47 years after the birth of Tabekko Animals, the first picture book, “Lion’s Biscuits,” is finally on sale! Don’t miss the special video showing the making of the picture book illustrations!
Gakken Holdings Co., Ltd. Press release: September 4, 2025 To Members of the Press 47 years after the birth of Tabekko Animals, the first picture book, “Lion-kun’s Biscuits,” is finally on sale! Don’t miss the special video showing the making of the picture book
illustrations! The first all-new picture book featuring an original story about Tabekko Animals, a snack beloved by people of all ages, is now on sale! Set in a town where animals live, the story behind the birth of the familiar biscuits is revealed! Gakken Holdings Co., Ltd. (Shinagawa, Tokyo / President and CEO: Hiroaki Miyahara), a group company of Gakken Holdings Co., Ltd. Gakken (Shinagawa, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tatsuya Nanjo) released the Tabekko Animal Picture Book “Lion’s Biscuit” on Thursday, September 4, 2025.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2535/8099/2535-8099-1e9a53bf611d244190def05b14a426f3-1064×1200.jpg
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2535/8099/2535-8099-7be77e1065e2163c083d42b99ad55570-1749×1182.jpg [Synopsis] The Candy Festival is coming soon to the town where the sweet-loving animal eaters live. Lion is excited to make a
one-of-a-kind candy. Everyone immediately starts making sweets, but Elephant wants to make a big candy, while Rabbit wants a fluffy candy… Everyone can’t agree on what they want to make, and the making of sweets continues at a rapid pace. Will they be able to successfully complete the one-of-a-kind candy?!
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2535/8099/2535-8099-3de23ae19fede54a0fa50f7698cc167a-1199×675.jpg ▲Lion-kun is enthusiastic about making a one-of-a-kind candy. Let’s all gather together and start our “Snack Bar” game.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2535/8099/2535-8099-cc4172f3705d83c0b11306e1a3824a11-1199×676.jpg ▲But everyone wants to make different sweets. Lion seems a little worried about what kind of sweets they’ll make…
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2535/8099/2535-8099-3a726aae31d37fa837c1645ae2e662dd-1200×676.jpg ▲Everyone sings and mixes, and dances and kneads.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2535/8099/2535-8099-21dcde33ea95abdbff5866c709eeb414-1200×675.jpg ▲With all the friends joining in, the fun just keeps getting bigger! Will the baking go well…? ■A look behind the scenes of picture book production! A special video showing the illustration process is now available! A making-of video showing the process of creating A. America’s illustrations has been posted on X (formerly Twitter). Through repeated trial and error, we attempted a different design from the packaging, aiming for a cute finish befitting a picture book. 【Watch the making-of video here】 ▼Cover Making Video
https://x.com/amelicart/status/1961235435885400076 ▼Main text rough draft video https://x.com/amelicart/status/1961759155221656053 ■Author Profile (Illustration) America Illustrator and visiting professor at Kyoto University of the Arts. Raised in Nagasaki. Graduated from the Department of Illustration at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His approachable illustrations have been involved in numerous licensed works. He is active both domestically and
internationally. (Author) Hasegawa Satomi Born in Shizuoka Prefecture. Studied at the picture book workshop “Atosaki Juku.” His main picture books include “See you in the Field” (Bunkeido), “Who’s the Animal?” (illustrations by Kakimoto Kozo / Gakken), and “The Day I Ride the Bus” (illustrations by nakaban / Ehonjuku Publishing). His reading material includes “What Do You Like?” (Akane Shobo) and the “Funifu the Elephant and Wam-kun the Crocodile” series (Kosei Publishing). He is active in a wide range of fields, from writing and illustrating picture books to children’s stories. ■Available for streaming on U-NEXT Kids’ Unlimited Reading Service as soon as it’s released! “Lion-kun’s Biscuit” will also be available on U-NEXT’s “Kids Unlimited Reading” service upon its release. Also available on U-NEXT from September 4th are the children’s book “Fun Singing: Tabekko Doubutsu’s First English,” published by U-NEXT, Inc. on the same day, and the official novelization “Tabekko Doubutsu: The Story” by screenwriter Tetsuhiro Ikeda, released by Gakken, Inc. in May. ▶https://video.unext.jp/book/browse/feature/BFP0030952 ■Social media campaign to win a picture book! In addition, Gakken’s official picture book Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/gakken_ehon/) and U-NEXT Kids’ official Instagram account
(https://www.instagram.com/unextkids_official/) will be holding a giveaway campaign from the release date of September 4th, where you can win “Lion-kun’s Biscuit” and “Fun Singing Tabekko Animals: First English.” Don’t miss this must-see opportunity for Tabekko Animals fans! [Product Overview]
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2535/8099/2535-8099-5c12ac4be42d17c769ec85ae1fe00839-1064×1200.jpg ■Eater’s Animal Picture Book: “Lion’s Biscuits” Written by: Satomi Hasegawa, Illustrations by: A. America Price: ¥1,540 (tax included) Release date: September 4, 2025 Format: 225mm x 200mm / 32 pages ISBN: 978-4-05-206114-1 Publisher: Gakken Co., Ltd. Gakken Publishing Site:https://hon.gakken.jp/book/1020611400 【Purchase this book here】 ・Amazon https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4052061144 ・Rakuten Books https://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/18294763/
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2535/8099/2535-8099-9bfadb6a6141c503dc3370292bb74fdd-804×1200.jpg ■ “Tabekko Animals THE STORY” Author: Tetsuhiro Ikeda Illustrations: Kazunori Togashi Format: 46-size / 318 pages Release date: May 1, 2025 Price: 1,210 yen (tax included) ISBN: 978-4-05-206127-1 Publisher: Gakken Co., Ltd. Gakken Publishing
Website:https://hon.gakken.jp/book/1020612700
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2535/8099/2535-8099-94e1837601d7ad402f6ae02e2a072eba-2590×2451.jpg ■”Fun Singing with Tabekko Animals: First English” Supervision: “Tabekko Animals” Movie Production Committee English Supervision: Keiko Fujibayashi (Kekorin English School) Music production: Doc Mass English audio/song: mikako (Nagie Lane) / Taiga Kobayashi English voice (child actor): Shinrei Felicia Consalvi/Kaiichi Kai Consalvi Format: 172mm x 180mm / 40 pages Release date: September 4, 2025 Price: ¥1,430 ISBN: 978-4-910-20759-9 Publisher: U-NEXT Co., Ltd. Purchase here:https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4910207597 ■Gakken Inc. https://www.corp-gakken.co.jp/ ・Representative Director and President: Nanjo Tatsuya ・Date of establishment: January 13, 2009 (trade name changed on October 1, 2022) ・Capital: 50 million yen ・Location: 141-8416 2-11-8 Nishigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo ・Business Description: Publishing and content business, global business, medical and nursing publishing content business, business for kindergartens and schools, classroom-related business, e-commerce and online business, and advertising business ■GAKKEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD. https://www.gakken.co.jp/ ・President and CEO: Hiroaki Miyahara ・Date of incorporation: March 31, 1947 ・Capital: 19,817 million yen ・Sales: 185.5 billion yen, 79 consolidated subsidiaries (fiscal year ending September 2024) Tokyo Stock Exchange Listed on the Prime Market (Stock Code: 9470) ・Address: 2-11-8 Nishigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-8510 ・Telephone: 03-6431-1001 (Main) ・Business Description: Holding company established in 1946, engaged in education, medical care, and welfare-related businesses. Education Sector: Classroom and cram school operations, including “Gakken Classroom,” Publishing and content business, including educational materials, Preschool and school operations, including textbooks and childcare supplies, Medical and Welfare Sector: Serviced housing for the elderly, Dementia group homes, Childcare support services, including nurseries and
after-school programs, Global: Activities and operations in over 150 countries.