A half-century since its original 1975 Japanese publication, Sachiko Kashiwaba's delightfully whimsical The Village Beyond the Mist arrives in the U.S. Translator Avery Fischer Udagawa and Japanese artist Miho Satake, both of whom worked on Kashiwaba's 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award-winning Temple Alley Summer, again display their talents through charming text and enchantingly inviting black-and-white line drawings.
Young Lina insists to the concerned policeman at the train station that she is "not running away. Or lost." She's rather proud she's made her first solo trip from Shizuoka, having changed trains at Tokyo and Sendai, "before disembarking exactly where her father instructed." She "only needs directions" to get to Misty Valley, where she's supposed to spend summer break. When Lina finally arrives at Picotto Hall--partially by tractor, partially led by her red and white umbrella flying ahead--elderly Ms. Pippity Picotto isn't exactly hospitable, surprisingly deeming her "an utterly unremarkable child!" Despite a tear-filled start, Lina finds nurturing kindness from plenty of others as she's tasked with various jobs: shelving books at Nata's bookstore, cleaning up Thomas's shop, dusting Shikka's ceramics store, scolding and saving a spoiled prince, and helping at Monday's toy shop. As acerbic as she seems to be, Ms. Picotto eventually reveals why Lina's father sent her to this faraway forest village.
If Kashiwaba's fantastical adventure sounds somewhat familiar, that's because it was the source material for Hayao Miyazaki's albeit darker animated classic film, Spirited Away. With seamless lessons on acceptance, sharing, and compassion, Kashiwaba's hidden village is undoubtedly lighter and gentler, ready to welcome new audiences for return visits. --Terry Hong