Keizaburō Tejima

This story focuses on a family of swans who must fly north since spring has come. One smaller swan stays while all other swans leave, so her family stays with her, trying to get her to leave with them. The family stays by the lake far into spring, until the father swan realizes that his family must leave to the mountains to survive. The rest of the family fly up and try to get the little swan to leave with them one last time, but she stays on the ground. They say goodbye and fly away, but return to her one more night. That night, the little swan dies, and the swan family flies north. Once they make it to the mountains, they are surrounded by other swans, though they all feel lonely. When the morning light shines through the clouds, it reminds the family of the little swan, all of them calling out to the sky for the little swan. I thought this book was very beautiful, both in story and illustrations. Though the story is simple, it still manages to make the reader feel connections to the family of swans, especially after the younger swan dies. The detailed woodblock illustrations show the beauty of nature, as well as the emotions that the swans are feeling throughout the book. I thought that it was a lovely story, though children may feel that the story has an unhappy ending.… (mere)

This seems to be more of a literary fairy tale from Tejima. The mixing of the artwork and the story makes for a beautiful nature story. The idea of animals dreaming and remembering parts of its past without speaking, just simple memory, can be a crazy concept for humans as we find it hard to believe things we can't see or measure. However, I feel that everything feels, that everything remembers its' past. So, if you're looking for a fantastical view of nature, and a rather adorable story, check this one out!… (mere)

There was a fox that walked in a forest when it was winter, and the other animals slept. The forest was very quiet, and he felt lonely. The fox saw a rabbit, and tried to hunt it. The rabbit ran away and he felt lonely again. The forest is empty, icy, cold, and leafless. He looks and imagines birds flying, dears running, and he imagines a family of foxes. The fox remembers spring when he was very close to his mother and brothers, but his reality is winter. The fox walks and he sees something. The fox sees a vixen, and he joins her. The imagination of the fox is vivid. For example, all the birds and dears that he thinks about are illustrated beautifully. The book does a wonderful job illustrating the cold and lonely winter.… (mere)