Nakaya Miwa's ambitious new picture book

The Tale of the Three Hat Sellers of Dotori Village
“Buy a heart-fluttering hat that will make your heart flutter just by looking at it.”

An ambitious new character series from Miwa Nakaya, author of the best-selling "Black Crayon."

Miwa Nakaya, a picture book author who vividly and cheerfully expresses children's small fantasies with lively characters, has introduced a new character series.

The main character is a child-friendly acorn, and the story is set in Acorn Village.
The first volume, "The Hat Shop of Acorn Village," tells the story of the Three Musketeers, hat shop owners who overcome difficulties with their ingenious ideas and wisdom.
The story is about hat shop owners Kirin, Toli, and Suri who create unique hats that make hearts flutter and become very popular with the acorns who think that one hat is enough.

Nakaya Miwa has been gaining explosive popularity among children with every picture book series she has published.
The representative 'Black Crayon Series' brought to life 'crayons', which children easily play with, and received great response for incorporating the emotional abilities essential for children, such as friendships, a sense of adventure, crisis management, imagination, promises, and forgiveness, in a fun way.
So it has become a classic picture book that all children must read.
The 'Silkworm Series' and 'Stump Series' are also continuously loved by children for their crayon lines and vivid colors.

"The Hat Shop of Dotori Village" is a new series by Nakaya Miwa that was born after a long wait.
This time, we'll talk about village stories beyond peer relationships.
We will be able to share stories about various occupations, work, and sociality with children who are entering social life, such as daycare or kindergarten.


This series is a story that introduces various 'jobs' set in Dotori Village.
Does 'work' mean earning money by moving your body?
No, that's not true.
Anything that I do for someone other than myself is 'work'.
Whether it's a mother protecting her family or a grandmother caring for her grandchildren, they're all working for someone else.

Among them, those who are called experts are those who do not give up on a given task and complete it to the end, no matter how difficult it may be.

All the neighbors in Dotori Village work with a sense of professionalism.
Please look forward to Dotori's future activities!

- From the author's note, Nakaya Miwa -

As soon as this book was published in Japan in the fall of 2010, it took the lead in the children's picture book market and became a bestseller.


Overcome challenges with creative ideas and creativity!

The Acorn Three Musketeers were worried because their hats weren't selling.
But the three of them don't get discouraged, and instead find a solution by thinking about things like, "How can we sell well?" and "What is lacking in our hat?"
He goes to a bigger city where there are more acorns, and puts up flyers advertising his hat shop.
Then, by chance, he gets a brilliant idea from baby mice who happen to buy the same hat.
Eventually, he changed his thinking and created a one-of-a-kind 'thump thump' hat full of imagination and creativity from an ordinary and common hat.


The process of the three acorn brothers running a hat shop provides children with a positive lesson.
This story, about overcoming problems with ingenious imagination and ideas rather than being easily discouraged, provides children with wisdom and courage.
And it naturally awakens in children who read picture books the power of imagination and creativity.


Find out what acorns do and what jobs they have!

In 『The Hat Shop in Acorn Village』, you can meet acorns doing various jobs.
The first page introduces the acorns living in Dotori Village, including the village chief, cameraman, taxi driver, Green Mothers, carpenter, writer, editor, and even an aspiring singer. As you turn the pages of the picture book, you can discover characters from all over the village, each diligently working on their assigned tasks.
The fun of finding characters like the author and editor sitting in a tea house reading and having a meeting, or the Green Mothers' Association aunt blowing a whistle to ensure the safety of young acorns on their way to kindergarten, makes the picture book even more interesting.


Enjoy learning about nature with the vibrant, living 'Acorn' character!

The character and story were born from the image of an acorn, a common sight in an autumn forest, being 'wearing a hat'.
The small and cute acorn character is enough to capture children's interest.
Acorns are a tree fruit that children love very much. The fruits of trees belonging to the oak family are collectively called 'acorns', and the shape of the fruit varies depending on the type of tree.
The characters in the picture book are suitable for use as a nature learning activity, as they accurately reflect the different shapes of the fruits of real oak, thorn, and maple trees.


By climbing a nearby mountain and comparing the shapes and appearance of leaves on real trees with the characters in "The Hat Shop in Acorn Village," you can provide children with a natural opportunity to learn about nature through observation.