A young Japanese boy, worried that his grandfather is lonely, accompanies him to the public bath.
Grandpa’s Town (Children’s Books From Around The World: Japan)
Japan
Materials from Japan
Guri And Gura
Guri and Gura CD Edition is the first in a series of eight animal story books about two adorable field mice and their adventures. In this story, the friends find a giant egg on their walk in the forest, which they use to bake a giant sponge cake. Smelling the cake, the animals gather around to share the freshly baked, fluffy treat. A story of resourcefulness, friendship, and sharing this fully illustrated CD edition of a favorite classic is sure to capture the imagination of young children.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar/English/Chinese
Chinese edition of A Very Hungry Caterpillar, who bites into everything including the pages of this book! A colorful, fun book complete with holes! In Chinese.
Hajime in the North Woods
Baby Hajime spends a night talking and laughing with the animals in the North Woods but chooses to return to his parents in the morning.
Who’s Hiding Here?
A rhyming text explores animal camouflage, while die-cut pages reveal the animals hiding throughout the book.
The Butterfly Hunt
A boy pursues and captures elusive butterflies but decides that it is more fun to carry home his memories than a trophy.
May We Sleep Here Tonight?
Several lost animals find a cozy house in the woods, settle down for the night, and are startled with the house’s very big owner arrives.
Over the Deep Blue Sea
Prejudice linked to an event from the past threatens the friendship that Akiko and her brother have made with a boy on their new island home.
Orchards
After a classmate commits suicide, Kana Goldberg—a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American—wonders who is responsible. She and her cliquey friends said some thoughtless things to the girl. Hoping that Kana will reflect on her behavior, her parents pack her off to her mother’s ancestral home in Japan for the summer. There Kana spends hours under the hot sun tending to her family’s mikan orange groves.Kana’s mixed heritage makes it hard to fit in at first, especially under the critical eye of her traditional grandmother, who has never accepted Kana’s father. But as the summer unfolds, Kana gets to know her relatives, Japan, and village culture, and she begins to process the pain and guilt she feels about the tragedy back home. Then news about a friend sends her world spinning out of orbit all over again.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume IV, Issue 4
Seven Little Mice Go To School
It’s time for seven little mice to start school! And it’s up to Mother Mouse to get them there. When the little mice prove reluctant, Mother Mouse invents “the mouse train” — all aboard!