I never wanted to be the nagging, pushy mom. I'd rather parent and educate at my child's pace, not impose my desires. But as my child grew, I grew impatient. The overwhelming flood of information around me made me anxious, and I feared falling behind if I didn't act fast. My rushed words and deeds passed straight to my child. Now, I wonder how much stress I've caused.
Reading "Clock Bath," I truly felt my child's perspective. "Here it starts again." "Why do I have to do this?" "I wish that voice would stop." These are just like my child's complaints. This picture book is an alarm, waking me up from my headlong rush. It reveals how we ignore our surroundings while racing for goals. This isn't just a mom's story. The rest and recovery in "Clock Bath" are for busy dads and tired kids too. I'll gather my family, who are seldom together, to read this book. We'll have a heart - to - heart conversation.
Recommendation by Park Jeong - eun (author of "Welcome the Sunshine" & "My Cat, Park Hwim")

Since becoming a mom, every minute counts. There's so much to do, yet time is short. A mom's and a child's pace are worlds apart. The mom is always hurrying, while the child is laid - back. In "Clock Bath," a nagging mom and a child longing for her to stop appear. One day, the mom becomes a clock. Usually, a clock's second hand never stops, that's time's nature. But in the book, the mom - clock stops dead. Is a motionless clock still a clock? Is a mom - clock still a mom? The book poses these questions.
The child embarks on an adventure to restore her mom. Despite a daunting change, she bravely solves problems. The one - way caregiving in their relationship flips. We don't know if the mom - clock is broken or stopped by itself, but the book tells us it's crucial to take breaks and unwind. As the child waits for her mom to recover, she matures a bit. After that day, unseen changes occur between them, leading to new mutual understanding.
Recommendation by Mun Ji - ae (former MBC TV anchor & principal of Aitv Picture Book School)

★ Ranked 4th in the "Children's Books" category on YES24, Korea's leading online bookstore!
★ The latest work by the author of "My Mom's Encyclopedia"!
★ Both moms and kids need moments of rest.
★ A mom, always racing against time, one morning mysteriously turns into a clock. To fix her "frozen" mother, a little girl embarks on an adventurous journey.

"Be ready in 10 minutes!" "Lights off in 3 minutes!"
The mom is always watching the clock, while the child wonders, "Why do I have to do this?"
Until one morning, mom turns into a clock!
The child eats breakfast slowly, strolls home from school unhurriedly, only to find Mom (now a clock) completely frozen.
Determined to fix her "broken" mom, the child steps out the door...
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When the little girl returns from school and sees the clock (Mom) motionless, unease fills her. She seeks help, but who'd believe her mom turned into a clock? Finally finding a clock repair shop, the old granny says, "Check out the Clock bath," then vanishes.
The peace from escaping the nagging doesn’t last. Now, the girl faces a huge task: fix the clock (Mom), a life changing mission. She loads the towering clock onto a cart and heads towards the unknown Clock bath. Despite fear from strange scenery, she marches on.
The girl perseveres and reaches the surreal Clock Bath. Here, she lets her mom rest and stays close. For Mom, being trapped as a clock is unbearable; for the girl, braving the journey to find Clock Bath has been an exhausting ordeal. Mother and daughter rest in the Clock Bath, falling into a deep sleep.
In the quiet of everyone sleeping, the Clock Bath granny focuses intently, fixing clocks one by one... Will the girl get her mom back?
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Occasionally, immerse yourself in the world of Clock Bath!
This story emerged when the author, reflecting on her increasingly rigid time management habits, wondered: "If this continues, might I actually turn into a clock?" It tells of a mother who transforms into a clock and the little girl who embarks on a journey to restore her by finding the mystical Clock Bath. Why does this tale—so surreal yet whimsical, seemingly stark yet profoundly comforting—strike such a chord?
Designing the Clock Bath scenes, the author infused it with the dreamlike essence of surrealist masters like Rousseau, Magritte, and Dalí, inviting readers to wander and wonder. And what of the deeper meaning behind the old grandmother of Clock Bath, who subtly guides and shelters the girl on her uncertain path? When the grandmother offers food to the weary child, her gaze holds both tenderness for the girl's exhaustion and quiet pride in her bravery.
Much like in Mama Encyclopedia, where mothers found solace while searching for their own mothers, Clock Bath becomes a place of healing: the mother is mended with the grandmother's care, and the girl is freed from the fear of her mother's transformation.
When life's pressures and time's demands leave us frayed, perhaps we too could step into our own Clock Bath—if only to loosen a few rusty screws and let go, even briefly.

Kwon Jungmin
Winner of the 62nd Korean Publishing Culture Award and the 1st Korean Picture Book Award.
Works include "My Mom's Encyclopedia", "Picture Dictionary of a Strange Country", "We Know a Little About You", "A Guide to Becoming a Wise Pig", "Measure You for You", and "The Disappeared Dinner".