Nowadays,

when ever we go out,

 telephones and tablets always seem to be in children's hands, it almost seems like the art of reading is lost, which makes the efforts of Mao Fujimoto, a student at the prestigious Tama Arts University, so note worthy, 

He has redesigned the children’s fairytale, adding another dimension of true interactivity, by making a Big Book, that is precisely that, a children’s story that unfolds into a gigantic single sheet, revealing an oversized graphic of something central to the story, Fujimoto was inspired by a keen fascination about what it would be like to ride on the turtle, which carries the young fisherman to a sub-sea palace in Urashima Taro, one of Japan’s most beloved stories,

 and each illustration stands alone as a gorgeous work of artistry, all by the hand of Fujimoto,

 amongst her series of 5 stories, perhaps the most visually striking is the deep, dark whole featured in Alice in Wonderland, 

 the listeners and storytellers alike can get on top of the whole book, reorienting themselves around it as they become immersed in the story, experiencing it with all 5 senses, I have nothing against digital books, in fact I have a Kindle myself, 

but an experience like this can still only be achieved in analog and Fujimoto presents a masterful way of doing it, what a neat idea to try and get youngsters interested in reading real books again, for now, Urashima Taro and The Giant Turnip have been turned into real books thanks to Seigensha Art Publishing, 

each features Fujimoto’s beautiful illustrations accompanied by story text in both Japanese and English, so not only is it great for storytelling, it’s also useful for learning another language! and because it’s designed to be spread out on the floor and walked/crawled on, the books are made from water-resistant, highly durable paper so it holds up to toddler abuse, how neat is that!