AI & AIKO AND THE DINOSAUR HUG

The protagonists of Ai & Aiko and the Little Curve (2025) return for a winter adventure.

Ai, an enthusiastic little boy with paper-white skin and a mop of cloudlike hair, and his shiba inu, Aiko, are excited to play outside in the snow with their friend Kei and her bunny, Kotton. As Grandpa, proprietor of the Tofu Café, watches fondly, Ai rushes out into the cold without a jacket—and then just as quickly heads back inside. The older man embraces the boy—after all, he points out, “Everyone needs a hug sometimes.” While Ai and Kei build a snowman, Aiko discovers a giant blue dinosaur in the ice. Afraid, the four friends hide, but when they peer out from behind a tree, they notice the dinosaur shivering. The behemoth must be cold—and perhaps even a little sad—so they lead it to the Tofu Café. Letting out a loud “grrrrr,” the dinosaur startles everyone. Ai, Aiko, and their friends try various methods to warm up the dino, like offering him mittens and hot chocolate, but it’s Grandpa’s words that do the trick, and a tender hug puts everything right. Relying on his now-familiar kawaii illustrations, Draw uses color and lines to convey warmth, emotion, and movement. Populating his world with chipper, rounded, mostly light-skinned characters, he’s crafted another charming story filled with important lessons: Don’t judge others by appearances, and love and friendship will always save the day.

A monstrously sweet tale of kindness.