A doe-eyed doll, a smiley-faced cupcake, a sweet plush kitten: they're cute--and cute is at the heart of a growing legion of adult collectors and enthusiasts who live and breathe all things cuddly and adorable.

Pamela Klaffke, author of Spree: A Cultural History of Shopping and herself an avid collector of cute since she was a child, takes readers on a rainbow-and-unicorn-filled journey through cute culture, from its origins in Japan where teenaged girls help drive the "cute" economy, to its modern-day manifestations in the bubblegum-coloured careers of performers like Katy Perry. The book also delves into the fanatical world of cute creators and collectors, the psychology of nostalgia, and the phenomenon known as creepy/cute. There's also cute food, anthropomorphized animals, and cute superstars such as Blythe, My Little Pony, and Hello Kitty herself. Full-colour throughout, the book also includes many photographs of cute objects from the author's extensive personal collection.

As charming and captivating as its subject matter, Hello, Cutie! invites readers to indulge their cuddliest guilty pleasures. It's as cute as can be!

Pamela Klaffke is a newspaper and magazine journalist turned novelist and photographer. She is the author of the the non-fiction book Spree: A Cultural History of Shopping and the novels Snapped and Every Little Thing. She lives in Calgary, Canada with her partner and her daughter.

Pamela Klaffke's profile page

You don't have to collect or even love cute itself to enjoy this book ...Hello, Cutie! will introduce you to cute and those of us who love it and, I think, have you understanding, if not agreeing with us. And if you, or someone you love, gets high off low-brow, this is the book to get.
-Collectors' Quest

Collectors' Quest

The book contains a multitude of color photographs, many from the author's personal collection. While not focusing just on dolls, the book includes a great deal of material covering them, from vintage Kewpies to modern Blythes.
-Dolls Magazine

Dolls

If there was ever a book that you just wanted to cuddle, it is this book!
-Modern Kiddo

Modern Kiddo

The visuals are striking; Klaffke backdrops her objets de kitsch against vintage fabrics, the gleefully tacky patterns-in hues not found in nature-clashing magnificently with the cheerful shades of the toys and tchotchkes themselves, then shoots analog, purposely using expired film. It's a unified aesthetic, tying together her more-is-more philosophy and love of nostalgic technologies in the very act of making the image. The resulting photographs vibrate with warm, supersaturated colors and visible film grain, fairly leaping off the page.
-Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews