Abstract

Okunoshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, "the island that was erased from the map" because of the production of poison gas. An unforgettable story that connects the past and the future.

◆The unknown truth that lies dormant on "The Island of Rabbits." A story that we want to share with children now, 80 years after the war.

◆Many rabbits live on Okunoshima, Hiroshima Prefecture. During World War II, rabbits were used on this island as experimental animals for poison gas. This book is the author's best work, where memories of the war and the island's environmental issues intersect.

◆A collaboration between Hiroshi Tateno, a writer who won the Japan Picture Book Award for "Cat and Bird" and "Acorn," and Eri Kondo, whose soft pastel drawings are charming.

*At the end of the book, there is an explanatory commentary "The Island that Was Erase from the Map - Okunoshima, War, and Rabbits" (written by Shingo Kaneko, professor of the Faculty of Symbiotic Systems Science and Engineering, Fukushima University) and an afterword.

Author’s Information

Written by Tateno Hiroshi
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1968. Painter and picture book writer. Studied under Kumada Chikabo from an early age. Won the Shogakukan Children's Publishing Culture Award for "Earth-Covered Mountain" (Kaiseisha), and the Japan Picture Book Award for "Cat and Bird" (Sekai Bunka Publishing) and "Acorn" (Komine Shoten). Picture books include "Shidemushi", "Gifucho", and "Garoamushi" (Kaiseisha), "Oke no Unkomushi" (Fukuinkan Shoten), and the "3 Frogs" series (Sekai Bunka Publishing), and reading material includes "Solo Numa no Monogatari" (Iwanami Shoten).

Written by Kondo Eri
Picture book writer and illustrator. Studied under Tateno Kou and re-learned picture book production. She won the Kokoro Picture Book Award for "The Proud Fox Who Cries" (Bukkyo Dendō Kyokai). Her monthly picture book works include "The Swaying Stars," "Halloween Treasures," "Playing in the Sand" (Shikosha, Children's World), "The Lion and the Rabbit," and "Coo the Stray Cat" (Suzuki Shuppan, Children's Land).