Written and illustrated by Cho Won Hee


A fat lady visits a lake in a forest for swimming. The writer has shown her four warm-up scenes in a row until she steps into the lake. Since the illustrations are showing how she moves her body in a connected way, readers can guess her personality.
The fat lady is very careful when going into the lake not to surprise fish. She also saves drowning ants and likes to tickle fish. She likes to put her face out of the water or likes to just stay on the surface of water. While she is floating in the water, otters ask her to rest if she is ok. Then, she lets the otters come up on her belly. While they are all resting in peace, the muscle man appears as if something happens. When he is in need, she moves her big body and makes a big wave. Her red body is waving with the story, creating amazing scenes as if the sky and the water become united.
In this book, the writer has emphasized the fat lady’s strong character rather than in another volume– ‘A Muscle Man and a Fat Lady – Woods’. In the ‘Wood’ volume, she has received care from the muscle man, but in the ‘Lake’ volume, she trustfully supports the muscle man. These two volumes are closely connected to each other by exchanging their roles.

Natural balance and amazing space for co-living
In the woods and in the lake, the muscle man and the fat lady meet birds, ants, fish and otters. They arrive at the woods and go back home together, but they also spend their time separately by seeing and meeting their favorites while in the woods and the lake. They respect each other’s time and other living creatures in life as well. The warm atmosphere where any mistake, joke, or request are all generously accepted…… Therefore, all the characters in this picture book reveal themselves freely, help each other and get help from others. They make each other shine by hanging out naturally. This book represents such an amazing space for ‘co-living’.