Japanese Celebrations

December 1, 2006
Gr 1-3-After a brief general introduction, events are listed chronologically, with a single descriptive paragraph or a sentence or two of explanation. The first celebration of the year is "O Shogatsu" (New Year). Colorful illustrations show people participating in worship at temples and shrines, with a spread describing symbols of good luck and special foods. Other traditional pastimes are shown as well, such as card games and kite flying. An example of the zodiac calendar, which follows a 12-year cycle, is included. Other well-known festivals include "Hina Matsuri" (Doll Festival, or Girls Day), "Kodomo-no-hi" (Childrens Day), and "O-Bon" (Festival of Souls). There are several brief examples of regional festivals as well. A small section on Other Happy Events includes traditions for babies and a page on weddings. Japanese words and terms are listed phonetically and in Japanese characters (hiragana). Food, dress, activities, simple Japanese words and phrases, and origami folding are briefly touched on. Simplistic illustrations add festive touches, but the ethnicity of the people depicted isnt all distinctly Japanese. While this book has breadth, it suffers in depth. Most of the festivals are included in greater detail in Rena Krasnos "Floating Lanterns & Golden Shrines: Celebrating Japanese Festivals" (Pacific View, 2000), for a slightly older audience."DeAnn Okamura, San Mateo County Library, CA"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2006
By the writer-illustrator of " Tokyo Friends" (1998) and " Squeamish about Sushi" (2000), this profusely illustrated book presents celebrations enjoyed by Japanese children. Reynolds, who lived in Japan for seven years, begins with " O Shogatsu " (Japanese New Year). A double-page spread explain how the holiday is observed and shows a child's preparations before entering a temple. The next introduces symbols and special foods connected with the holiday, and the third looks at traditional holiday pastimes. The presentation continues through the seasons, highlighting each special day or festival with a single captioned painting or several illustrated pages. In each case, words appropriate to the occasion appear in Japanese characters as well as transliterations. A guide to pronouncing the terms used in the text is appended. Occasionally, a craft, activity, or song appears in this colorful, child-friendly book. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)