“I hope everyone stumbles over a rock.”
But is this really my heart?
A book that will give me an opportunity to seriously look into my heart.

On my way home from school, I suddenly met someone I disliked.
There are several of them too.
I wish my best friend who nags at me every time, my teacher who scolds me every time, and my classmate who constantly teases and pranks me would just trip over a rock and fall.
I can't get excited about anything with this feeling.
I imagined making a tiny person I dislike and placing them on my palm and squeezing them, I tried controlling a robot to make that person's stomach hurt, I tried controlling a bee to fly over my head, I tried singing loudly into my pillow, but the feeling of dislike just wouldn't go away.
Could it be that the feeling of dislike is clinging to me, living in me? Could it be that I'm being manipulated by someone who loves sighs, sadness, and irritation? If so, I can't simply do what pleases them.
Even when something unpleasant happens or things don't go my way, I have no choice but to say, "I'll figure it out somehow!" or go to bed every night with a happy heart.
But that's not all.
Because the guy might not be there.
Wouldn't it be okay to have a day where you just feel disliked?

From the time the main character leaves school until he arrives home, he lets his imagination run wild to relieve the negative emotions that fill his heart.
You say that it's a waste of time to hate someone.
In the end, he didn't find a perfect solution, but he confidently said that he could manage it in his own way.
The child will undoubtedly be a little more determined when he or she arrives home than when he or she left school.


Our children, the real protagonists of "Is This Really the Heart?", empathize and laugh throughout the book, making us think about what to do next.
This book can provide an opportunity for children to seriously look into their own hearts.

Looking at the heavy subject of 'hatred' from various angles
A picture book with a rich content and a delightful twist

Author Shinsuke Yoshitake says it's not easy to tell children that "there's someone you don't like."
However, he explained his motivation for writing this book by saying that he thought it was meaningful to talk about the negative emotions that grow in children's hearts without them knowing.
When you have someone you dislike or feel hate towards, you often can't do anything else properly because you're thinking about that all day.
This is the same for both adults and children.
But if you are only focused on that, your mind will become more and more miserable and negative.
The author looks at such feelings from various angles and says, "In that case, how about trying this?" or "I will try this method."
The thought of 'I hope someone falls' never goes away, but if you look back a step, it seems like nothing.
Unlike the usual books that say, "Let's not hate" or "Let's find the good in that person," "Is This Really What You Feel?" is a picture book that simply says, "Let's change the direction a little." It is a picture book that cheerfully unravels the heavy subject of "hate" with the author's signature humor and cute illustrations.