I was first drawn to check out Volume One of this series after reading this Unshelved.com review. I enjoyed it enough to keep reading, and got this volume from Barnes and Noble. It's a slice-of-life story about a young calligrapher who moves to a remote village to try and recharge his creative energies. (There's an amusing cover-gag inside the front-and-back covers, showing Handa and Naru attempting to talk through a cup-and-string telephone, very cute.)

This volume picks up after Volume 6, with Handa back in the little village - and blissfully regarding his new glass-paned windows, which (surprise!) are going to suffer a few mishaps due to the high spirits, bad aim, or just plain random luck of Handa and the village kids. (The scenes of little Naru "helping" him organize his things are pretty funny in themselves.)

Among the events: a student play, in which some of the kids display an awesome talent for impersonation; amusing cat-themed 4-panel strips; Handa attempting to explain some of his self-motivation techniques to a baffled Hiroshi; and Hiroshi himself has some self-examination to do, with regard to his hopes for his own future.

There's a truly beautiful and touching sequence involving the kids and the aged, frail Grammy Kiyoba, where hyperactive Naru actually settles in for some tranquil moon-watching... unexpected and very sweet.

There are translation notes at the end, helpful for picking up on some of the quips and cultural references - and, in this case, including a nod to Japanese author Edogawa Rampo, whose Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination I've read.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the series.]

The park's Little Free Library is still closed for the winter, so I left this book propped up on the bars of the old gorilla cage, a sheltered spot that gets a lot of visitors. Hope the finder enjoys the book! (The island kids from the story would *love* this location!)

*** Released as part of the 2016 TV Series release challenge. ***