Description Beneath a strawberry field, in a little burrow, lived a tiny old woman. Her job was to paint the strawberries red once they grew. Making the perfect strawberry red takes a great deal of care and devotion. But this year, the warm weather has made the strawberry leaves turn green early. Oh no! That means the flowers will bloom soon, and the strawberries will grow, and once they grow, she'll need to paint them—which means she'll need a lot of red! The old woman busily gets to work making red. "I'm the Strawberry Granny. I'm the one who makes strawberries bright red. Just a touch of my brush and the strawberries turn sweet. Abracadabra, alakazam—I'm the magical Strawberry Granny!" But then, suddenly, the weather turns cold... Many Japanese picture books have a warm, gentle quality, and The Little Old Woman in the Strawberry Field is no exception—closing this book feels like sipping a warm cup of tea. The story also gently explains the order in which strawberries grow: first green leaves appear, then strawberry blossoms bloom, then green strawberries form. Finally, the little old woman paints them, turning them a beautiful red. It feels as though the strawberries take on such a lovely color because of the kind and gentle heart of the Strawberry Granny herself. Author Mutsuko Watari studied Japanese literature at Japan Women's University and won the 1980 Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award for The Story of Flower Mingmi. She currently lives in Tokyo, where she continues to create picture books. Illustrator Chiyoko Nakatani was born in Tokyo, Japan. She graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Tokyo University of the Arts. In 1963, she traveled to Europe to study picture book illustration. She passed away in 1981. Her works include The King Who Carried a Bird's Nest on His Head (Hollym), Mr. Hippo's Boat, Mr. Sugun's Goat, Festival in the Forest, and many others.