The Rock-Loving Alien

by Kyoko Hamano

illus. by Eri Yoneda

An adaptation of a series first published in the Nihon Jido Bungaku (Japan Children’s Literature) journal. Ichiko Yaotome is a third year junior high schooler living in the Tohoku region, facing the transition to high school alongside Yoshio, a boy with an unusual interest in mineralogy and nuclear power. Ichiko’s hopes for the future are a central theme, given a new dimension in the aftermath of the (real-life) earthquake of March 11, 2011.

20 x 14 cm, 190 pages, Black-and-white illustrations
First published March 2014