Meant for children, this fascinating book will no longer be readable when they turn into adults.

Disney’s lovable characters are adored by many Japanese people (sometimes seemingly too much), and many of them meet the cast for the first time through movies or picture books as children.

Japanese Twitter user @annko64 hopes to spread a little of this child-like Disney magic to others in the form of a Peter Pan picture book. It’s not just any other book mind you, as it actually has a lifespan.

▼ Read it now before it’s all gone.
(Description below.)

Printed on white paper are brown-colored words and illustrations depicting children soaring through a town’s night sky behind Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. Over time, the white paper turns into a dull brown due to oxidation processes, matching the color of the prints eventually. What was at first readable will seemingly disappear, as if someone erased it out of existence.

@annko64 thinks it’s the perfect gift for children, and we totally agree. The words and art are visible when they’re young, but as they grow older along with the picture book, the prints will become harder to distinguish until they vanish altogether. It’s as if the book’s magic has slowly faded away, a sweet reminder of simpler times when we still believed in fairy tales.

▼ We believed a great many things when we were young.

The concept for the book was born from @annko64’s stance that many books are purchased with the knowledge that they can be read at any time, when in reality most of them remain untouched in bookcases without ever seeing a single page turned. She hopes the book’s fading properties will prompt readers to cherish stories contained within even more.

The unique Peter Pan picture book has struck a responsive chord with Japanese netizens:

“Are you selling this? If you are, I would like to buy it.”
“I really love Peter Pan, so imagine my surprise when I found this book. Please make it available for purchase!”
“When all the prints disappear, it’s time for the children who have grown up to make their own stories.”
“It’s a magical book that only children will be able to read.”
“What a romantic and beautiful idea.”

Although this fading Peter Pan book is only a prototype for now, @annko64 is currently working hard to improve it in the hopes that it’ll reach more people someday. Couple it with some letters sent from Tokyo Disneyland characters, and the magic will continue to be passed down to generations for years to come.

Source: Twitter/@annko64 via Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Twitter/@annko64
Insert image: Pakutaso