Sashiko's Stitches - by Sanae Ishida (Hardcover)

About the Book

Guided by her mother, Sashiko, a girl with overwhelming emotions discovers solace and self-expression through traditional Japanese embroidery, using it as a tool to navigate her inner world.

Book Synopsis

Stitch by stitch, a child learns to cope with difficult emotions through the traditional Japanese embroidery practice of sashiko in this moving picture book.

Sashiko is a young girl with very big feelings. When her mother teaches her about her namesake--the traditional Japanese practice of mending through embroidery--she finds an outlet for some of those emotions. With each stitch, the dark cloud around her lightens, until her big fears begin to feel less scary. As she heals tears in the fabric, she begins to find a sense of calm and hope.

This deeply resonant picture book explores the transformative power of creative expression, as Sashiko finds threads of peace in her newfound craft. Children and parents alike will take away an appreciation for this beautiful artistic tradition, and for the great potential creative practices have to help us cope with difficult emotions.

Review Quotes

A 2024 Best Book of the Year--Shelf Awareness

Author, artist, and designer Sanae Ishida melds her literary talents (Little Kunoichi) with her sewing prowess (Sewing Love) to create the exquisitely empowering picture book Sashiko's Stitches.
Sashiko is overwhelmed by "so many feelings" that sometimes all she can do is cry. Her mother embraces the girl, then reminds her about the origins of her name. Sashiko goes back "many, many hundreds of years" to when families of hardworking Japanese fishermen mended their damaged clothing using "tiny little stitches." Repeated repairs resembled beautiful patterns, so the menders began purposefully creating distinct designs, calling the stitches "sashiko," meaning "little pierces." Sashiko's mother teaches her "One stitch. Two stitches. Three stitches," until Sashiko is sewing every day: "She stitches her small and big fears, and they start to feel less scary."
Ishida is a masterful storyteller, symbiotically pairing words and images. She writes of Sashiko's feelings as "big heavy clouds, weighing her down into the ground"; Ishida's inviting, saturated watercolor illustrations ingeniously underscore Sashiko's emotional overload by engulfing her in darkened swirls, her sunken legs trapped by burrowing animals and tangled roots. Ishida adroitly presents Sashiko's gradual, determined emotional mending through her first cautious stitches on small pieces of cloth, to eventually creating a protective, comforting quilt enabled by "the love and care of sashiko." The story is appended with further information about sashiko, including common patterns. "One stitch at a time," Ishida skillfully ushers Sashiko's journey toward calming recovery. --Terry Hong

--ShelfAwareness

About the Author

Sanae Ishida is a Seattle area author-illustrator of the Little Kunoichi the Ninja Girl picture book series, and Little Sumo, a board book series. She is also the author of several books on sewing and enjoys making clothing, resulting in too many handmade clothes for herself and her daughter. She lives with her husband and daughter in Seattle. Find out more about her work at SanaeIshida.com.