The Cute Book. Let’s face it: it’s darn cute. This skinny little hardback from the Japanese design team Aranzi Aronzo is full of patterns for “cute and easy-to-make Felt Mascot” [sic], which are tiny creatures you can play with, attach to hair pins, sew onto a tote bag, etc. These little guys are not all-purpose, however:
A sly, offbeat sense of humor pervades the book; is it the original Japanese text, the translation, or the combination thereof? Check out this description of the mascot Bird:
Very girly, excellent figure,
coquettish, but confused little bird.
“I would like you to make me
very pretty.”
Weird, yet somehow wonderful. The bunnies, pandas, sprites, bad guys, and others in this easy-to-use craft book will delight young girls and anyone interested in Japanese pop culture. All you really need to get started is some felt, some glue, and a needle and thread.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
That IS cute!
Hey there! I’m the translator, and also from the publisher of The Cute Book. Thanks for the praise! I can tell you right now it’s a little bit of experimental translation but mostly Aranzi Aronzo are a bunch of crazy funny gals with awesome descriptions of their characters. Yay to you for picking this up!
I just got this book – my daughter absolutely loves it!