New Kawaii Books To Buy & Preorder

Here’s a round up of some new kawaii books that are out now or very soon including 2 we’ve had an early look at. I’ve included Amazon links below but you can also order some through Bookshop which supports independent bookshops near you. Here’s our shop fronts  (UK / USA)  with some of our favourite books about kawaii, crafts and Japan – we’ll be adding more soon too.

Sushi Party: Sushi Made Easy!

The cover of Sushi Party instantly grabbed my attention as it looks so fun and kawaii. Written by Japanese sushi chef Ken Kawasumi, it has 55 step by step tutorials for creating just about anything from sushi rice.

While it looks complicated, the recipes start out quite easy and then you use the same skills for the more detailed designs. It also doesn’t require as many tools and ingredients as you might think. If you already make Japanese rice regularly then all you need is a rolling mat, nori seaweed and some fillings. The recipes do use a lot of specialist Japanese ingredients but you can find so many things online now. The author does suggest alternatives though and you can use other things too if you don’t mind a different colour etc.

The book layout is especially well done with full at-a-glance spreads for every design including photos, diagrams and tips that make it feel less intimidating. Unfortunately, the digital review copy I was sent has a more basic design with plain text and broken up images so I didn’t feel confident enough to try a recipe. There’s no ebook available for preorder yet so hopefully that means they’re working on a better version as that would be even more useful to have it open on a tablet in the kitchen while you cook. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out as I’d still like to try this. Published 9th March – buy on Amazon (UK / USA)

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Cute Chibi Animals: Learn How to Draw 75 Cuddly Creatures

There are a lot of kawaii drawing books out there and it can be tricky to decide which ones are worth your money. If you’re interested in drawing animals, Chibi Animals is a great place to start. Created by kawaii illustrator Bobblejot, it has step by step instructions for 75 cute animals – and not just the usual mammals but birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians too.

It’s great to see more obscure animals included and I especially like the section on colouring, shading and highlighting , which other drawing books often skim over. There’s even tips on adding accessories and some colouring pages. I think this would be a great book for beginners or anyone wanting to improve their skills. Published 16th February – buy on Amazon (UK / USA)

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& More Kawaii Books

We mentioned these next 2 last year but they’re out soon. Kawaii Kitties: Learn How to Draw 100 Cats in All Their Glory is a super cute how-to book by Malaysian artist bichi.mao and will teach you everything you need to know about drawing cute cats including different breeds, poses and costumes. Published 23rd February – buy on Amazon (UK / USA)

The first official Pokemon Crochet book has 20 cute crochet patterns by Sabrina’s Crochet with patterns suitable for both beginners and experienced crocheters. Published 27th February – buy on Amazon (UK / USA)

The Many Lives of Pusheen the Cat is a new collection of her popular web comics, plus some brand new ones. If you’re a Pusheen fan, you’ll definitely want to preorder a copy. Published 18th March – buy on Amazon (UK / USA)

(Digital previews of Sushi Party and Cute Chibi Animals were provided by the publishers for review but all words and opinions are my own.)