Description: "Summer means a trip to the sea, meow!" With their yellow fur, round bellies, short little legs, and that unmistakable mischievous look on their faces, the rowdy cats of Udangtangtang Yaongi are back! This time, they're watching enviously as passengers board the cruise ship, the Meong-Meong. The passengers climb aboard the Meong-Meong with a tube in one hand and a suitcase in the other, brimming with excitement. Of course, the cats can't just sit back and watch. "A sea trip looks like so much fun, meow. We want to go on a sea trip too, meow!" Just then, the cats spot a big wooden barrel, some rope, and an anchor left behind by fishermen on the shore. They tie two barrels together with the rope, attach the anchor to the end, and toss it onto the stern of the Meong-Meong. Then they climb onto the barrels and go bobbing along across the waves, following the ship. Once night falls and all the passengers are fast asleep, the cats climb up the rope, hand over hand, and sneak aboard the Meong-Meong at last. On the ship's deck, they find a lovely pool and a cozy café. While the cats are happily swimming in the pool and enjoying cool drinks and sweet fruit at the café, a band of octopuses suddenly crawls up onto the ship and threatens them: "This ship is ours now, squeak. Do as we say and steer this boat!" Where are the octopus pirates trying to take the cruise ship? Will the cats and the passengers make it through their sea trip safely? The picture book that both children and parents eagerly await! Udangtangtang Yaongi is a beloved picture book series that has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. The eight cats—who simply cannot resist their curiosity, must eat what they want to eat, and must do what they want to do—are just like our own children. Even knowing they'll get in trouble with Mr. Meong-Meong, they can't help getting into mischief again and again, chasing that thrilling sense of freedom. It's this very spirit—the universal childhood desire to "just do whatever you want"—that seems to be the secret behind the series' popularity. Once again, the cats can't resist their longing for a sea adventure and sneak aboard the cruise ship, the Meong-Meong. But this time, they run into an even tougher opponent. While the cats have only ever snuck aboard as stowaways, the octopus pirates are after something much bigger: the entire ship itself. So do the cats fight back against the pirates? Of course not—these cats may cause trouble, but they hate conflict. Besides, these octopuses seem to have a story of their own. Though they seemed fierce and confident when they first climbed aboard, by the time they're begging the cats to remove the Meong-Meong's propeller and attach it to their own ship, they're practically pleading. Touched by their plight, the cats ask themselves, "Is it really okay to do this, meow?"—yet they go along with the pirates' request anyway. And as it turns out, their kindness ends up saving the octopuses' lives. Ever since the previous book in the series, Heave-Ho Ramen Shop, the cats have shown a growing tendency not to turn their backs on those in need—and that growth continues in this story. What has allowed the cats to grow this way is, above all, having both the freedom to make mischief and the chance to make things right afterward. In cleaning up after their own antics, they've learned to reflect on their actions and consider others' circumstances, growing wiser and more open-hearted along the way. And at the center of it all is Mr. Meong-Meong, who—despite being fooled by the cats time and again—keeps giving them another chance. Perhaps what our children need isn't so different: the freedom to make mistakes, and the chance to make things right on their own. Given just that, who knows how brilliantly they might grow?