Quiet courage
Nobody solves a problem with magic or force. Stopping, sitting, listening and paying close attention turn out to be the brave thing to do.
Hi! I'm Kuhiro!
Tap me!
From The Lantern Map picture books
Hi, I'm Kuhiro!
I'm a little white yeti with a stripy scarf. Every night, Alex, Kristina and I open an old atlas under the bed and go somewhere new. We're always home before the lights go out.
Three travellers
Meet my friends
Who is tallest?
Slide to how tall you are.
Kristina90 cmKuhiro100 cm
Alex110 cm
You105 cm
You're taller than Kuhiro!
- Wind
- Say
- Look
Wind the lantern
Turn the crank four times. Click, click, click, click!
Say the lantern words
Tap every word to light it up, or tap “Read it to me”.
Look under the bed…
The Lantern Map
Where will we go?
Spin the world. Tap a glowing light.
Games
Play with Kuhiro
For parents and grown-ups
Stories that begin where the map ends.
Follow Kuhiro, Alex and Kristina through hidden wonders, new friendships and the question that leads all the way home. A ten-book picture-book series for ages 3 to 7 by A. K. Dhakal, published by Story Jar Press.
Why The Lantern Map
Five ideas the whole series is built on
Real places, real people
Every destination is a real place with its real animals, words and customs. Local children know their own homes and lead the way. The visitors never arrive to save the day.
A rhythm children join in
Across 28 scenes, the lantern winding, the rhyming lantern words and the goodbye "Bye, Kuhiro" come round again and again, so children start saying them with you.
Complete tonight, bigger over ten books
Each book solves one local child's problem and ends properly at bedtime. Underneath, one question keeps growing: where does Kuhiro come from, and who gave him his name?
One world, three ways in
The picture books for ages 3 to 7 are the heart of it. A chapter-book line for ages 6 to 8 and an animated series for ages 4 to 7 are in development.
Every book, every night
The shape of a Lantern Map story
- The atlas glowsAn old atlas under the bed lights up in a country's colour.
- Alex winds the lanternA small brass lantern with a crank. It never has a flame.
- Kristina says the words"Lantern, lantern, light the way. Show us where we go today."
- A path opensInto a real country, with a local child who knows the way.
- A gift is givenOnly a gift freely given can travel home. Nothing is ever taken.
- Home by bedtimeThe gift glows in the story jar, and everyone is back under one blanket.
It's a simple rule with a lasting idea: friendship grows through listening, giving and sharing.
Follow the route
The journey
From the first fog in Nepal to the last blank page in Antarctica.
The story behind the stories
Warm at bedtime. Bigger across ten books.
A cozy rhythm, with clues underneath
Every book stands on its own. Underneath runs a ten-book mystery, and Alex becomes the reader's detective. Why does Kuhiro know local customs before they arrive? Why does his scarf get lumpier with keepsakes? And why do children around the world know his full name before anyone says it?
Local children know the way
In every country the local child brings the knowledge and leads the answer. Alex, Kristina and Kuhiro learn to watch, listen and follow local customs, like walking clockwise around a stupa in Nepal or leaving the middle of the path free at a shrine in Japan.
dhanyabaditadakimasuhvalaobrigadotakkkadrin cheẹ ṣégraciaske a leboga
The smallest traveller holds the magic
Kristina says the lantern words, notices the tiny things everyone else misses and leads the tender moments. Alex grows a little each time, from finding stillness in Japan to facing his fear of endings beside a river in Botswana. Kuhiro needs looking after too. He hates heat, blows on hot tea until it's cold, and never pretends to know everything.
Made to be heard, and read again
Each book has its own trail of sounds for reading aloud:
tonkdingclack-clackplinktaptingfrrrrlap-lapcrunch
The pictures hide something to find, too: a snow leopard cub in Nepal, 28 paper cranes in Japan, and a different hidden object in every book.
Inside Book One
The Fog That Knew His Name
Patterns to join in
The lantern crank, the travel lines, and the first time the familiar words fail, when Kristina tries to find Kuhiro in the fog.
Growing up a little
Pema teaches Alex that running in fog leads off cliffs, and that stopping and listening can be the brave choice. Alex lets Kuhiro decide for himself whether to stay.
Pictures that travel
From the warm colours of a Kathmandu market to cold mountain blue to pure white fog, with a snow leopard hiding throughout.
Care with culture
Walking clockwise around a stupa, prayer flags, dudh chiya, the difference between a yak and a nak, and the local names Chomolungma and Sagarmatha.
The first clues
Kuhiro reads Nepali signs, blows on his tea until it's cold, and Pema says "Bye, Kuhiro" though nobody told her his name.
Can you spot what others miss?
Each adventure hides a tiny clue in the pictures. The first book's trail belongs to the snow leopard.
Look for the snow leopard cub on the spreads in Nepal. It's hiding on pages you might not expect, so look slowly.
Safe by design
The lantern never has a flame. It winds up with a crank and glows by itself. Whenever the children are somewhere risky, a caring grown-up is right there with them, so children feel the adventure while grown-ups feel the safety.
Say it right
Kuhiro is said KOO-hee-ro, with the stress on the first part. It's the Nepali word for fog, कुहिरो. His friends call him Hiro. Only Kristina calls him Ku.
The books
Books six to ten are being written now. Each country's story is read by people from that country before it's finished.
Keep the lantern close
Be first to hear when the next journey opens.
Launch news and new-book announcements only. For grown-ups.
About this website
MeetKuhiro.com has no ads and nothing for children to sign up for. It doesn't collect anything from children, and it uses no tracking cookies. The story jar is remembered only in this browser, on this device. Any link that leaves the site asks a grown-up first.
Questions or school visits:
Copyright and use
Kuhiro, Alex, Kristina, The Lantern Map and everything on this site, including the stories, pictures, voices, music and code, are © 2026 A. K. Dhakal / Story Jar Press. All rights reserved.
Families and classrooms are welcome to print the Kuhiro colouring page for their own use. Copying, sharing, selling or adapting the characters, art, audio or text in any other way needs written permission from Story Jar Press first.
© 2026 A. K. Dhakal · Story Jar Press, San Francisco. All rights reserved.