The Strange Mother, beautifully and carefully crafted

Baek Hee-na's picture book series 'Strange', 'Strange Mother' and 'Strange Guest' have returned with a refreshing look.
To sum up this revised edition in one word, it is 'a Baek Hee-na picture book you must read again.'
Just looking at the covers of these two beautiful works side by side is a feast for the eyes.
It's clearly the same story, but it feels new, like seeing it for the first time.
This revised edition is a compact size that is perfect for reading while lying down, and is easy on a child's hands.
Newly added visual elements and finely polished scenes will make the story more vivid and vivid, providing readers with new emotions and experiences.
Of course, the process was not smooth.
The author carefully re-selected the scenes to be included in this edition, meticulously adjusting the colors and lighting to match the emotional tone and mood of the story.
We set out to find the best paper to tell our story on, and there were days when we had to stop printing because things didn't turn out as we intended.
After these trials and errors, the result was a book that stood out for its physical properties and narrative depth.

I hope that Baek Hee-na's "strange" world, unfolding in Storybowl, will finally bloom brightly like flowers on a clear spring day, and that the hidden efforts and sincerity of the writers and other workers will deeply touch the hearts of readers.

★《Strange Mom》 returns with a more affectionate and sensual look.
The new cover clears away the previously obscured clouds, revealing his mysterious, pure white face in full view.
Like a newlywed bride with a flower-like appearance, a fairy wearing an apron folds her hands and shyly greets the reader.

★The yellow egg wash colored cover is decorated with a five-colored cloud band, giving it a unique yet warm feeling.
The rainy veranda scenery on the back of the belt approaches us vaguely, as if we are looking at a strange mother leaving Hoho's house.
Additionally, the author's early sketches are included on the wings and inside of the belt, adding to the visual appeal of comparing them with the completed scenes in the text.


★《Strange Mom》 has an unusually large number of secret elements and Easter eggs hidden by the author.
So when you try to see something, you keep seeing something.
On the pages connected to the fairy's red-colored cotton, pure white eggs from the celestial realm are mysteriously placed.
But when I got to the last page, all the heavenly eggs were gone.
Where did the eggs go? Did the strange mother take them because she ran out of eggs on earth? Or were they Baek Hee-na's story eggs, given to her by the heavens?

In each scene, hidden devices are discovered one after another.
His work is subtly revealed in the celestial background behind the fairy, and on the rainy street, he passes by, knowing the secret recipe for the candy.
The photos in Hoho's house's calendar are also scenes and people that we have seen many times.
At this point, there is no scene that can be passed over carelessly.

Strange Response from 'Strange Mom'

“What should I do?” There are times when I can’t do anything, just stamp my feet, and have nowhere to lean on or put my heart.
Was it a mistake on the part of the heavens to drop food? That day, a torrential downpour poured down in Seoul.
Hoho, who went to school, had a fever and had to leave school early.
The working mother wants to run straight to her child, but she can't leave work right away because of the piled up work.
Mom, you are in such desperate need of your mom.
A phone call made in a hurry and without thinking will be connected incorrectly and you will receive it in heaven.
Haha, Mom doesn't have time to hear noise or unfamiliar voices on the other end of the phone.
‘You call me mom…’ Even the fairy in heaven who received a phone call from an unknown person is flustered.
The fairy also has no time to correct this situation due to her mother's urgency.
Moreover, if the child is sick, how can heaven be indifferent?
Can't be helped.
I have no choice but to become a mother.
A fairy who responded to the request from the earth rode on a cloud and hurriedly came down to Hoho's house.
The fairy from heaven, who doesn't know how to apply makeup in real life and has put on a pale face, decided to be the strange mother of the sick Hoho today.

A strange and affectionate taste

Eggg, Hoho's house is so cold.
Egg dishes are perfect for times like this.
The strange mother searched all over Hoho's house and found a carton of eggs.
With heavenly egg dishes available on earth, you'll never run out of eggs at home again.
Hoho came home and was a little scared to see his strange mother instead of his own, but he felt relieved by her warm voice.
“What should I eat? When you’re sick, you need to feel full.” Strange.
The food prepared by the strange mother is ordinary, but it has a strange taste.
I ate some strange-tasting egg soup, and a yellow fog filled the air.
Sunny side up, where even the sky doesn't break the yolk, seems to be the trend.
A round yolk like the sun floated above Hoho's head.
‘Ah… it’s warm.’ The house is filled with the warmth of fried eggs.
Next is the cloud meringue.
I whipped the egg whites until they were foamy, then added a ladleful of the foam to the bubbling milk, and fluffy white clouds rose up, spraying mist.
The strange mother chooses the biggest and fluffiest cloud and lays Hoho down on it.
Meanwhile, Hoho's mother, who has finished work, runs home through the crowd in the evening rain.
But the strange mother is nowhere to be found, and only Hoho is sound asleep.
Haha, only then did Mom feel relieved.

In Baek Hee-na's strange world, heaven's help seems somewhat clumsy and prone to mistakes.
It's natural in a way, since life is the same in both the heavenly world and the human world.
In any case, the sincere heart of heaven working hard to help me in my desperate reality is a great comfort and hope to those living on earth.
In particular, the advent of the Strange Mother is extremely welcome and earnest for all the Hoho mothers and Hohos in the world.
Haha, a call error caused by Mom's earnestness.
If it's a wrong connection like this, I want to press the wrong button at any time.
Are you longing for some kind and warm magic?
If you're curious about the strange and incredibly affectionate taste of 'Strange Mom', open the book quickly.
Today, why not leave a carton of eggs quietly on the table and become someone's "weird mom"?
Doesn't everyone know at least one magic egg dish?

“Even in the world of small picture books, we all know each other, without knowing it.
“It’s interesting that it can be connected.” _ Baek Hee-na, from an interview with the Hankook Ilbo

Baek Hee-na's warm and strange world

"Strange Mother" is a work of self-confession based on the author's own experiences and emotions while caring for a hospitalized child.
Hoho Mom and Hoho are characters created by the author while thinking of herself and her child.
The story unfolds in a small, warm, and familiar space called Hoho's house.
This space goes beyond a simple background and functions as a medium connecting the characters' emotions and the past and present.
In particular, we chose an old apartment structure with a double door to make it easy for the fairies of heaven to come and go.
Meticulous attention was paid to the arrangement of each piece of furniture and props.
The pictures and drawings of baby Hoho on the wall, the well-worn furniture and household items tell us that this is a place where someone else lived in the past, and where traces of memories and emotions are everywhere.
Through their space, readers can deeply immerse themselves in the daily lives and emotions of Hoho and his mother.

The author also had times when he desperately wanted a strange mother.
At that very moment, when I felt like I could do just a little more, at the peak of my creative work, when I had to return to being a mother, I truly needed heaven's help.
The desperation the author experienced is also revealed in the scene where Hoho's mother leaves the office and runs to the sick Hoho.
This scene shows the mother's urgency and the moment when her suppressed emotions are released by the rain.
This is also the scene that the writer especially loves the most.
This author's earnestness is what evokes deep empathy in this whimsical and strange fantasy story about a fairy who descends from the sky to take the place of a mother.

How are our lives so intertwined? How do our individual stories influence each other, sometimes offering unexpected help and comfort? This complex and intricate connection is undeniably a divinely created one, and it can only be properly explained by the hand of God.
Baek Hee-na's strange world contains these tangled pieces of the world.