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Reposted by Yas Imamura

Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Bathtime for Snow Monkeys got its 3rd starred review today, from Shelf Awareness! In which they correctly call @yasimamura.bsky.social's illustrations "glorious."

Bathtime for Snow Monkeys is an exquisite picture book by author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrator Yas Imamura, the talented duo behind Love in the Library. It uses eloquent haiku and elegant illustrations to depict the warmth and tranquility experienced by a troop of macaques luxuriating in a mountain steam bath.

The opening haiku centers readers in the scene: "Mountains surround you./ This is Jigokudani,/ A park for macaques." Nihonzaru (snow monkeys, also called Japanese macaques) make their way through snow falling "thick and cold." The macaques pass "wet trees, slippery rocks--/ careful and quiet," before reaching the sulfurous-smelling hot springs. Here, snow monkeys huddle together; their "little red faces/ Peer out from brown, furry heads" while steam rises. They come here "to relax./ For clean fur and toasty soaks./ To be close to friends."

Until--splash!--one baby snow monkey in the onsen (soak bath) disturbs "the calm/ And others are cross." This baby "wants to play!/ But no one else does." Mama grooms her child with a reminder to "be mindful and hush," and as the baby settles in, the others do, too. "Snow drifts down," but the nihonzaru don't notice the wet flakes, because "they are warm and safe./ Doing what monkeys do best:/ Staying together."

Tokuda-Hall has created a series of blissfully serene, sure-handed haiku that advance a gentle, low-stakes narrative made deeper by extensive sensory details. Her choice to highlight the universal need for companionship and bonding makes this bath time feel comforting and familiar. Just like humans, her macaques "relax, snack, and occasionally have fights about who gets to sit where." In some important ways, however, they are different; for instance, snow monkeys "make up by picking lice out of each other's hair and eating them."

Imamura's glorious gouache and pastel crayon illustrations employ blues, ochers, and plenty of white snow to convey the heat of the pool and the chill of the landscape surrounding i…

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Reposted by Yas Imamura

Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Bathtime for Snow Monkeys officially goes on sale 10.13, and that means you still have time to preorder it from Mrs. Dalloways in Berkeley, or Green Bean in Portland, to have it signed by both @yasimamura.bsky.social and I AND get a print from the book!

Bathtime for Snowmonkeys cover, preorder to get a signed book and art print, on sale Oct 13!

The print is a gorgeous guache illustraytoon of 5 monkeys chillin in the hot springs from the interior of the book

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Publishers Weekly @publisherswkly.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

★ Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrator Yas Imamura “convey an appreciation of communal care and quietude” in their “serene” picture book BATHTIME FOR SNOW MONKEYS buff.ly/pN2swwO

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Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The second is Bathtime for Snow Monkeys, which is about-- you guessed it-- monkeys in the bath. SNOW monkeys in the bath. The hot springs in Jigokudani Monkey Park in Nagano, Japan. Written in Haiku, illustrated by Yas Imamura and just got a star from Kirkus! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bathtime-f...

barnesandnoble.com

Bathtime for Snow Monkeys

Barnes & Noble’s online bookstore for books, NOOK ebooks & magazines. Shop music, movies, toys & games, too. Receive free shipping with your Barnes & Noble Membership.

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Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

if you're feeling cheeky it might be fun to preorder one (or both!) of the picture books I have coming out this fall. If you order from Mrs. Dalloways I'll sign 'em AND @yasimamura.bsky.social will sign Bathtime for Snow Monkeys or Love in the Library which is NEAT mrsdalloways.com/list/maggie-...

mrsdalloways.com

Maggie Tokuda-Hall Pre-Orders

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Dennis Chan @alwaysbumping.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

This is a personal project I made for Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social , who is one of my favorite writers, based on her book "Love In The Library", illustrated by Yas Imamura @yasimamura.bsky.social . Of everything I've made, I'm especially proud of this.

Painted figures of George and Tama based on Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura's "Love In The Library", against a black background, seen from the legs up, at a three-quarter view angle.

Painted figures of George and Tama based on Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura's "Love In The Library", against a black background. The figures are fully in frame, seen from a front angle.

Painted figures of George and Tama based on Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura's "Love In The Library", against a black background. Back view, with their clasped hands visible.

Cover of "Love In The Library" by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura. A woman and a man are in a library reading and holding books, while through the window, an armed guard can be seen monitoring from a watch tower, in front of a barbed wire fence.

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Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

I am still reeling from this incredible gift. Professional model maker Dennis Chan (and husband of the talented @alawinans.bsky.social!) made this INCREDIBLE figurine of my grandparents. I can't stop turning it over in my hands. What a wild thing to see @yasimamura.bsky.social's work in 3D.

A figurine of Tama and George walking with books tucked in their arms, hand in hand, in front of a copy of LOVE IN THE LIVRARY illustrated by Yas Imamura

Component parts of the Tama figurine, painted but not yet assembled

The finished figurine, in front of a black background

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Reposted by Yas Imamura

xouqo.bsky.social @xouqo.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

“Can you Imagine, the Art and Life of Yoko Ono” by Lisa Tolin artwork by Yas Imamura & “Ono-isms” by Yoko Ono edited by Larry Warsh. Can you Imagine was charming, simple & pure with beautiful art. Ono-isms should have been better, there are hundreds of far more interesting Yoko quotes. Books 22 & 23

The cover of “Can You imagine, the art and Life of Yoko Ono”. A beautifully childlike background of colors and scribbled crayon lines, a piece sign and an illustration of Yoko Ono seen from the side with long dark hair, a hint of a smile, and a third of her face in shadow. Book is laying on multi coloured blankets.

The cover of Ono-isms. A white book cover with the title and authors names centered, within an indented rectangle, in black ink. Book is laying on a multi coloured patchwork background.

A page containing three quotes from Ono-isms.

“We are all entertained to death. We don’t have time to unfocus ourselves from the various daily entertainment we surround ourselves with.”

“When are we going to lift our eyes and look beyond the screen.”

“When you say search for self, you are searching for what you’ve lost because of all the other messages that are coming to you because of the hypnotism you are put under by others in the world. It’s as simple as that.”

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Japanese American National Museum @jamuseum.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

"They wanted me to remove the word 'racism' from the book altogether" @maggietokudahall.bsky.social #ScrubNothing

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Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

I both think it's important to tell this story but also: I have done so much work SINCE THEN to try and create a world where it doesn't happen again, along with 5,000 other book creators in @authorsabb.bsky.social. And I feel like that's the more important story by a mile.

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Bianca Schulze: The Children's Book Review @tcbrbookreview.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

⭐️ TCBR EDITOR'S PICK Mono no aware—the bittersweet beauty of impermanence. 🌸 WHEN CHERRY BLOSSOMS FALL by Katrina Goldsaito, illus. @yasimamura.bsky.social, lets the concept settle in gently—through a girl, her great-grandmother, and a cherry tree: www.thechildrensbookreview.com/when-cherry-...

thechildrensbookreview.com

When Cherry Blossoms Fall, by Katrina Goldsaito | Book Review

A tender intergenerational picture book about a young girl who learns the Japanese concept of mono no aware—the bittersweet awareness of impermanence.

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Maria Marshall @mmarshallauthor.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Don't miss @lauraalary.bsky.social sharing her gorgeous and inspiring new picture book - The Curious Life of Cecilia Payne: Discovering the Stuff of Stars. www.mariacmarshall.com/single-post/... @yasimamura.bsky.social @ebyrbooks.bsky.social #interview #kidlit #biography 📚👍

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Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) @yalsa.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

YALSA's Excellence in Nonfiction Finalists have been named! Check out the finalists and find out more here before the winner is announced in January: ow.ly/K5hE50XE6cT Barb Rosenstock Gail Jarrow Yas Imamura Random House Children's Books Macmillan Children's School & Library Marketing

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Chuck Groenink @cgroenink.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Some highlights: meeting some of my editors in person, the absolute gentlemen Matthew Burgess and Doug Salati, and their new book. Discovering and meeting the absurdly skilled @winonanelson.com, seeing @yasimamura.bsky.social’s new Yoko Ono book, and coming across my own books in various places.

Sendakian magic from Doug Salati in Words with Wings and Magic Things

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Lisa Tolin @lisatolin.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

So honored by this piece in Forbes on Can You Imagine? @yasimamura.bsky.social #yokoono #picturebook “Imamura’s dreamy, ethereal imagery amplifies Tolin’s triumphant text – infused with feminism and passion for art, love, and peace – and underscores Ono’s enduring impact on the global art world.”

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Gabi Snyder @gabisnyder.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Hooray! My copy of CAN YOU IMAGINE? The Art and Life of Yoko Ono arrived! This gorgeous picture book was written by my talented critique partner @lisatolin.bsky.social and illustrated by @yasimamura.bsky.social Highly recommended! @simonkids.bsky.social

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Chuck Groenink @cgroenink.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

She’s not on Bluesky (yet), but my friend Yas illustrated a picture book biography of Yoko Ono that just came out.

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