Description From the author of "I'm a Broccoli, But I Want to Be Loved Too" and "The Day We Go on a Trip" — picture book author Seo Young's warm and steady world, gently comforting hearts that have shrunk small. Life brings moments when our hearts feel small. Like when it suddenly starts pouring rain and you have no umbrella and no one coming to meet you ("How to Get Home Without Getting Wet"), or when you discover you've been voted the least popular vegetable ("I'm a Broccoli, But I Want to Be Loved Too") — there's no stopping that feeling of being small. The same is true the day you suddenly notice your face is covered in wrinkles ("It's Because of the Wrinkles"). When moments we find hard to show others become fixed in our minds, we start to dislike ourselves. Picture book author Seo Young captures these moments — the kind that can strike anyone like a sudden shower, moments when it's hard to like yourself — and tenderly soothes them. While empathizing with the confusion and frustration of the present moment, she reminds us that we have the strength to get through it. If looking at the charming, lovable world she creates suddenly brings a lump to your throat, it's because of her gentle gaze and careful touch. "Why does my face look like this?" — For the day you suddenly dislike how you look The hero of this book, Mr. Handsome, has always been satisfied with his life. Every morning, he enjoys dressing in clothes he likes and taking his usual walk along his favorite route. But one day, the moment he puts on his new glasses and looks in the mirror, Mr. Handsome is shocked. He discovers that his face is covered in wrinkles. The way his reflection is drawn as a bulldog in the mirror represents how Mr. Handsome now sees his own face. From the moment he discovers all those wrinkles, Mr. Handsome's daily life changes completely. He stops by the library to borrow a stack of books about wrinkles, and tries out various methods to get rid of them. Unfortunately, none of it works, and his worries only deepen. When You're So Busy Hiding What You Don't Want to Show, You Can Fall Into the 'Illusion' That Everyone Only Sees Your Flaws Though the degree may vary, everyone has something about themselves they'd rather not show others. In the front endpapers of "It's Because of the Wrinkles," Mr. Rabbit doesn't like his drooping ears and carefully grooms himself every morning. In the back endpapers, Mr. Thinning worries about his sparse hair. Everyone has something they want to hide, but Mr. Handsome's case is a bit more serious. Consumed by the need to hide his wrinkles, Mr. Handsome starts losing the everyday happiness he used to enjoy without a second thought. He tosses and turns at night, misses his walking time, and can't even eat properly. He can't feel the refreshing breeze even when it blows pleasantly, and he fumbles awkwardly with his favorite ice cream, unsure how to even eat it. But is all of this really "because of the wrinkles"? Mr. Handsome assumes that anyone who speaks to him will bring up his wrinkles, so he runs away — but readers can see that these conversations never actually go that way. The same is true in the scenes where Mr. Handsome is tormented by the 'illusion' that everyone he passes on the street is staring at his wrinkles. Through these scenes, author Seo Young contrasts reality (people simply going about their own lives) with Mr. Handsome's inner world (his anxious belief that everyone is only looking at his wrinkles). She persuasively illustrates that the feeling that 'everyone only sees my flaws' is nothing more than a private illusion, and that we don't need to worry so much about how others see us. The Small But Important Happiness of Accepting Yourself Just As You Are Just as Mr. Handsome in "It's Because of the Wrinkles" suddenly discovers his wrinkle-covered face one day, we all have moments of facing a version of ourselves we don't want to see. It's natural to feel flustered and want to hide it in these moments, but if we become too consumed with it, we risk losing things that truly matter. What looks so strange to our own eyes may barely be noticed by others, or may not even be an important issue at all. Through this book, author Seo Young gently shows us...