red tree

i found the book red tree by shaun tan in the winter of 2001
at the barnes & nobles bookstore at harvard square, boston
it made me fall in love with picture books instantly

since then i've found many amazing picture books
and i am still hopeful that many others will follow

but there's only one red tree in my heart :-)

hanmo sugiura & yoshihiko funazaki

i've been going through some of the picture books that i like lately to re-discover one precious book published by kodansha in 1986.

it was illustrated by Hanmo Sugiura and writte by Yoshihiko Funazaki

it has three main characters;

1) a mother who sends her sick son to the hospital alone

2) a son who hates going to the hospital

3) an egg that literally absorbs the feelings of those who touch it

most of the book is a monologue of the boy with some short dialogues with his mother that are full of humor and wit.

perfect combination of text and illustration

the title in Japanese would read like SHINSOBAN KAZEHIKI TAMAGO