Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Learning to appreciate impermanence is the delicate takeaway of Goldsaito and Imamura's conceptual intergenerational tale. In the cold of early spring, young Yuna climbs a gnarled cherry tree and asks her grandmother when it will bloom. Hībāchan answers, "We wait for so long for the blossoms to appear, but then they fall so quickly. Mono-no-aware, ne?" The phrase, Yuna learns, is a Japanese expression celebrating fleeting loveliness: the blossoms "become more beautiful because you know they will soon be gone." It's a concept the child struggles to grasp until the cherry tree blooms during the spring when Hībāchan passes, the wind carrying away the blossoms until only one remains. Decisive-feeling gouache and watercolor brushwork is delightfully tactile, the windblown grasses and cherry blossom explosions conveying nature through texture and movement in a thoughtful picture book that considers multiple seasons of ephemerality. An author's note concludes. Ages 6--8. (Feb.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
Sitting in her great-grandmother's cherry tree, a Japanese girl asks when it will bloom. Hibachan, who is embroidering "by feel" because of her cataracts, tells Yuna that the wait for blossoms is long, and once they bloom they disappear quickly. She explains the concept of "mono-no-aware": things "become more beautiful because you know they will soon be gone." Yuna doesn't understand, but as the days pass, she describes the appearance of tree for her hibachan, from when the flowers are buds until, in a glorious spread of the two gazing up at the fully bloomed tree, "they look like stars!" Then the view shifts. From inside the dark house, we see Yuna and her parents on the porch with the pink tree in the background: "That spring, Hibachan was gone." As Yuna climbs the tree, a gust of wind sweeps the blossoms away, so strong that even the lines of text take flight. Yuna realizes "the beauty disappearing was the most beautiful thing" she'd ever seen, and she finally understands. Though the theme may resonate more with adults, the story is still moving and the gouache and watercolor art, stunning. An apt symbol for enduring memories, the boro Hibachan embroiders is an indigo-colored traditional textile of repeatedly mended material known for lasting decades; don't miss the affecting front and back endpapers, with the boro's patches acting as sky-blue background. jennifer m. brabanderMarch/April 2026 p.48 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young Japanese girl learns that nature can't be rushed. As the story opens, Yuna is perched in a bare brown tree, amid wintry fields "buttered" with snow. Impatient, she asks her hībāchan (great-grandmother), "When will your sakura tree bloom?" Hībāchan agrees that it's difficult to await the cherry blossoms, only to watch them quickly blow away in the wind soon after they arrive. Nevertheless, this ephemerality is what makes the blooms so beautiful--a quality Hībāchan refers to as "mono-no-aware." As spring approaches, Hībāchan's eyesight dims, and Yuna describes what she sees, from green buds closed "tight as fists" to "the slightest blush of pink" to flowers that resemble sea anemones. Hībāchan appreciatively murmurs, "Ah mono-no-aware, ne?" When Hībāchan dies, the grieving girl climbs the tree; surrounded by bright pink blooms, she remembers her great-grandmother's spirit until the blooms fly away, giving her a firsthand experience of the fleeting nature of beauty and time. Though poetic and gracefully told, Goldsaito's story will likely require explanation of these complex philosophical concepts. Imamura's vibrant, geometric illustration style effectively uses varying perspectives to immerse readers in hanami, or flower watching. Her palette balances the stark browns of winter with the pastel pinks and greens of the coming spring. An elegantly moving, if lofty, exploration of time and transition. (author's note)(Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
