24 August 2025

Kobi Yamada has written an unusual book entitled, ‘What do you do with an idea?’ It has been illustrated by Mae Besom. It features a young child and his idea which is represented by an egg shape with a crown upon its head. The child responds to his idea. There are four stages.

1. The child doesn’t know what to do with the idea so he acts as if it didn’t belong to him. He tries to hide it from other people.

2. The idea follows him and demands a lot of his attention. Surprisingly, he feels happier when it is around. They become friends.

3. He shows the idea to others. He is afraid some people will laugh at his idea. They do. And he almost gives it up. But he doesn’t.

4. He gives it his attention. He protects it and it grows bigger. It shares its secrets with him. It shows him how to walk on his hands. ‘Because,’ it said, ‘it is good to have the ability to see things differently.’

‘Then one day, something amazing happened. My idea changed right before my very eyes. It spread its wings, took flight and burst into the sky.

I don’t know how to describe it, but it went from being here to being everywhere. It wasn’t just a part of me anymore … it was now a part of everything.

And then I realised what you do with an idea … You change the world.’