teaching children about japan—a picture book list for kids
Last week as I prepared for our Japanese family night, I did some research and put together a list of picture books about Japan and Japanese culture. In the wake of the recent tsunami, I found the book The Wave by Margaret Hodges to be especially apropos. This Caldecott Medal winner retells a Japanese folktale about a tsunami—unfortunately it appears to be out of print, but our local library had a copy. My five year old loved the Yoko books by Rosemary Wells (he is a big Max and Ruby fan, so he was happy to read something by the same author). My seven year old especially enjoyed How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman—it tells the story of a Japanese mom and an American sailor. I hope your family can enjoy some of these books too!
The Magic Fan by Keith Baker
The Paper Crane by Molly Bang
Journey of the Third Seed by Jane Scoggins Bauld
The Crane Wife by Odds Bodkin
...