[Miraiya Bookstore Co., Ltd.] The Grand Prize winner of the 9th Miraiya Picture Book Awards has been decided as “Thief Jamboree” by Abe Yui (Holp Publishing)! Image
URL: Miraiya Bookstores Co., Ltd. Press release: September 1, 2025 To Members of the Press The grand prize winner of the 9th Miraiya Picture Book Awards has been decided as “Thief Jambori” by Yui Abe (Holp Publishing)! Picture books selected by the children’s book staff at Miraiya Bookstore that we hope will become someone’s cherished book
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/152182/51/152182-51-51bc4eff81b226e8df4485eaa80b6c8e-600×200.jpg
Bookstores”), a member of the AEON Group, will be holding the “9th Miraiya Picture Book Award Fair” at Miraiya Bookstores and Asine locations nationwide from September 1, 2025. The Miraiya Picture Book Award is an original picture book award from Miraiya Bookstores. Based on the concept of “nurturing bestselling picture books that will be read into the future,” children’s book staff at Miraiya Bookstores nationwide select the best picture books from those published in the past year. From among the many nominees, Yui Abe’s “Thief Jambori” (Holp Publishing) was selected as the 9th Grand Prize winner. Miraiya Bookstore staff sent in recommendations such as, “I want to keep this book close to me at all times. It’s always close to my heart. It’s a book I want you to read while thinking of someone special.” Soon after its release, some stores displayed handmade figurines made by the store manager in their stores to show their support and convey the book’s appeal. Miraiya Bookstore confidently recommends this picture book, one that we want to pass on to future generations.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/152182/51/152182-51-ca38c9a18f62665f9e4e35f237a82759-1247×774.png Picture book “Thief Jambori” and the work of the manager of Miraiya Bookstore Kakamigahara Branch Work figure
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/152182/51/152182-51-c6760612af297bd65fceb36ffd71d389-475×482.png ■Author Profile Abe Yui Born in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture in 1986. Influenced by her father, a junior high school art teacher and painter, she grew up surrounded by art from a young age. She made her debut as a picture book author in 2020 with “I Want to See You” (Hidamarisha). Her major picture book works include “Sleepy Yu-chan” (Hakusensha), “A Day in the Waves” (Holp Publishing), “The Night of the Big Wind” (Poplar Publishing), “The Snack Thief” and “Grandpa’s Sneezing” (both published by Fukuinkan Shoten), “Midnight Monster” (Tokuma Shoten), and many others. She won the 1st Baby Picture Book Research Society Grand Prize for “Pittanko” (Fukuinkan Shoten). She won the Newcomer Award at the 3rd TSUTAYA Picture Book Awards for “A Day in the Waves” (Holp Publishing). The same work has also been selected as “White Ravens,” an internationally recommended children’s book catalogue by the International Children’s Library in Munich. ■ “Thief Jamboree” Work Introduction There’s an unusual thief living in this town. His name is Jambor. At night, while everyone in town is asleep, Jambor steals something. It’s a treasure that’s very precious to Jambor. One day, the new mayor arrives and takes something precious from everyone in town. One day, the “something” that Jambor has been collecting every night brings about a small miracle in the town… What can be done to recover something precious, and the miracle that can come from chance, are vividly depicted with a humorous and rich touch. This is the first illustrated fairy tale by Abe Yui, a talented picture book author who has attracted attention both at home and abroad. It’s a story that will make your heart swell with every read. [Abe Yui’s acceptance speech]
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/152182/51/152182-51-c54f55d1da34bb07f420276e1fd1a3f1-2415×2489.jpg 【9th Miraiya Picture Book Award】 Grand Prize: “Thief Jamborie” by Yui Abe/Holp Publishing 2nd Place: “When the Whale Dies” Text: Eguchi Eri, Illustrations: Kawasaki Shunichi, Supervisor: Fujiwara
Yoshihiro/Doshinsha 3rd Place: “Ichigorilla” Written by: Aso Kazuko, Illustrations by: Kaneko Maki/Poplar Publishing 4th Place: “Dai-Pinchi Zukan 3” by Suzuki Noritake/Shogakukan 5th place: “The Feelings of That Day” by Mari Kasai, illustrated by Chiaki Okada / Kin no Hoshisha 6th place: “I Can’t Wait” by Shinsuke Yoshitake / Bronze Shinsha 7th place: “Sagging” Noritake Suzuki/Poplar Publishing 8th place: “The Sheep System” by Yuji Ogushi/Shogakukan 9th place: “Let’s See Each Other Someday” by Pat Zitrow Miller, illustrated by Susie Lee, translated by Kamiyaniji/Kaiseisha 10th place: “Marugoto Chikyu Restaurant” by Cho Hikaru/PHP Institute You can also check the rankings on the Miraiya Bookstore official website.
https://www.miraiyashoten.co.jp/news/miraiyaehon2025/ 【About Past Grand Prize Winners】 Miraiya Bookstores has selected numerous works for the Miraiya Picture Book Grand Prize and has actively promoted the works’ appeal through public relations activities. Grand Prize winning works attract a lot of attention through extensive in-store promotion and in various media outlets, helping to introduce children to books and serving as a bridge to convey the joy of reading. Many past award-winning works have gone on to become major hits. The Grand Prize winners to date are as follows: Episode 1: “Noraneko Gang Flying in the Sky” by Noriko Kudo/Hakusensha 2nd: “A Little Pee Leaked” by Yoshitake Shinsuke/PHP Institute 3rd: “The Cat Without a Name” by Takeshita Fumiko, illustrated by Machida Naoko/Komine Shoten 4th: “The Princess’s 10-Story Story” “The Castle” by Haruka Hana/PHP Institute 5th: “Bread Thief vs. Fake Bread Thief” by Keiko Shibata/KADOKAWA 6th: “The Great Crisis Picture Book” by Noritake Suzuki/Shogakukan 7th: “I’ll Soon Be Eaten” Yuji Hasegawa/Chuokoron-Shinsha No. 8 “My Gyoza Has Disappeared and I’m Looking for It” by Michiko Tamada/Kodansha Miraiya Bookstore will continue to devote its efforts to discovering and promoting compelling works in order to create opportunities for children to discover books and experience the joy of reading. Please look forward to the next Miraiya Picture Book Award. ■Company Profile [Company Name] Miraiya Bookstore Co., Ltd. [Head Office] 9F, Aeon Tower, 1-5-1 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture [Telephone Number] 043-298-1021 (Main) [Established] December 24, 1985 [Capital] 100 million yen (100% owned by AEON Co., Ltd.) [President and CEO] Masataka Hirakawa [Business Activities] Book and magazine sales, stationery and miscellaneous goods sales, coworking space operation ■Contact information regarding this matter Miraiya Shoten Co., Ltd. Aeon Tower 9F, 1-5-1 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture e-mail: Press@miraiyashoten.co.jp Official homepage: https://www.miraiyashoten.co.jp For more information about this release