■ Book Summary
I’m full of thorns. Sharp thorns pop out of my mouth. “Shut up, you fools.” I make my friends cry with sharp thorns. From the alarm clock that wakes me up, to food that I don’t like, tedious studies, and cars that ignore traffic signals – everything makes me angry. Everyone has thorns. I’m going to make my thorns bigger. Nobody will mess with me any more. They will be scared of me. Then, I’ll probably be all alone, right? Can I be happy, too?

■ Happy growth
This story begins with the defensive statement: “I am thorny.” It is the narrator’s declaration that he has the right to talk cynically and yell at others because he is a thorny boy. It is quite a statement for a small boy who’s not able to express his emotions properly and acts out aggressively. In fact, he wants to get along with others but behaves harshly because he doesn’t know how to.
Fortunately, the boy realizes that the way he talks and behaves is not right. He feels lonely and sad about being alone because of his own thorns. Here, the boy plucks up his courage and attempts to remove his thorns. By making a brave determination and in realizing his determination, he grows up.
This is not a made up the story. Instead, the author tells children: “I have experienced this. What about you? Haven’t you had such an experience?” And the author encourages children to reflect on their own behavior and thoughts. Children can realize how to act towards others so that they can become happy.

*Rights sold to Japan