diana kimpton book japan

Isle of Wight author finds success in Japan

Thanks to Diana for sharing the news. Ed


Japanese children have fallen in love with a series created by Island author, Diana Kimpton.

The stories feature a girl who can talk to animals, and the humour that runs through the books obviously works well in Japan.

Amy Wild becomes Mia Wight
Published in this country as Amy Wild – Animal Talker, the series has been translated and completely re-packaged for the Japanese market.

Some of the names have had to change to fit the change of language, so Amy Wild has become Mia Wight in honour of the Island where her creator has lived for over 40 years.

Thrilled with the new-look
Diana is thrilled with the new-look for the series. The stories have been beautifully re-illustrated and Amy/Mia now has the pointy chin and enormous eyes so often seen in Manga comics.

Published in hardback, the books intrigue everyone here who sees them because they open the opposite way to the way we expect. The spine is on the right, the front cover is where we’d expect to see the back cover and the writing is read from top to bottom in columns that go from right to left.

16,000 copies sold since April
Only four of the eight books in the series have been published so far but they are selling well. The fourth book only came out in April, but it’s already sold 16,000 copies.

The original series about Amy Wild is available from Waterstones, Amazon and other good bookshops.

So is Diana’s latest children’s book, Alien Sheep, which features a green sheep who duplicates himself every time he goes to sleep.