I do have to voice my opinions on something. I'm a little annoyed at some of the titles of these books. It's as though the publishers thought they had to put together a string of over-excited exclamations to announce the book just because it has some Japanese content. And DO NOT get me started on that "Kyuuto!" business. Is it not cute enough to just call the series "Cute" and get on with it? If they wanted a Japanese touch, why not go with the arguably more recognizable "Kawaii" - the actual Japanese word for cute?
Whatever, I will get off my high horse. I just get kind of cranky that these things have to get dumbed down to become supposedly more digestible to an American audience. Lucky that they are in English now, though! I thought I would make a convenient list of the Japanese craft books I know of that are printed in English. I've linked the books to their amazon.com page so you can easily get all their info, even a picture of the cover. Makes things a lot easier to find.
Let's Craft!
Available Now
The Cute Book - Aranzi Aronzo (Felt mascots)
The Bad Book - Aranzi Aronzo (no crafts, but quite literally wicked cute)
Aranzi Machine Gun vol. 1 - Aranzi Aronzo (mostly comics, a couple of applique patterns)
Aranzi Machine Gun vol. 2 - Aranzi Aronzo
Sock and Glove: Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-off Socks and Gloves - Miyako Kanamori (stuffed animals)
Fleece Dog: A Little Bit of Magic Created With Raw Wool and a Special Needle - Nobuko Nagakubo (needle-felted doggies)
Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful - Narumi Ogawa (amigurumi and some hat and scarf projects)
Amigurumi: Super Happy Crochet Cute - Elisabeth Doherty (amigurumi - really inventive and unusual designs. This and the one above are actually American publications originally. It's a shame they both went with those obnoxious titles)
Coming Soon
Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Lacy Crochet - ? (looks like small household items, Sept. 1 - it also looks like these "Kyuuto!" books don't have a listed author, anyone know who wrote this one?)
Aranzi Machine Gun vol. 3 - Aranzi Aronzo (available Sept. 25)
Cute Dolls - Aranzi Aronzo (stuffed animal versions of their felt mascot characters, available Nov. 20)
Fun Dolls - Aranzi Aronzo (more stuffies, available Nov. 20)
Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Amigurumi - written by Tomoko Takamori, although I have not been able to find her name on any English site (amigurumi with a lame title, available Dec. 6)
Aranzi Cute Stuff - Aranzi Aronzo (accessories and other cute things featuring your faves from the Cute Book, available Mar. 11, 2008)
If you know of any others, let me know.
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2 comments:
I really like " Mr.Funky's super crochet wonderful". The author is from Japan, and I don't think she was trying too hard to make that title. I think that's her way to describe the book. Real Japanglish.
I think Super Happy Crochet Cute is really obnoxious title for even Japanese audience.Her creations are wonderful,though.
Well said.
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