"I'm Going to Run Away," by Margaret W. Brown (Author), Clement Hurd (Illustrator), and translated by Mimi Iwata, published by Horupu Publishing.
Recommended for:
Please recall the time when you were raising your children. It's adorable when a baby turns one year old and can start talking. But then, the defiant phase comes along.
It can be quite upsetting. You know it's a part of your child's growth, but it still hurts when they say, "Mom, I don't like you" to your face.
There is a picture book that expresses the feelings of parents in such situations.
Synopsis:
Once upon a time, there was a rabbit.
One day, the rabbit decided to leave home and go somewhere.
So, the rabbit said to its mother,
"I'm going to run away."
Then, the mother rabbit responded,
"If you run away, I will chase after you. Because you are my precious child."
"If I come after you, I will turn into a fish in the river and swim away."
"I will become a fishing rod and reel you in."
And in this manner,
One after another! The mountaintop becomes a mountain climber. The garden crocuses become a gardener. The yacht becomes the wind.
At the end, when the rabbit becomes a human child,
"Being a mother, I will embrace that child."
"In that case, it's the same as staying with me and being my child," says the rabbit.
Here, you'll feel relieved.
I read this book to my three-year-old with emotion, saying, "When you become a... I will chase after you."
This book was first published in 1942 and has become a classic in children's literature with 96 reprints as of 2021.