We just came back from a 2 1/2 week trip to Japan. To say it was "incredible" is an understatement! It was like a dream- Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto. The food was amazing, the people so polite and respectful, the cities, the trains, everything was a marvel!
Years ago I had picked up a couple discarded picture books that told distinctly Japanese stories. It was fun rereading them with a new appreciation. In Taro and the Tofu, a little boy faces a timeless dilemma- to return the extra money that was accidentally given to him. We came home with extra Japanese yen and both the 10 piece and 50 piece coins are the same shape, with a hole in the middle. So the plot of Taro, and the mistake of extra money made perfect sense! It was also neat to see the drawings of the village and the marketplace and recognize them from similar places we had been to while in Japan.
Another adorable Benjy book by Margaret Bloy Graham. This one hits especially close to home since we are about to go overseas for a couple weeks and leave Molly in the care of a neighbor. I'm already worried that she'll think we've abandoned her!
In Graham's story Benjy's family boards a ship for a cruise, leaving him with Aunt Mary. Of course the kids and Benjy are sad. So later when he sees a ship at the port he thinks it's the same one with his family on it and he breaks away from Aunt Mary and runs aboard.
Not only is he stuck on a strange ship, but there's also the ship cat who doesn't like him. The cook soon finds Benjy and takes care of him, feeding him hamburgers and letting him sleep on his bed. Eventually everyone onboard, even the cat, become his friends. Not to worry, there is a happy reunion with his family at the end!
This folk tale about a pair of mice parents who are seeking the perfect bridegroom for their perfect daughter felt familiar to me. I'm sure I've read some variation of it before but I had no idea that its origin was Mayan. That's the wonderfully curious thing about folk tales, they can travel about and change. In a postscript Judith Dupre explains that the fable is told by the Chol Indians who live in the rainforest in Mexico. They have no written language, but their "words sound like the rain hitting rock and reflect their love of music and sense of play." She explained "This myth is told and retold to each generation of children so that they might understand the circular ways of Nature and make peace with the harsh sun and torrential rains of their home."
A uniquely sweet tale of a little girl growing up in a dingy factory town. She meets her neighbor, Mrs. Leaf who may or may not be a fairy even though she looks like a small grey haired old woman. The story is both magical and surprisingly sentimental.
Here's a story I didn't know at all! How Sequoyah made up a system of writing for his Cherokee people in the early 1800's. It's a fascinating story that James Rumford encourages further exploration into. Anna Sixkiller Huckaby provides the Cherokee translations on each page and a syllabary at the end. I love these fascinating parts of history that have such impact but are often overlooked or forgotten. More books like this, please!
