Japan

Materials from Japan

Brave Story

Young Wataru Mitani’s life is a mess. His father has abandoned him and his mother has been hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Desperately he searches for some way to change his life—a way to alter his fate. To achieve his goal, he must navigate the magical world of Vision, a land filled with creatures both fierce and friendly. And to complicate matters, he must outwit a merciless rival from the real world. Wataru’s ultimate destination is the Tower of Destiny where a goddess of fate awaits. Only when he has finished his journey and collected five elusive gemstones will he possess the Demon’s Bane—the key that will unlock his future.   Charity, bravery, faith, grace and the power of darkness and light: these are the provinces of each gemstone. Brought together, they have the immeasurable power to bring Wataru’s family back together again.

H.I.V.E.: The Overlord Protocol

Otto Malpense and his friends thought their first year at the Higher Institute of Villainous Education was the most adventurous and exciting that they would ever encounter. They were dead wrong. When Otto and Wing are allowed off campus to attend Wing’s father’s funeral in Japan, they have no idea it’s a trap, all part of a lethal plan organized by Cypher, the most ruthless supervillain any of them have ever known. He intends to use them to retrieve the Overlord Protocol, a device that has the capacity to help him take over the world. But when things go terribly wrong, Otto will stop at nothing to hunt him down and make him pay. With the help of Laura, Shelby, Raven, and his former nemesis, Dr. Nero, Otto must find a way to defeat an enemy that has overcome some of the planet’s most infamous villains without even breaking a sweat. Because if he doesn’t, the world as they know it will be changed forever.

The Park Bench

All through the sunny day the white bench in the park provides pleasure for the many people who come by, from the old man taking a walk to the children playing in the park. This is a Japanese/English bilingual book.

Hannah Duck

Most days, Hannah Duck is peaceful and content. Most days, but not Sundays. Sundays are the days that Hannah Duck goes for a walk. And outside, alone, is a very scary place to be. But when Hannah confides in her friends and faces her fears, she discovers that being brave can open new worlds of friendship and beauty.

Disguised: A Wartime Memoir

The true story of a girl who posed as a boy during World War II–and dared to speak up for her fellow prisoners of war. With the Japanese army poised to invade their Indonesian island in 1942, Rita la Fontaine’s family knew that they and the other Dutch and Dutch-Indonesian residents would soon become prisoners of war. Fearing that twelve-year-old Rita would be forced to act as a “comfort woman” for the Japanese soldiers, the family launched a desperate plan to turn Rita into “Rick,” cutting her hair short and dressing her in boy’s clothes. Rita’s aptitude for languages earned her a position as translator for the commandant of the prisoner camp, and for the next three years she played a dangerous game of disguise while advocating against poor conditions, injustice, and torture. Sixty-five years later, Rita describes a war experience like no other — a remarkable tale of integrity, fortitude, and honor.

The Furry-Legged Teapot

In ancient Japan, a young tanuki, a raccoon dog that can change shapes, becomes stuck in the form of a teapot. Includes notes on the original Japanese folktale from which this story is derived.

Bunny Lune

A big-city rabbit named Bunny Lune wants more than anything to go to the moon. His friend Pyonko has told him about the Japanese tradition that rabbits live there. How can Bunny Lune manage this incredible trip? Weightlessness makes him feel queasy, and he can’t go for very long without breathing, no matter how hard he tries. Besides, he could never sell enough salad to afford the fare. But maybe there’s a way he can share tea and rice dumplings on the moon after all if he follows the advice of a seasoned traveler and fuels his efforts with creativity.