOV 17, 2026! Please note that all preorder copies will ship in September, in advance of publication November 17th.

Written by Ruth Rocha
Illustrated by Madalena Matoso
Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

A child who has not yet learned how to read looks out at the world and sees language as such a child would: as lines and squiggles that don't exactly make pictures but don't seem to make anything else either. Then, when the child starts to go to school and begins to learn his letters, his way of seeing begins to change.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-208-4
9" (W) x 11" (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: November 15, 2016

Written by Ondjaki
Illustrated by António Jorge Gonçalves
Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

A blackout leads two teens to discover the intimacy and vulnerability that can only be shared in darkness in Our Beautiful Darkness, a fully illustrated YA novella from celebrated Angolan author Ondjaki and illustrator António Jorge Gonçalves.

The light goes out suddenly. And in this absence of light, a pair of teenagers bare their souls. Into the warm silence of the night, they share a conversation filled with their stories and dreams… and maybe even a first kiss.

Set against the backdrop of the civil war that ravaged Angola in the 1990s, this book weaves the country’s history with a teenage boy’s family stories. But when a power outage shrouds the neighborhood in darkness, everyday realities fade away… As the boy and a girl sit talking in the backyard, memory gives way to imagination and vulnerability, and the space between them becomes charged with emotional electricity.

Their resulting conversation is both a meditation on the storytelling impulse and a gripping narrative of first love that, through its particulars, ascends to the universal.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-410-1

5” (W) x 8.5” (H) • 126 pages • Hardcover with Jacket with double gatefold

This book, published under our Unruly Imprint, is for teens and adults.

Publication Date: September 3, 2024

Written by Isabel Minhós Martins
Illustrated by Bernardo Carvalho
Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Inspired by the question, "What are they doing right at this moment on the other side of the world?" this book focuses on natural and human events happening all over the world in the same second. Talking about how the world is so different in places but also so similar and shared, so incredible and surprising, the books takes us to New York, Chicago, Mexico, Portugal, Angola, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Hungry, Brazil, and South Africa, among others.

So, while you sit turning the pages of this book, things are happening everywhere. Somewhere, a wave is reaching the shore. Elsewhere, an orange falls from a tree. In yet other places, there's a traffic jam, a stuck elevator, and someone's going to sleep. Time is always in a hurry, never, ever stopping, and yet as you focus on these lovely illustrations, which stand as true evocations of place, time begins to slow down and, for moments, it even feels as if time has stopped, and you are transported—out of the flow of time and into the wholeness and purity of a moment.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-157-5
11" (W) x 11.5" (H) • 56 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: April 14, 2015

Written by Henriqueta Cristina
Illustrated by Yara Kono
Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

In search of a freer place where every child can go to school, a family moves from Fascist Portugal to Communist Czechoslovakia. Different as this new country is, however, it is far from ideal. In this new, gray world, the lack of freedom is felt in the simplest things, such as the colors one can and cannot wear.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-220-6
9" (W) x 10.5" (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover with Jacket
Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: October 3, 2017

Written & illustrated by Maria Ivashkina
Translated from Russian by Lena Traer

Artist and book lover Maria Ivashkina takes readers on an inspiring and exciting tour of 25 of the world’s most unusual bookstores, sharing her love for these incredibly rich community spaces in the process.

A bookstore is a place of wonder and refuge the world over. It’s a place that always feels magical, and one where discoveries and good surprises inevitably happen. It’s also a place where any one of us might curl up for hours and travel to other worlds. Within the walls of a bookstore, books await, offering stories upon stories and ideas that influence how we see and feel and who we might become. Books invite us on journeys both delightful and risky into the world as we know it and as we do not.

In these pages, we visit bookstores inside a train station and a cathedral; a floating bookstore and a bookstore the size of a whole neighborhood; the oldest bookstore and a bookstore that sells only one book; the first outdoor bookstore and a bookstore where you can live. The bookstores depicted here are in the United States, Argentina, Portugal, France, England, and beyond.

Bookstores are a beautiful, vital destination, but they are also waypoints on the path to a deeper understanding of self and world. This book is sure to become a cherished companion, inspiring readers to venture beyond its pages into the experience that only a great bookstore can provide.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-438-5

9 2/3 in (W) x 13 1/3 in (H) • 72 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 7-10, 10-14 and 14 and up.

Publication Date: November 10, 2026

Written & illustrated by Natalia Shaloshvili

Translated from Russian by Lena Traer

Beautiful illustrations from an internationally recognized fine artist make this fun, ecologically-minded book about a bus-driving, tree-loving leopard a standout!

When Miss Leoparda isn’t sleeping in her beloved tree home, she drives the bus, taking her animal friends around town on their animal business. Every day, all of the bus’s seats are taken . . . until the day something amazing and new appears: a little car that speeds off into the distance, leaving clouds of smoke in its wake. Intrigued, the bus’s passengers each get a car of their own, one by one, until the day that Miss Leoparda is the only one left on the bus.

But more and more cars on the road mean more and more traffic jams, more and more arguments, and fewer and fewer trees—as trees, it seems, are just getting in the way of the jammed-up travelers. Will Miss Leoparda be able to nourish a new awareness and help her community return to their senses? With humor, insight, and gorgeous art, this is a picture book about the importance of the natural world and the value of community, to read again and again.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-412-5

9.6” (W) x 11” (H) • 56 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: October 29, 2024

Written & illustrated by Natalia Shaloshvili
Translated from Russian by Lena Traer

Sweet, tender, and perfect for the youngest picture book readers, this winning story about a most adorable kitten is an affectionate invitation to identify with and love this small cat!

What does a small cat need? Two little eyes, two little ears, big whiskers, and a tail, to start. What else does a small cat need? Maybe a walk in the flowers, a sip of milk, or a warm spot to laze around in the sun.

But above all else, what a small cat needs is... someone big or little—maybe someone just like you!—with cuddly arms and a huge heart to pet it and hear it purr. Yes, every cat needs that!

This is a tender and universal story through which author-illustrator Natalia Shaloshvili achieves something quite rare: illustrations that are of great artistic quality, and yet succeed in being warm, funny and relatable to children. With beautiful pacing and emotionally astute moments, this small story succeeds brilliantly in structuring an identification between small cat and child that will have young readers returning to this book again and again—to see themselves, while also feeling love and care for this irresistible kitten.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-477-4

9.7” (W) x 7.7” (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: Jan 27, 2026

Written by Pablo Neruda

Illustrated by Paloma Valdivia

Translated by Sara Lissa Paulson

This Spanish-English bilingual edition is the first fully illustrated selection of Book of Questions: comprising 70 questions of the original 320, these poems, carefully woven together by theme and accompanying full-page illustrations, invite us to wonder at the natural world and the myriad mysteries it contains.

“Book of Questions,” written by beloved Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner Neruda, was completed just months before his death in 1973, and is his last great work of poetry. By turns lyrical and cosmic, dreamlike and nonsensical, paradoxical and playful, each of these unanswerable questions asks us to set aside certainty and constraint and to enter into the vastness of the unknown. With riddles like “Where is the center of the sea? / Why don’t waves break there?” and “What do you call a flower / that flits from bird to bird?”, Neruda inspires us to unravel our assumptions and re-envision our relationship to nature. The only answer that is sure to arise from these questions is a closer observation of and reflection on the world in which we live, and a renewed sense of curiosity and wonder at our shared universe.

Illustrator Paloma Valdivia shares the same homeland of Chile as Neruda, and her art gorgeously reveals the geography of his poems, bringing to life the landscapes in which Neruda composed his Book of Questions. In scenes of expansive constellations, dancing waves, and interwoven roots, Valdivia’s art evokes the interconnectedness of the natural world. Moments of intimate encounter—between a butterfly and a rosebush, a camel and a tortoise, or a woman and a pomegranate—transcend into cosmic moments of shared connection, with animals, plants, and humans reaching out to one another and joining in the same visual language of shape. Valdivia’s colors are simply stunning: striking red, bold yellow, rich turquoise, and textured grays jump off the bright white and deep black backgrounds.

With a clear acetate jacket with striking green lettering (an homage to Neruda’s affinity for writing in green ink, which he saw as the color of hope), this edition contains six magnificent gatefold spreads that lift to reveal more questions and expanded illustrations, inviting readers into deeper and deeper reflection.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-322-7

8.75” (W) x 12” (H) • 80 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

Written and illustrated by Isol
Adapted from Spanish into English by Isol and Elisa Amado

A many-layered alphabet book from an international star of the children's book world, Daytime Visions is graphically strong and intelligent in its exploration of words and situations. Whether it's a kiwi who returns to a boy's shoulder or a little duck who can't sleep, the visions here are relatable to children and rich with possibility.

Daytime Visions is a kind of alphabet game, filled with interesting visual associations.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-195-7
8.5" (W) x 8.5" (H) • 56 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: May 10, 2016

Written & illustrated by Daniel Liévano

Translated from Spanish by Eugenia Mello & Pablo Román

Internationally recognized Colombian artist Daniel Liévano uses visual notations to explore philosophical ideas in Gravity & Other Substances, a picture book for teens and adults.

Through various media, artist Daniel Liévano has dedicated himself to exploring the relationship between abstraction and storytelling. Here, he takes up happiness, truth, memories, reality, dreams, and gravity. In many ways, these concepts shape the rhythms, experiences, and facts of human life. Conceiving of them as substances, Liévano explores them as if they were tangible, solid presences in our lives. In doing so, he makes happiness subject to gravity and memory both molecular and embodied.

The exploration that makes up Gravity & Other Substances is published under Unruly, Enchanted Lion’s imprint of category–defying picture books for teens and adults.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-435-4

6 5/8” (W) x 9 3/16” (H) • 200 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

This book, published under our Unruly Imprint, is for teens and adults.

Publication Date: October 13, 2026

Written by Melba Escobar

Illustrated by Elizabeth Builes

Translated from Spanish by Sara Lissa Paulson

A heartwarming middle-grade novel from Colombia about a ten-year-old boy and the larger-than-life figure who changes him forever.

Pedro is dealing with a lot for a ten-year-old kid, both at school and at home. So he's overjoyed when his mom surprises him with a trip to see the ocean—an experience he's been dreaming about for a long time!

Maybe this trip will make everything better. Maybe it will make his dad come back to him and his mom. Maybe he will stop being bullied at school, once he's seen the ocean! But things go wrong right from the start between Pedro and his mom, and all seems lost, until Pedro is found and taken in by a gruff old sea dog who has something magical about him.

Tender, funny, and stamped with psychological truth, Johnny, the Sea, and Me offers the thrills of pirate adventures and the rich cultural history of the Caribbean, along with strong characters and a satisfying and moving portrait of an unusual friendship. Adeptly translated by Sara Lissa Paulson and beautifully illustrated by Elizabeth Builes, this book is sure to resonate with readers young and old.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-409-5

5.5” (W) x 8.5” (H) • 124 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 10-14

Publication Date: July 16, 2024

Written & illustrated by Isol

Translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel

A young girl discovers the value of the chaotic, creative underside in this picture book from Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Isol.

Young Leilah lives in an idyllic village, where everything has its place. It's as beautiful and perfect as the scenes in her grandmother's embroidery. But some believe that just on the flipside of this orderly town lies the Other Side—a messy and wild world, filled with merry inhabitants and strange beasts, a peculiar world that Leilah often visits in her dreams.

So when Leilah's mom has had enough of her daughter constantly losing her things, Leilah comes up with a plan: her lost possessions must be falling down into the Other Side, and so all she has to do to fix things is mend the holes appearing in her world. It's a genius idea, and nothing will ever go missing again! But Leilah will soon learn that some loose threads don't need to be sewn up, and that keeping things in can also mean shutting things out...

Inspired by Palestinian embroidery and one of her favorite shawls, Isol spins a tale that celebrates the different sides that are all part of life's rich tapestry.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-392-0

7.5” (W) x 9.75” (H) • 76 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: June 25, 2024

Written by Ana Cristina Herreros

Illustrated by Violeta Lópiz

Translated from the Spanish by Sara Lissa Paulson

Does every country have a tooth fairy? Well, in Spain and other Spanish- speaking countries, it happens to be a tooth mouse, and this is his story!
Long ago, throughout the Spanish-speaking world, the tooth mouse brought children their permanent teeth, strong and straight as a mouse's. Tracing the tooth mouse's beginnings through to his descendants, this book artfully weaves the tooth mouse's changing habits as the world industrializes, with the growing independence of the child, as teeth fall out and the child learns to care for itself.

It's also a playful, thought-provoking history of our changing world--as even tooth mice and children must adapt their customs when faced with the culture-shifting forces of urbanization, migration, and capitalism...

Just remember, magic can always be recovered, and the real gift in losing baby teeth is growing up!

ISBN: 978-1-59270-359-3

11.8” (W) X 7.8” (H) • 48 Pages • Hardcover

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: April 4, 2023

Written by Ricardo Chávez Castañeda

Illustrated by Alejandro Magallanes

Translated from the Spanish by Lawrence Schimel

From award-winning Mexican author Ricardo Chávez Castañeda and the visionary Mexican designer Alejandro Magallanes comes a horror story and ghost story that is both daringly and beautifully told in word and image.

There are stories so terrible that we tremble to hear even a whisper of them. Even more terrible, some of them are true. This is one such story, a story of our deepest inhumanity—one that confronts the history of violence against children, and through its young narrator attempts to find a way out. A horror story and ghost story told as much through art as through text, The Book of Denial is an antidote to our collective silence. By uplifting storytelling as a means of understanding the past and shaping the future, it is also—improbably—a beacon of hope.

Written by genre-defying Mexican author Ricardo Chávez Castañeda, The Book of Denial is a dark and powerful story within a story, illustrated with a striking graphic sensibility by Alejandro Magallanes and translated by Lawrence Schimel.

This is the third book to appear under Unruly, an imprint of visually complex, sophisticated picture books for teens and adults.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-362-3

7” (W) X 9.5” (H) • 148 Pages • Hardcover with Jacket

This book, published under our Unruly Imprint, is for teens and adults.

Publication Date: Jan 30, 2024

Written by Ana Cristina Herreros
Illustrated by Violeta Lópiz
Translated from Spanish by Chloe Garcia Roberts

What comes to swallow us up? Here, an old Spanish folktale about a mouse and her cat husband puts a lens onto the process whereby women lose and reclaim themselves.

The story opens with a mouse, very fastidious and hard-working, who, after finding a shiny coin, builds herself a home out of leaves of cabbage. In disbelief that she has a house but isn’t yet a wife, an array of animal suitors each make their appeal for her hand. Judging each by his ability to carry a tune, she turns them all down, until a pack of kittens arrives. Convinced by their sweet meows, she agrees to marry the smallest and most harmless of the bunch. Yet, as kittens do, he quickly grows into a cat, and consistent with his nature, devours his mouse-wife. That is the end of the folktale, but what follows here is a silent visual coda that carries the story into a whole new realm of meaning and interpretation.

This text is brought to life by Violeta Lópiz, one of the illustrators of Enchanted Lion’s acclaimed title The Forest and a visionary artist of picture-book construction and composition. After years of searching for a suitable approach, Lópiz ultimately arrived at a striking and complex visual language in a distinctive color palette of grayscale, blacks, reds, and blues that shows a magnified view of the mouse, and later, the cat, interacting with different household objects. These objects take on the roles of various settings, characters, and conceptual symbols, challenging readers to look closer in order to interpret the meaning arising from text and image together.

This singular picture book is the first under Enchanted Lion’s Unruly imprint. With its feminist themes, braided narrative, and complex visuals, The True Story of a Mouse Who Never Asked for It stakes itself as an exploration and conversation between word and image that exists beyond the category of children’s picture book.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-320-3
9.5" (W) x 11.0" (H) • 108 pages • Hardcover

This book, published under our Unruly Imprint, is for teens and adults.

Publication Date: June 22, 2021

Written & illustrated by Maria Ramos
Translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel

From one of Spain's most exciting creators, this whimsical illustrated novel has the fantasy of Miyazaki, the imagination of Tove Jansson, the tenderness of Charlotte's Web, and the magic of E.T.

In the middle of the night, three lights fall from the sky. What are they? They don't look like fireflies. Mole and his earthworm friends are taken by surprise. What are they going to do with these newcomers?

In these pages, Maria Ramos tells the story of a little improvised family that grows and changes together—one that will face many challenges to help the three little lights find their true home. Brimming with imagination and tenderness, and offering abundant, whimsical illustrations, this story enlivens the mind, while penetrating straight to the heart.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-499-6

6.25 in (W) x 9 in (H) • 148 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: September 15, 2026

OUT SEPT 15, 2026! Please note that due to shipping costs, all the books included in the same order as Three Lights will ship together in September.

Written and illustrated by Lisen Adbåge
Translated from Swedish by Annie Prime

Koko doesn’t want to go home, doesn’t want to go to sleep, and doesn’t want to get up either! But Bo is patient. He knows that Koko will come home when he is bored, will go to sleep when he is tired, and will get up when he is hungry―he just has to wait for Koko to figure it out on their own. Koko and Bo is about two people, one big and one small, quietly negotiating the relationship between freedom and trust to reach a better understanding of each other and the world.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-258-9
8.6" (W) x 8.6" (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: April 24, 2018

Written by Ulf Stark
Illustrated by Linda Bondestam
Translated from Swedish by Annie Prime

A lonely Creature lives deep within the mountain. Sadly, sunlight makes her sick, so her world is gray—until a spark from way up high falls down to her. She tries every night to reach the moon, dreaming of friendship. But one morning, a sun spark comes flying into her cave! What wondrous things she has to say about the vibrancy of life under the sun. Their time together is limited, but the Spark is curious and the Creature realizes she has some stories of her own to share.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-209-1
9.9" (W) x 7.4" (H) • 52 pages • Hardcover with Jacket
Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: Feb 5, 2013

Written and illustrated by Emma Adbåge
Translated from Swedish by Annie Prime

They have made a very serious decision. They are going on an expedition. All by themselves. Just the two of them.

Equipped with a backpack of basic supplies, they trek outside and set themselves up next to a big rock. Dad stays at home, while they set up camp, sings songs, and munch on pickles. But when the pickles are gone and the mosquitos come out, what’s to be done?

Inside, outside, and back again, The Grand Expedition is the comic story of two kids, their dad, and the everyday expeditions that make life grand.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-245-9
7.6" (W) x 9.2" (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 4-8

Publication Date: April 24, 2018

Written by Sara Stridsberg

Illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna

Translated from Swedish by B.J. Woodstein

We Go to the Park is a beautiful, lyrical meditation on going to the park to play—which extends into a reflection on life itself—from Booker Prize-longlisted author Sara Stridsberg, and the inimitable, award-winning illustrator Beatrice Alemagna!

The park beckons us to leave our daily routines behind and enter its zone of endless possibility. In the park, the usual rules don’t apply. In the park, what matters most is the moment, and losing track of time to the timelessness of imagination, invention, observation, and chance. In the park, there are risks, of course, but also the deepest rewards, to be found in the freedom experienced through play that is both embodied and participatory. It is not the lone “I,” but the “we” that goes to the park, where chance encounters might suddenly become moments of deep connection—however fleeting—with others, nature, and ourselves.

Originally published in Sweden, this first English–language edition printed in Italy on thick cream paper offers an immersive experience of transformation, longing, and transcendence to readers of all ages, while reminding adult readers in particular of the everyday miracle contained in encountering another consciousness.

This is the fifth book to appear under Unruly, an imprint of visually complex, sophisticated picture books for teens and adults.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-407-1

10.8” (W) X 9.5” (H) • 68 Pages • Hardcover

This book, published under our Unruly Imprint, is for teens and adults.

Publication Date: June 25, 2024

Written and illustrated by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv

Translated from the Ukrainian by Oksana Lushchevska

Danko, Zirka, and Fabian live peacefully in the small town of Rondo, a magical and joyful place where even the flowers sing! Everything is perfect … until the fateful day that War arrives. Having never experienced War, the inhabitants don’t know what to do. They try to talk to it and fight it, but nothing seems to stop the spread of War’s destruction and darkness. Harnessing the power of light, community, and song, Danko, Zirka, and Fabian, along with all their neighbors, must rally together to lead Rondo to victory. How War Changed Rondo reflects the darkness and pain that conflict bring and the wounds that linger long after it’s over. This picture book serves as a tribute to peace, resistance, and hope, and was written and illustrated by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv, a husband-and-wife duo from Ukraine.

ISBN: 978-1-59270-367-8

8.6” (W) x 11.4” (H) • 40 pages • Hardcover

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: December 14, 2021

Written & illustrated by Romana Romanyshyn & Andriy Lesiv
Translated from Ukrainian by Oksana Luschevska

Eye-catching, informative, and offering hours of fun, On the Move is the perfect nonfiction book about motion in all its forms, from a pair of Ukraine’s leading contemporary artists.

When was the first shoe invented? What's the longest distance an animal has ever traveled? How does time travel work? All these questions—and more!—are answered in On the Move, a dazzling illustrated book that explores movement through a variety of lenses, from geography to anthropology, tourism, adventuring, physics, and everything in between.

Perfect for children and parents, teachers and librarians, and anyone curious to learn about the way things work, On the Move is brimming with fascinating facts and thought-provoking reflections about how people, animals, and the elements move around, both throughout history and to this day. It's also an excellent book for artists and designers who are interested in composition and the spatial arrangement of information—with bold graphic design and vivid Pantone colors that burst off the page!

ISBN: 978-1-59270-414-9

311 mm (W) x 223 mm (H) • 64 pages • Hardcover with Jacket

Ages: 7-10

Publication Date: May 20, 2025