The Fluffy Futon by Yuichi Kasano

ACHUKA Book of the Day 17 Jun 2026

Publisher: Gecko Press ISBN: 9798348024208

“Kasano’s mood-perfect illustrations are a delight, in calm, organic hues with a slightly simplified illustration style that loosely echoes woodblock prints. A charming story with subtly fantastic illustrations.” KIRKUS “Kasano offers a buoyant, sun-warmed invitation to rest in this cozy cumulative tale from Japan.” SLJ “Yuichi Kasano’s simple scenes of the sleepers are delightfully droll and adults and young children will enjoy sharing the story, at bedtime or any other time. The latter will love joining in with the oft repeated ‘ploff’ and ‘Yw-aahhn’ sounds as the ever increasing cast of characters take advantage of the opportunity to snooze.” RedReadingHub

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Does Gecko Press ever publish a bad or simply so-so book? I don’t think so. Or if they do, they manage to hide it from me.

I really like Kasano’s illustrative style, with he characters and main action isolated against pure white backgrounds.

Grandma spreads her newly washed futon to dry in the sun. The futon is so soft and smells so clean! The cat can’t resist nestling down for a snooze. Instead of chasing it away, Grandma settles in alongside, soon followed by the hen and her chicks, a little boy, the dog, the goat, and the pig family. . . . Soon the whole household is taking a nap!

Until Grandma starts to find the futon so comfy that no one else can fit.

Yuichi Kasano was born in southwest Japan. He graduated from the Tokyo College of Agriculture but found his calling after visiting an exhibition of Beatrix Potter’s original Peter Rabbit drawings. He has since published more than twenty children’s books.

Originally published in Japan in 2020, this is the first English translation. The translator is Cathy Hirano. Hear the book read in French:

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Originally published at https://www.achuka.co.uk on June 17, 2026.