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Michiko Aoyama

Biography

Michiko Aoyama

Michiko Aoyama was born in 1970 in Aichi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. She is the author of the multi-million-copy bestselling WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY, which was a Time Book of the Year, a Times bestseller and a New York Times Book of the Month. Her latest novel to be translated into English, HOT CHOCOLATE ON THURSDAY, is her debut, which tells of the Marble Cafe, a tiny community cafe in Tokyo, and is set partly in Japan and partly in Sydney, Australia. It is a companion read to MATCHA ON MONDAY, coming soon in translation. Another book available in English by Aoyama is the international bestseller THE HEALING HIPPO OF HINODE PARK. Aoyama lives in Yokohama, Japan.

Michiko Aoyama

Books by Michiko Aoyama

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park
by Michiko Aoyama - Fiction

Nestled at the bottom of a five-story apartment block in the community of Advance Hill is the children's playground in Hinode Park. If you look to the side, standing on stubby legs, is a hippo. Its upturned eyes give it a teary look, yet for decades, its quiet power has sustained the hearts of one community. According to urban legend, if you touch the exact part of the hippo where you have an ailment or wound, you will see swift signs of recovery. A quietly powerful story of hope, friendship and connection, Michiko Aoyama's beloved bestseller is a celebration of everyday encounters. Its subtle portrayal of the magic of community will lodge itself in every reader's heart as the eclectic cast of characters find healing in their lives --- though they may not always find it in the ways they expect.