Next Chapter is thrilled to stock A Frog In the Fall (And Later On), a comic by Linnea Sterte, published by Peow Studio. 

"A tale about toads, frogs and life"

A minor frog (hatched this spring) encounters two toads, who have captured the ghost of a Shungiku flower that withered and died just recently. The spirit yearns for the tropics and so do the two toads. The frog decides to follow them on their journey south. It’s a slice of seasonal life for a frog who experiences everything for the first time. Along the way, the frog has encounters with mice, cats, dogs, trees, persimmons, and other beings. Lessons are learned, and thoughts are exchanged. A meditative road trip, a contemplation on life in general.

Linnea Sterte is one of the illustrators of all time from Sweden, but probably one of the absolute best. You may recognize her from Instagram (as Turndecasette) or from the book Stages of Rot (released in 2017) which she was also Eisner nominated for.

330 p / 240 x 140 mm / Kraft Hardcover with Slipcase / Open spine lay-flat binding / 1 spot color interior

Our thoughts

I am not one to treat books with excessive care, but I handle my copy of A Frog in the Fall (And Later On), with its slipcase and open-spine binding, like the relic of a venerated saint, because this is An Art Object as much as it is a book.

In this gorgeously drawn and exquisitely produced grown-up-picture-book-slash-graphic-novel, Swedish artist Linnea Sterte answers the question "what if Hokusai had written and illustrated Frog and Toad?" We follow a newly-hatched frog during his first autumn, rendered with the elegance of a Basho haiku, as he tags along with vagrant toads and meets all manner of mice, dogs, and tree spirits that exist in the interstices between human habitation. Not much *happens* -- it's not that kind of book. Small critters journey and dance and eat Pocky. It's got notes of The Little Prince or The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, but with less Boy and more Amphibian.

It was a labor of love getting these in, and I believe we are the only store in the country to carry them for the time being. In other words, the FOMO you are feeling is real. This is a book to be treasured by the lucky person you buy it for, whether that's your alt-comics-loving hipster friend, or the aunt who keeps giving you Charlie Mackesy books, or, if you love beautiful drawings and small animals in clothes, yourself.

-Graham (a bookseller at Next Chapter Booksellers)