J A PA N E S E B O A R D O N B O O K S F O R Y O U N G P E O P L E

Japanese
Children's Books
2017

Japanese Children's Books

2017

Contents● Japanese Children's Books Recommended by JBBY
Hans Christian Andersen Awards
4 winners and 12 nominees from Japan .........................................................4
Recent picture books (35 titles from 2015 onward) ................................................ 10
Recent chapter books and novels (23 titles from 2015 onward) ....................... 16
Recent nonfiction (22 titles from 2015 onward) ....................................................... 20
Special topic I : Wordless books (11 titles) ......................................................... 24
Special topic II : Books about peace (23 titles) ................................................. 26● Subject index ............................................................................................................. 30● Book selection team .............................................................................................. 31
Cover illustration: Seizo Tashima

Japanese C hildren's B ooks
About JBBY and This Catalog
The Japanese Board on Books for Young People (JBBY) was founded in 1974
as the Japanese Section of the International Board on Books for Young
People (IBBY).
JBBY is dedicated to enhancing international understanding, and to providing information on children’s books to people around the world. We promote
IBBY’s mission in a broad range of ways. Our international network allows us totake advantage of the prolific information generated by IBBY and to encourage
mutual understanding. Our mission is to create a peaceful future for children
through books.
JBBY hosts international book exhibitions in Japan that provide information
about global titles to Japanese readers. In addition, we provide information
on Japanese children’s books to people around the world. We nominate titles
for international recognition, as a means to deepen global understanding
towards Japan.
In this catalog, we introduce Japanese winners of and nominees for theHans Christian Andersen Awards. In addition, we describe recent Japanese books recommended by a JBBY committee in several categories:
picture books, nonfiction, and chapter books and novels. Our committee
has also chosen to highlight wordless books, and books about peace.
We list these books by category and in order of target age. We include coverimages and synopses along with bibliographic information. We hope you will
enjoy reading about these books, most of which were published in 2016. For
rights status or other information, please contact us: info@jbby.org

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Cover illustration: Seizo Tashima

Hans Christian Andersen Award
Winners and Nominees after 2000
These authors and illustrators, among the finest creators of Japanese children’s literature,
were all nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Awards. Four became the the Hans Christian Award winners.
We are honored to introduce them.

AKABA, Suekichi 1910-1990
Winner of the 1980 HCA Illustrator Award
Born in Tokyo, Suekichi Akaba emigrated to Manchuria at the age of
21. He worked in industry and began to paint while still there. He wasawarded special recognition three times at the Manchurian National Art
Exhibition. After returning to Japan at the age of 36, he worked in the

スーホの白い馬
Suho no shiroi uma
Suho and the White Horse: A Mon-

Public Relations Office of the U. S. Embassy in Tokyo for 20 years. Akaba

golian Folk Tale | Retold: Yuzo Ot-

mastered painting techniques on his own and created his first picture book, Kasa jizo , based on an old

Fuk uin k a n Sh ote n | 19 67 | I SB N

folktale, in 1961. His influences include traditional Japanese painting and Felix Hoffmann.

suka | Illus. Suekichi Akaba | Tokyo:
9784834001129

ANNO, Mitsumasa 1926Winner of the 1984 HCA Illustrator Award
Born in Tsuwano, a village located in a valley surrounded by mountains,
Mitsumasa Anno developed a strong desire to experience places beyond
these mountains while growing up. This is reflected in his books. He
taught art in elementary school for ten years; his first two picture books
reflect his love of playing with visual perception, and his drawings, often
compared to Escher, not only abound with visual trickery and illusions but also display a playful senseof humour. His more sophisticated picture books include Anno’s Alphabet, which features “impossible”

さかさま
Sakasama

woodgrain letters of the Latin alphabet framed within decorative borders, containing objects begin-Up-side Down | Text/Illus. Mitsumasa

ning with each letter.

1981 | ISBN 9784834008388

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Anno | Tok yo: Fukuinkan Shoten |Every other year, IBBY presents the Hans Christian Andersen Award to aliving author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting
contribution to children's literature. The H. C. Andersen Award is thehighest international recognition given to an author and an illustratorof children's books.

MADO, Michio 1909-2014
Winner of the 1994 HCA Author Award
Michio Mado was born in Tokuyama. When he was a small child, his family left for Taiwan, leaving him behind with his grandfather for five years.
He began to write poetry at the age of 19. In 1934, two of his poems
were recognized by Kitahara Hakushu, the most respected poet of thetime. This marked the beginning of Mado’s career as a creator of nursery
rhymes, songs and poems for children. His most famous poem, Zo-san (Little Elephant), was published

どうぶつたちDobutsutachi/ The Animals

in 1952. Several generations of Japanese children have now grown up with his verses and songs andText: Michio Mado | English transla-

are familiar with his work. The Animals , co-published in the USA and Japan as a bilingual book, wasmasa Anno | Tokyo: Suemori Books |translated by Empress Michiko of Japan.

tion: Empress Michiko | Illus. Mitsu1992 | ISBN 9784163753300 | Republished by Bungei Shunju, 2012

UEHASHI, Nahoko 1962Winner of the 2014 HCA Author Award
Born in Tokyo in 1962, Nahoko Uehashi completed a PhD on Australian
Aborigines and currently teaches ethnology at university. Her literary
debut came in 1989, then her work Tsuki no mori ni, kami yo nemure (OGod, Sleep Ye in the Forest of Moon) won an award that brought her into
the spotlight. In 1996, she began to write her historical fantasy series

Moribito (Guardian), which became a huge hit and received the Noma Award for Juvenile Literature aswell as the Sankei Award for Children’s Books and Publications. In the USA, the first volume received
the Batchelder Award. In addition, Uehashi’s fantasy series Kemono no soja (The Beast Player) has
been translated into many languages. Uehashi’s newest novel Shika no ou (The Deer King) received
the Japan Booksellers Award in 2015.

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精霊の守り人Moribito 1: Seirei no moribito
The Guardian | Text: Nahoko Uehashi| Illus. Makiko Futaki | Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 1996 | ISBN 9784035401506

CHO, Shinta 1927-2005
1998, 2000 Illustrator Nominee
Born in Tokyo, Shinta Cho began his career as a designer and cartoonist at the Tokyo Daily Press after graduating from high school. His firstbook, Shimbun ga dekiru made (How the Newspaper is Produced) was
published in 1950, and he has illustrated over 400 titles since. The secret to Cho’s popularity with children lies in his flexible style and senseof humour. He received the Kodansha Culture Prize for Children’s Picture Book Publication, the Japan
Picture Book Award Grand Prix, the Shogakukan Award for Children’s Books and Publications, and the
Iwaya Sazanami Award among many others.

へんてこライオンがいっぱい
Henteko raion ga ippai
Lots of Strange Lions | Tex t/ Illus.
Shinta Cho | Tok yo: Shogakukan |2002 | ISBN 9784097274407

HAYASHI, Akiko 19452008, 2010 Illustrator Nominee
Born in Tokyo in 1945, Akiko Hayashi graduated from the Faculty ofFine Arts at Yokohama National University. Her first book, Hajimete no

otsukai (Mii-chan’s First Errand), was published in 1977. She is one ofJapan’s leading picture book writer-illustrators and has received numerous awards in Japan and abroad. These include the Sankei Award
for Children’s Books and Publications for Ofuro daisuki (There’s a Hippo in My Bath!), the Ezra Jack

はじめてのおつかい
Hajimete no otsukai
Mii-chan’s First Errand | Text: Yoriko
Tsutsui | Illus. Akiko Hayashi | Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten | 1977 | ISBN
9784834005257

Keats Award (USA) for Imouto no nyuin (Little Sister Goes to Hospital), the 13 Juries Grand Prix (France)for Hajimete no kyanpu (I’m Going Camping), and many others. Her books have been translated into
more than ten languages.

ISHII, Momoko 1907-2008
2002 Author Nominee
Born in Saitama in 1907, Momoko Ishii’s first book Non-chan kumo ni

noru (Non-chan Rides on a Cloud) was published in 1947. She has written 19 children’s books and translated 120, including Winnie the Poohby A. A. Milne in 1940 and Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos in 1982. Herbooks have been translated into German, Danish, Russian, English, Pakistani, and Hindi. Her immense contributions to children’s literature in Japan have been recognized byawards such as the Minister of Education Award for Promotion of Art, and the Kikuchi Kan Award for

三月ひなのつきSangatsu hina no tsuki
D o l l ’ s D a y f o r Yo s h i k o | Te x t :Momoko Ishii | Illus. Setsu Asakura| Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten | 1963 |achievement and contributions to post-war children’s literature.

ISBN 9784834000184

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KADONO, Eiko 19352016, 2018 Author Nominee
Born in Tokyo in 1935, Eiko Kadono moved to Brazil for two years
when she was 25, and based on her experiences there she wrote her
first work Ruijinnyo shonen, Burajiru o tazunete (Brazil and My Friend
Luizinho). Since then she has written many books for children of several generations. Her chapter book Majo no takkyubin (Kiki’s Delivery
Service), written in 1984, won a number of prizes and was included on the IBBY Honour List. This story
was adapted into a wildly popular animated film by renowned director Hayao Miyazaki, and in 2014 it
was made into a live-action film as well. Kadono has been decorated by the Emperor of Japan for her

魔女の宅急便
Majo no takkyubin
Kiki’s Deliver y Ser vice | Text: Eiko
Kadono | Illus. Akiko Hayashi | To-

significant contributions to children’s literature.

kyo: Fukuinkan Shoten | 1985 | ISBN
978834001198

KAKO, Satoshi 19262012 Illustrator Nominee
Born in Fukui in 1926, Satoshi Kako graduated from the University ofTokyo and first worked in a laboratory at a chemical company. His firstchildren’s book was published in 1959 and since then, he has publishedmore than 700 works, ranging from educational picture books on science or astronomy to nursery tales. His devotion to children stems fromhis feelings of failure during his boyhood when Japan was in the midst of World War II. He once tried

からすのパンやさん
Karasu no panya san

to become a soldier. After the war, he realized his lack of understanding had caused him to make thisMr. Crow’s Bakery | Text/Illus. Satoshi

wrong decision. He resolved to devote the rest of his life to helping children grow healthy, both physi-

9784032060706

Kako | Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 1973 | ISBN

cally and mentally, so they could make sound judgments.

KATAYAMA, Ken 19402014, 2016 Illustrator Nominee
Ken Katayama was born in Tokyo in 1940. After he graduated from the
Department of Commercial Design at Musashino Art University, he began
to work at an advertising company but soon resigned. In 1966, he published his first picture book, Macchi no tori (A Match Bird); his second picture book, Yu-chan no mikisasha (The Wonderful Mixer); was published in1968. Although Katayama then stopped writing for a while, he resumed his artistic activity, inspired byhis eldest son’s birth, in 1979. Since then, he has published creative works embodying his dynamic, viv-

どんどん どんどん
Don don don don
Onward: Stomp, Stomp, Stomp |id, and unique style. He was awarded the Kodansha Culture Prize for Children’s Picture Book Publica-

Tex t/ Illus. Ken Katayama | Osaka:tion and the Shogakukan Award for Children’s Books and Publications along with many other awards.

9784580813632

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Bunken Shuppan | 198 4 | ISBNKANZAWA, Toshiko 19242000, 2006 Author Nominee
Born in Fukuoka in southern Japan, Toshiko Kanzawa later moved tonorthern Japan and spent much of her childhood in Sakhalin, now apart of Russia. She began writing to support herself after giving birth totwo children. Her first book, Chibikko Kamu no boken (The Adventure of
Little Kam) was published in 1961. As in many of her books, this mythical adventure story reflects Kanzawa’s yearning for the nature of northern Japan. She was awarded theNoma Award for Juvenile Literature, the Shogakukan Award for Children’s Books and Publications, theKodansha Culture Prize for Children’s Picture Book Publication, and many other prizes.

ちびっこカムのぼうけん
Chibikko Kamu no boken
Little Kam's Adventure | Text: Toshiko
K a n z awa | I llu s . S ab ur o Yam a da
| To k y o: R i r o n s h a | 19 61 | I S B N
9784652005033 | New edition, 1999

NASU, Masamoto 19422012 Author Nominee
Born in 1942 in Hiroshima, Masamoto Nasu became a victim of theatomic bomb when he was only three. After graduating from university,
he worked as a car salesman in Tokyo and later returned to Hiroshima
to help run his father’s calligraphy school, where he met many children.
In 1967, he joined a Hiroshima juvenile literature study group and began to write stories for children. In 1970, his first long story Kubinashi jizo no takara (The Treasure of
Headless Jizo) received honorable mention in the Gakken Child Literary Prize competition. Nasu began
publishing his most famous book series, Zukkoke sannin-gumi (Hilarious Threesome), in 1978 and has
been awarded many prizes.

それゆけ ズッコケ三人組
Soreike zukkoke sannin-gumi
H i l a r i o u s Tr i o s e r i e s , 5 0 v o l u m e s |Te x t : M a s a m o t o N a s u | I l l u s . K a z u oMaekawa | Tokyo: Poplar | 1978 | ISBN
9784591007761

OHTA, Daihachi 1918-2016
1970, 2002-2006 Illustrator Nominee
Born in Nagasaki, Daihachi Ohta spent his early childhood in Vladivostok. He began to illustrate picture books when he was still a student
at Tokyo’s Tama Imperial Art School. His first book was published in1949, and since then, his illustrations have embellished approximately
150 picture books and 250 children’s novels. His style varies by genre,
which ranges from traditional Japanese tales to modern European stories. Ohta’s work is notable for

ともだち
Tomodachi

harmonizing traditional and modern elements, for meticulous attention to detail, and for high quality

Friends | Text/Illus. Daihachi Ohtaof printing. His works have been translated into many languages.

9784061322912 | New edition, 20048

| Tok yo: Kodansha | 1985 | I SBNSATO, Satoru 1928-2017
2004 Author Nominee
Born in 1928, Satoru Sato is a pioneer in Japanese fantasy literature
for children. In his first book, Daremo shiranai chiisana kuni (A Little
Country No One Knows), he borrowed the idea of Korobokkuru (little
people, the descendants of little gods) from legends of the Ainu people, aboriginal people who live in the northern regions of Japan. Sato’s
emphasis on “reasoned imagination” and “logical composition” have made his fantasy world real foryoung readers. His works have been awarded the Mainichi Publication Culture Award and the Iwaya
Sazanami Award among others, and translated into English, French, German, and Spanish.

だれも知らない小さな国
Daremo shiranai chiisana kuni
A Lit tle Countr y No One Knows |Tex t: Satoru Sato | Illus. Tsutomu
Murakami | Tokyo: Kodansha | 1959 |ISBN 9784061335233 | New edition,
2015

TANIKAWA, Shuntaro 19312008, 2010 Author Nominee
Shuntaro Tanikawa was born in 1931 in Tokyo. After graduating fromhigh school, he published his first collection of works, Nijuoku-konen no

kodoku (Two Billion Light-Years of Solitude). Soon after that, he began towrite theatre scripts and song lyrics. In 1965, his first picture book Shiri-

tori (A Word Game) was published, followed by numerous picture books
and juvenile literary works. Tanikawa has been vigorously active in many arenas, ranging from translation to poetry readings around the world. He was awarded the Translation Culture Award of the Japan
Society of Translation, the Yomiuri Literature Prize, and the Noma Award for Juvenile Literature among
other prizes.

そのこSono koT h e O t h e r B o y | Te x t : S h u n t a r oTanikawa | Illus. Yasushi Tsukamoto |English translation: Sawako Nakayasu| Tok yo: Shobunsha | 2011 | ISBN
9784794967664

Tashima, Seizo 19402018 Illustrator Nominee
Born in Osaka, Seizo Tashima spent his childhood in Kochi Prefecture.
He has been active at the front lines of picture book development
since the 1960s, receiving the Golden Apple Award at the 2nd Biennialof Illustration Bratislava (BIB) in 1969; he continues to produce powerful, passionate, and ceaselessly innovative works. He has publishedmore than 150 picture books of great variety; some funny and fun, others serious stories of war, as well
as folktales and books for babies. Running through all of his works, we can sense a consistent spirit;
the wellspring of his art is the vigor and vitality of life and a slow-burning anger at war, destruction of
the environment, discrimination, and the logic of power that threatens life.

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ふきまんぶく
Fukimanbuku
Fukimanbuku, the Girl and the
Flowers | Text/Illus. Seizo Tashima| To k yo: K ais e ish a | 1973 | I SB N
9784033310107

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RecentPictureBooks
あかちゃん
Akachan（Baby）

ぺんぎんたいそう
Pengin taiso（Penguin Stretching Exercises）

Text/Illus. tupera tupera | Tokyo: Bronze Publishing |Text/Illus. Saito, Maki | Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten | 20162016 | 22 pp. | 20×21 cm | ISBN 9784893096166 | Ages

| 20 pp. | 21×19 cm | ISBN 9784834082531 | Ages 0+ |0+ | Infant; Mother; Round book

Animal; Exercise; Infant

A round board book for babies. The baby’s roundface alternates with his toys, and he starts off smiling happily, but then his mood changes and hestarts crying. The hungry baby needs his mother’sbreast—which he is given in the form of a double
page spread! Author tupera tupera made content
and design, including size and shape, integral tothis picture book, which is ideal for showing baby
while talking naturally. <Hiromatsu>

A mother penguin and her children exercise together. First they take a deep breath. Then they
exercise their necks, arms and legs, bend in the
middle, jump up and down, and end by wiggling
their bottoms. The humorous illustrations of the
penguins’ actions and expressions make readers
want to join in. There is actually a YouTube video
with the author and some children doing the exercises while the book is being read aloud. The exercise routine has become a huge hit in Japanesekindergartens and nursery schools. <Doi>

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しろいちょうちょがとんでるよShiroi choucho ga tonderuyo(Look, A White Butterfly)

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ぞうさん
Zosan（Elephant）

ぐやんよやん
Guyan yoyan（Guyan Yoyan）

Tex t: Mado, Michio | Illus. Nishimaki, Kayako | To-

Text: Hasegawa, Setsuko | Illus. Nagasawa, Masako | To-

Text/Illus. Murakami, Yasunari | Tokyo: Hisakata Child |kyo: Koguma-sha | 2016 | 22 pp. | 20×21 cm | ISBNkyo: Fukuinkan Shoten | 2016 | 24 pp. | 22×21 cm | ISBN2016 | 24 pp. | 21×21 cm | ISBN 9784865490695 | Ages

9784772102322 | Ages 1+ | Poetry; Elephant; Nursery

9784834082746 | Ages 2+ | Infant; Rhythm and sound;

0+ | Infant; Color; Rhythm of language

song

Abstract art

A white butterfly is fluttering through the blue sky
over a green plain. As it alights on buds, colorful flowers burst forth. With a simple design insoft colors, and pleasingly rhythmical words, thisbeautiful picture book is perfect for relaxed read-

The children’s poem “Elephant” is often sung inJapan. This picture book gives the poem one line
per spread, so that readers can sing while turning
the pages. The first line—“Elephant, Elephant, yournose is long, isn’t it?”—is an insult, apparently. Mi-

ing time snuggled up to your baby. A first bookto enjoy with children up to the age of two, who
respond directly to your feelings as you read tothem. <Hiromatsu>

chio Mado, author of the poem as well as a winnerof the Hans Christian Andersen Awards, once said
the line means, “Silly Elephant, you’re the only one
with such a long nose!” as if teasing. Unfazed, theElephant replies, “That’s right! My mom’s nose islong too.” Why does he say that? To find out, you’ll
have to sing the next part. <Miyakawa>

The book is filled with rhythmical nonsense words
like “guyan yoyan” matched with vibrant abstract
illustrations done in oil. The shapes conjure up images of waves, galaxies and cells. Some sounds are
sharp and staccato while others seem to roll andsurge. The colors move from blue to red and backto blue again. The profusion of sounds and colors
are great fun for little children, and many enjoy
moving their bodies in imitation of the sounds.
<Doi>

Recent Picture books for ages 0 and up
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そおっとそおっとね
Sootto sootto ne（Gently Does It）

のっていこうNotte iko（Let's Go For a Ride）

みんなにゴリラ
Minna ni gorira（Everybody Gorilla）

Text/Illus. Tanji, Akiko | Tokyo: Holp Shuppan | 2015 | 24

Text/Illus. Kiuchi, Tatsuro | Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten |Text/Illus. Takabatake, Nao | Tokyo: Poplar | 2016 | 34

pp. | 18×18 cm | ISBN 9784593560981 | Ages 2+ | Infant;2015 | 24 pp. | 21×23 cm | ISBN 9784834081527 | Ages

pp. | 20×20 cm | ISBN 9784591150559 | Ages 3+ | Gorilla;

Helping; Daily life

3+ | Transportation; Journey; Parents and children

Transformation; Book with holes

A little girl is carrying a cake with a strawberry on
top of it. She holds it carefully with both hands so
as not to break it or drop it as she makes her way
to the table, negotiating a number of obstacles
like a cat running around her feet and a ball rolling
by. Simple illustrations with thick outlines against abackground with a lot of space show the tension in
her shoulders and the tips of her toes, her look of
intense concentration, and her look of satisfaction
upon safely reaching her goal. Young readers will
empathize with her adventure from the kitchen
to the table and savor her sense of achievement.
<Hiromatsu>

Told in the first person, this story follows a boy
and his father as they ride a bus, then a train, andfinally a ropeway to the top of a mountain. Monorails, boats, and other types of vehicles are woven
into illustrations wherever the pair changes to a
new mode of transport, and the view of the sea
from the mountaintop is stunning. The illustrator,
who is also a commercial artist, uses muted tones
like those in wood block prints, and his inventive
compositions paint a happy day in the life of a boy
and his father. <Doi>

A picture book with holes, which can be enjoyedeven by the very young. A mother who says “clean
up!” is, on the next page, a gorilla who says “oo-oo.”
A father leaving for work becomes a gorilla whosays “oo-oo,” too! A pet dog, the lady next door,
a local shopkeeper, a robber, and the policeman
who catches the robber all transform into gorillas.
At the end, the boy narrating gets to transformas well. A humorous read that will make anyone
chuckle. <Nogami>

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ぱれーど
Paredo（Parade）

ドンのくち
Don no kuchi（Don's Mouth）

ポテトむらのコロッケまつり
Poteto mura no korokke matsuri（The Croquette Fair in Potato Village）

Text/Illus. Yamamura, Koji | Tokyo: Kodansha | 2015 |Text/Illus. Koshida, Mika | Tokyo: Kosei Shuppansha |32 pp. | 22×21 cm | ISBN 9784061332744 | Ages 3+ |2016 | 32 pp. | 22×24 cm | ISBN 9784333027248 | Ages

Text: Takeshita, Fumiko | Illus. Deguchi, Kazumi | To-

Rhythm; Drum; Era

3+ | Eating; Family; Dog

kyo: Kyoiku Gageki | 2016 | 32 pp. | 27×22 cm | ISBN

This illustrated nonsense book is perfect for bedtime reading. A little boy picks up a drum andbegins to march. All kinds of things—toys, keys,
frogs, houses, clocks—sprout legs and begin tofollow. When they come to a page full of big black
holes, ever yone jumps in and then out again.
Finally, the boy in front catches up with himself

A little girl is worried because she eats too slowly.
Her parents always finish eating first. Noticingthat her dog, Don, eats very fast, she decides towatch him closely to see how he does it. She gives
him some food and then eats some dried squid topractice her own chewing. Finally, she shows off
her new skills by gobbling up some okonomiyaki,savory pancakes, that her father has made for her.
The distinctive lines of the illustrations accentuate
the humor and warmth of this story. <Doi>

9784774620329 | Ages 3+ | Deliciousness; Size; Making

and falls fast asleep. The author, Koji Yamamura,is also an animator whose short and humorous
film Mount Head was nominated for an Academy
Award. <Doi>something

Granny Potato in Potato Village has a huge harvest of potatoes. She makes all kinds of dishes,
but she can’t eat them all, so she decides to enlist
everyone in the village to attempt to make thebiggest croquette the world has ever seen. The
villagers get together to discuss the ambitious
plan and prepare for the big day. Through making
croquettes, an ordinary, everyday food, the whole
village enjoys the camaraderie of working together. There are playful illustrations throughout thebook, including on the jacket and inside covers.
<Hiromatsu>

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みつけてくれる？
Mitsukete kureru?（Will You Find Me?）13

くろねこ ごひきのこねこ
Kuroneko gohiki no koneko

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もうぬげないMo nugenai（Still Stuck）（Black Cats Five Black Kittens）
Text/Illus. Matsuda, Nanako | Tokyo: Akane Shobo |Text/Illus. Yoshitake, Shinsuke | Tokyo: Bronze Pub-2016 | 32 pp. | 22×31 cm | ISBN 9784251098917 | Ages

Text/Illus. Yamashita, Yuzo | Tokyo: Hamonicabooks |lihsing | 2015 | 28 pp. | 18×22 cm | ISBN 9784890396098

3+ | Infant; Sister; Cat

2016 | 32 pp. | 26×21 cm | ISBN 9784907349141 | Ages

| Ages 3+ | Change the clothes; Failure; Fantasy

3+ | Cat; Mother; Adventure

Today Mom will be coming home with a new baby.
But the little girl hasn’t yet accepted the fact that
she has become an elder sister, and she decides tohide with their cat Kuro. “Will everyone still cuddle
me when the baby comes?” she anxiously asks theanimals, birds and insects. But as she works out
her frustrations playing in nature, her misgivings
give way to a feeling of happiness welling up in
her. Readers with mixed feelings about the arrivalof a new sibling will be drawn into the story by the
cozy warmth of the coloring and composition of
the delightful pictures in this book. <Hiromatsu>

A bean pod bursts open and five black kittens pop
out. They all look identical, but have different personalities: Swimmer, Climber, Scratcher, Jumper,and Wailer. They pool their individual talents to
set out on a journey to find their mother. Theirdelightful and poetic adventure is told throughillustrations painted with bold brushstrokes andgorgeous colors. The author, a well-known illustrator and graphic designer, passed away in 2008. He
created this picture book in the 1980s, but it was
only discovered and published in 2016. <Hiromatsu>

A three-year-old boy tries to pull his shirt off over
his head, but it gets stuck. Unable to see, he imagines what it would be like if he could never get it
off. What would happen if he got thirsty? What if
his cat tickled his stomach? His mother comes inand tells him to take off his clothes, have a shower
and change into his pajamas. But this time he can’t
get his clothes on. This book is a funny take on the
typical problems little children face in daily life.
<Doi>

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きょうはそらにまるいつき
Kyo wa sora ni marui tsuki（There’s a Round Moon in the Sky Tonight）

しんかいたんけん！ マリンスノー
Shinkai tanken! Marin suno
（Deep Sea Expedition on the Marine Snow）

かくれんぼ 朝鮮半島のわらべうた
Kakurenbo: Chosen hanto no warabe uta（Hide and Seek: Nursery Songs from Korea）

Text/Illus. Arai, Ryoji | Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 2016 | 32 pp. |Text/Illus. Yamamoto, Takashi | Tokyo: Komine Shoten

Text/Illus. Chi, Kimiko | Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten | 2016

30×22 cm | ISBN 9784032324501 | Ages 3+ | Daily life;| 2015 | 32 pp. | 29×22 cm | ISBN 9784338261210 | Ages

| 32 pp. | 28×23 cm | ISBN 9784834082494 | Ages 4+ |Blessedness; Nature

3+ | Ocean; Living things; Investigation

Nursery song; Korea; Children

Recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award andthe Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Ryoji Arai
has created a brilliant new picture book. The firstscene shows a baby in a carriage gazing up at thenight sky. In the next scene, a full moon shinesbrilliantly against a dark blue background, while

Two brothers dive into bed and set off on a deepsea expedition. The bed is transformed into theMarine Snow, a deep sea explorer. The blue sea
grows darker and familiar fish and ocean life
give way to strange deep sea creatures. Readersbehold the dramatic spectacle of a megamouthThis Japanese artist, who mastered the techniquesof Korean folk art, illustrates three nursery rhymes
from the Korean Peninsula: “Hide and Seek”; “Looks
Tasty, Yum Yum,” in which every time children areabout to eat a rice cake, it’s snatched away fromthem by something—a ghost, a calf, and so on;

the text reads, “There’s a round moon in the sky
tonight.” Through the windows of a home and abus in the city, in the mountains and in a forest,
the moon glows. The illustrations in Arai’s bookare like master paintings, filling the reader with an
expansive sense of joy and peace. <Nogami>

shark suddenly appearing in front of them, beingchased by a bluntnose sixgill shark, and then saved
by a giant squid. The densely packed illustrations
give substance to the fantasy of this picture bookwhich, while being highly entertaining, also stimu-

and “The Snow Song,” about making and eating
rice cakes on snowy days. All three use rhythmicalwords and fun pictures to provide a view of how
children in Korea live. <Sakuma>

lates an appetite for knowledge about the deepsea. <Hiromatsu>

Recent Picture books for ages 3 and up
18

19

20

つちたち
Tsuchi tachi（Grains of Earth）

カペリーちゃんKaperi-chan（Capeli）

たんぼレストラン
Tanbo resutoran（The Rice Paddy Restaurant）

Text/Illus. mirocomachico | Tokyo: Gakken | 2015 | 32 pp.

Text/Illus. Tsutsumi, Arei | Tokyo: Futohsha | 2016 | 32

Text/Illus. Hayashi, Masumi | Tokyo: Hikarinokuni | 2016

| 31×24 cm | ISBN 9784052043079 | Ages 4+ | Soil; Sun;pp. | 29×21 cm | ISBN 9784892194122 | Ages 4+ | Girl;| 32 pp. | 30×21 cm | ISBN 9784564018725 | Ages 4+ |Living things

Friendship; Adventure

Rice paddy; Living things; Life

“Good morning!” the sun calls out to the earth,and the earth responds with dark grains, brown
grains, and golden grains filling the page. Underground they exchange greetings with plant roots
and worms, and on the ground they dance andsing while being kicked around by animals anddinosaurs. And in winter, they sleep. Dynamic illus-

Capeli is a lighthearted, cheerful little girl who
lives in the forest. One day her friend Jack the peacock falls ill, and she does everything she can tocure him. But even at the city hospital they don’tknow what’s wrong with him, and she is wonder-

The rice paddy restaurant is closed over winter,when everyone’s hibernating, but it reopens when
the soil is plowed in spring, and by the time thepaddy is flooded ready for planting it is in fullswing. This picture book compares the food chainof living creatures in the paddy to a cheerful bus-

trations with lively brushwork sensuously capture
the soil that has covered the earth since ancient
times. This is the fifth picture book by this young
author, who has already won numerous awards athome and abroad, including a Biennial of Illustration Bratislava (BIB) 2015 Golden Apple. <Hiro-ing what to do when a fairy appears out of the
mailbox, turns both of them into letters, and sends
them to a turtle who is an excellent doctor. Thisis a fantasy adventure that draws on the Flatland
two-dimensional world to create its own uniquemanga-like pictures. It is full of wordplay, such as asong in which the name of Caldecott, father of thepicture book, is read back-to-front. <Hiromatsu>

tling restaurant. The illustrations are dynamic andhumorous, and even young children will naturally
grasp the relationship between eating and being
eaten. It is modeled on paddies near to Lake Biwa
(not far from Kyoto), and with around seventy
creatures making an appearance, it will stimulate
an interest in living creatures. <Hiromatsu>

matsu>

13
21

おせんとおこまOsen to Okoma（Osen and Okoma）

22

23

カワセミとヒバリとヨタカ
Kawasemi to hibari to yotaka（The Kingfisher, the Skylark, and the Nightjar）

きょうりゅうがすわっていた
Kyoryu ga suwatte ita（Dinosaur Pops Up in My Town）

2016 | 32 pp. | 27×22 cm | ISBN 9784893096180 | Ages

Text/Illus. Abe, Hiroshi | Tokyo: Shogakukan | 2016 | 40

Text: Ichikawa, Nobuko | Illus. Yabuki, Nobuhiko | To-

4+ | Girl; Edo-period; Mountainpp. | 26×21 cm | ISBN 9784097266457 | Ages 4+ | Ani-

kyo: Fukuinkan Shoten | 2016 | 32 pp. | 27×20 cm | ISBNmal; Allegory; Philosophy

9784834082296 | Ages 4+ | Dinosaur; Birthday; Fantasy

The kingfisher is expert at fishing. He flies low over
the water, takes aim, dives vertically and makes
his catch. When the lark tries to imitate him, however, he almost drowns. The nightjar is expert atcatching bugs. He flies horizontally in a straight
line, catching the bugs in his big mouth, but when
the lark tries to do the same, he chokes. But thelark can fly high in the sky and catch worms in thegrass. The author used to work in a zoo, and por-On his son’s sixth birthday, a father tells him about
the day he was born. The father was alone at home
in a high-rise apartment building, waiting for his
son to be born, when a huge dinosaur stuck its
head through the window. That day marked the
beginning of a strange, wordless, exchange be-

Text/Illus. Iino, Kazuyoshi | Tokyo: Bronze Publishing |This picture book takes a fresh look at nature andhuman relationships during the Edo period. Osenis a pretty girl who stands outside teahouses tobring in customers. She is given a bamboo hairpin
by Okoma, a girl who spends her life travelingthrough the mountains. When Osen puts it in her
hair, a magical strength wells up in her and she
has the feeling she can become something close
to nature. Recalling what Okoma had told her before she departed, she begins to sing like a bird.
Another of the characters is a wolf, now extinct inJapan. <Sakuma>

trays the birds’ individual characteristics accurately
and humorously in a way that is true to life. <Hiromatsu>

tween the father and the dinosaur sitting at thetraffic lights. On Christmas night the dinosaur gavebirth, then put the father on her back and set off
on a walk. A gently humorous magical story celebrating birthdays and Christmas, with beautiful
illustrations painted on wood. <Hiromatsu>

24

ゆきYuki（Snow）

25

26

ちいさなりすのエメラルド
Chiisana risu no Emerarudo

ネコヅメのよる
Nekozume no yoru

（Emerald, the Little Squirrel）（The Night of the Cat Gathering）| 32 pp. | 25×26 cm | ISBN 9784593560998 | Ages 4+ |Text/Illus. Sonoda, Eri | Tokyo: Bunkeido | 2016 | 32 pp.

Text/Illus. Machida, Naoko | Tokyo: Wave Shuppan |Seasons; Nature; Poetry| 27×22 cm | ISBN 9784799901663 | Ages 5+ | Squirrel;

2016 | 32 pp. | 26×22 cm | ISBN 9784872909432 | Ages

Book; Bedtime

5+ | Cat; Moon; Mystery

Emerald the squirrel can’t get to sleep because
Garnet, the rabbit who always reads a picture bookto her at bedtime, has been called out for work.
And so Emerald goes around the neighborhood
asking all the adults if they’ll read to her. Her en-

At last the special night arrives. One cat slips awayfrom home, followed by countless others whocome from all over town to join a big gathering. In
unison the throng of cats look expectantly up at
the sky. Readers gulp nervously, dreading what’s
to come. But what is it that appears in the nightsky? A thrilling and humorous picture book abouta cat’s secret. The author was widely acclaimed forher scary illustrations in the popular Kaidan ehon(ghost story picture books) series, and now showsherself to be in her element as a cat lover too. <Hi-

Text/Illus. Kikuchi, Chiki | Tokyo: Holp Shuppan | 2015

Snow begins falling in the forest. At first it falls insoft fluffy flakes, but it grows steadily thicker andsoon begins to settle. Alarmed, the animals hurriedly prepare, and soon huddle together to sleep,
while human children greet the snow with delight.
Living beings are enveloped in a world devoid ofcolor and sound by beautiful, cold white snow thatis sometimes gentle and sometimes threatening.
The author apparently based his illustrations on
the snowy plains of his native Hokkaido, and his
concise sentences and bold illustrations draw thereader into his richly poetic work. <Hiromatsu>

counters and adventures along the way enable her
to grow. This bedtime book features a story withina story, with meticulously detailed illustrations inpencil and pastel colors. The author studied residential architecture, and her depictions of interiors
are particularly noteworthy. <Hiromatsu>

romatsu>

14
27

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うらしまたろうUrashima Taro（The Tale of Urashima Taro）

いもさいばんImo saiban（The Trial of the Potato Thief）

月きゅうでん
Gekkyuden（Moon Palace）

Text: Ozawa, Toshio | Illus. Kanaida, Etsuko | Tokyo:

Tex t: Kimura, Yuichi | Illus. Tajima, Yukihiko | To-

Tex t : Kat sura, Bunga | I llus . Suzuk i, Koji | Tok yo:

Kumon Shuppan | 2016 | 36 pp. | 27×22 cm | ISBNk yo: Kodansha | 2016 | 32 pp. | 25×27 cm | ISBNS h o g a k u k a n | 2 0 16 | 3 2 p p . | 2 6×2 1 c m | I S B N

9784774324357 | Ages 5+ | Folktale; Dragon King’s pal-

9784061332959 | Ages 6+ | Nature; Boar; Live together

9784097266433 | Ages 6+ | Rakugo; Fantasy; SpaceAn old man devotes himself to growing sweet
potatoes, but every night someone sneaks in andsteals some of them. Eventually he finds out thatthe thief is a family of wild boars. The boars andother animals feel that potatoes are the productof the earth, rain, and sun, and that humans areat fault for trying to keep them all to themselves!
So which is the real thief? This is the question thispicture book poses, leaving readers to ponder theissue for themselves. Readers are drawn in by thedaring composition and bold lines of these hu-

A picture book of cosmic proportions based on
rakugo—a storytelling form that has influenced
manga and anime, which is currently enjoying arevival in Japan. In this comedic tale a boy fishingin a river catches a great eel, who sends him flying
through space. He arrives in a moon palace wherean annual festival is underway, disguises himself
as a lightning god, and joins the dancing! But theking finds out he is human and a chase ensues.
Artist Koji Suzuki’s bold composition and use ofcolor, as well as the quirky characters, combine to
make this book entrancing. <Nogami>ace; Turtle

An illustrated version of the classic folktale Urashima Taro. A fisherman rescues a turtle. In return,the turtle invites him to the Dragon King’s palace
beneath the sea, where a princess shows him the
kingdom’s wonders. When Urashima Taro asks togo home, she gives him a jeweled box, warning
him never to open it. Upon his return, however, hefinds that many years have passed and much haschanged. Shocked, he opens the box, turns into acrane and marries the princess, who was, in fact,
the turtle he saved. The finely executed woodblock
prints capture his journey under the sea. <Doi>morous stencil-dyed illustrations. <Hiromatsu>

Recent Picture books for ages 4 and up
30

31

32

タケノコごはんTakenoko gohanにしきのなかの馬
Nishiki no naka no uma（Rice Cooked With Bamboo Shoots）（The Horse in the Tapestry）

Text: Oshima, Nagisa | Illus. Ito, Hideo | Tokyo: Poplar |Text: Yaegashi, Naoko | Illus. Tsukasa, Osamu | To-

2015 | 32 pp. | 25×23 cm | ISBN 9784774324029 | Ages

2015 | 42 pp. | 25×25 cm | ISBN 9784591145777 | Agesk yo: Doshinsha | 2015 | 32 pp. | 26×26 cm | ISBN8+ | Life; Food; Growth6+ | War; Rice; Doubt

9784494015467 | Ages 7+ | Folktale; Tohoku region; Love

A well-known film director, Nagisa Oshima, describes an experience from his childhood during
World War II. One day he and his classmates went
to bid farewell to their teacher, who had beendrafted and would soon leave to fight. The teacher
served them all rice cooked with bamboo shoots.
As they ate, a boy who had not cried since hisfather died in battle, suddenly burst out sobbing
and pled, “Teacher, don’t go to war!” Oshima, who
had believed until then that the war was right, be-Aya, the daughter of a wealthy family, receives awhite colt soon after her mother dies. She names
him Saburo and cares for him so devotedly thather father fears she will never marry and sells thehorse. Saburo appears to Aya in a dream and tells
her to weave a tapestry with him in the middle.
She does as she is told and finds that she can still
meet him inside the brocade. War, however, brings
tragedy to the pair. The computer graphics have atranslucent quality that captures the poignancy of
their fate. <Doi>

あひる
Ahiru（Duck）
Text/Illus. Ishikawa, Eriko | Tokyo: Kumon Shuppan |gan to doubt what he had been taught. <Sakuma>

One day, when a little girl comes home fromschool, a duck is in the chicken coop. A man in thenext town has brought it over. The next day, thegirl’s younger brother takes the slightly weakened
duck for a swim in the river. The day after that,when the girl comes home from school, the duckhas disappeared. The girl’s mother, cooking in the
kitchen, tells her that the duck has died. The family eats boiled meat and vegetables that night.
The girl’s brother says, “Wait. This isn’t duck, is it?”Mother kindly answers “no,” but . . . <Miyakawa>

15
33

34

35

ひまなこなべ アイヌのむかしばなし
Hima na konabe: Ainu no mukashi banashi（Little Pot of Leisure: An Ainu Folktale）
		

なつめやしのおむこさん
Natsume yashi no omukosan（A Bridegroom for the Date Palm）

Text: Kayano, Shigeru | Illus. Doi, Kaya | Tokyo: Asunaro

Text/Illus. Ichikawa, Satomi | Hyogo: BL Shuppan | 2016

Higashi, Masao | Tokyo: Iwasaki Shoten | 2015 | 32 pp. |Shobo | 2016 | 32 pp. | 31×22 cm | ISBN 9784751528198 || 32 pp. | 28×22 cm | ISBN 9784776407584 | Ages 8+ |29×22 cm | ISBN 9784265079759 | Ages 9+ | Ghost story;

Ages 7+ | Ainu; Bear; Spirit

Date; Oman; Adventure

Spirit; Mask

The Ainu are the indigenous people of Japan. This
picture book relates one of their folktales about abear god who is killed by a human. Unable to forget an amazing dance by a youth at the ceremony
to send him to heaven, he repeatedly comes backto earth in order to identify the youth, thus ensur-

A picture book set in Oman in the Middle East.
The author has been to Oman many times, andmeticulously portrays the daily lives of people wholive there. A boy called Mansoor goes in searchof a male tree so his date palm can bear fruit.
Along the way, he loses the coffee pot he was toThis book tells a ghost story about the spiritingaway of a child at twilight. Such ghost stories, or
kaidan, grew from reverence for the scale anddarker side of Japan’s natural world. In this book,a girl wearing a mask explores a house, a shrine,
the base of a large tree, the outside of a deserted

ing that the youth’s family prospers with meat andfurs aplenty. The story teaches that humans are
kept alive by nature and other lives. Drawing on
traditional Ainu patterns, the illustrations capture
the essence of this tale and make it easy to follow.
<Sakuma>exchange, but somehow he manages to get holdof a sapling, and thanks to his tender care, his tree
bears a lot of fruit. This work was first published in
France. <Sakuma>building, and a space between two houses—all ofwhich can be spooky, especially as twilight falls. Is
someone there?! The reader’s heart pounds alongwith the girl’s. The symbolic illustrations, composi-

ことりぞKotorizo（Twilight Fright）
Text: Kyogoku, Natsuhiko | Illus. Yamashina, Rie | Edit.

tion and organization of the book are excellent.
<Nogami>36

RecentChapterBooks
andNovels37

こぶたものがたり チェルノブイリから福島へ
Kobuta monogatari: Cherunobuiri kara Fukushima e

おーばあちゃんはきらきら
Oobaachan wa kirakira（A Tale of Two Little Pigs: From Chernobyl to Fuku-（Great-Grandma’s Fantastic Stories）

shima）
Text: Takadono, Hoko | Illus. Komine, Yura | Tok yo:
Text: Nakazawa, Shoko | Illus. Sasameya, Yuki | To-

Fukuinkan Shoten | 2015 | 112 pp. | 21×16 cm | ISBNkyo: Iwasaki shoten | 2016 | 80 pp. | 22×16 cm | ISBN

9784834081473 | Ages 6+ | Great-grandmother; Memory;9784265840076 | Ages 6+ | Piglet; Nuclear Accident;

Fantasy

Fukushima

A story about peaceful lives disrupted by nuclear
accidents. Tanya, who lived in Chernobyl, had apiglet called Marumaru (Rolypoly), while Natsuko
in Fukushima had a piglet called Momo (Peaches).
The girls played with the piglets every day, looking after them as if they were part of their families.
However, following the nuclear accidents both
piglets were left behind when their families were
evacuated. After Tanya visits Fukushima on a rec-First grader Chi has a grandma, and she has a great
grandma. Petite with light green eyes, little Chi’s
great grandma has a sparkle. She tells Chi that inher childhood, when she chased a large red bird
far across a wide field, an old woman appeared ina light purple cloud. Great Grandma realized that
it was herself as a grownup. <Miyakawa>reational visit organized by a Japanese NGO, a letter from her connects the two girls. <Sakuma>

16
38

モンスターホテルでピクニック
Monsuta hoteru de pikunikku（Picnic at Monster Hotel）

39

トンチンさんはそばにいる
Tonchin-san wa soba ni iru（Tonchin Is Near）

40

おばけ道、ただいま工事中 !?
Obake michi, tadaima kojichu!?
（Ghost Road, Under Construction?!）Tex t: Saegusa, Hiroko | Illus. Horikawa, Rimako |Text: Kashiwaba, Sachiko | Illus. Takabatake, Jun | To-

Tokyo: Doshinsha | 2016 | 63 pp. | 22×16 cm | ISBN

Text: Kusano, Akiko | Illus. Hirasawa, Tomoko | To-

kyo: Komine Shoten | 2016 | 63 pp. | 22×16 cm | ISBN

9784494011636 | Ages 8+ | Mysteries of the heart; Differ-kyo: Iwasaki Shoten | 2015 | 96 pp. | 22×16 cm | ISBN

9784338072298 | Ages 7+ | Monster; Picnic; First loveence; Empathy

9784265054992 | Ages 8+ | Friendship; Science fiction;

When monsters visit the town where humans live,
they stay at Monster Hotel. A handsome human
has asked devil princess Yasha to join him for a
picnic, but she suffers from a rare condition thatmakes her turn into a warthog when she sees abutterfly. The other monsters at the hotel con-

When Hinata comes to school in a new t-shirt, Yu
circles around her many times and declares, “Polka
dots. Twenty-four and a half!” Hinata and Mao
count, and they find Yu is right: there are indeed
twenty-four and one-half polka dots on Hinata’s
shirt. Yu sometimes says the oddest things. Thatverge on the picnic place and try to catch all thebutterflies before the couple arrive. This is thefifteenth volume in a series that relates the funny
happenings at Monster Hotel. <Doi>same day in class, Yu tells them, “What’s com-Ghost

ing soon is . . . thunder!” and though the sky is
cloudless, they hear thunder far off. Yu says that
“Tonchin” tells him these things— but who is
Tonchin? <Miyakawa>

Late at night, a boy wakes up to hear a voice calling him. A girl stands at his bedside. She informs
him, “I am a ghost” and “I come from the Ghost
Association.” Her name is Sato, and she is in fourth
grade like him. A paper that she holds before him
reads, “Ghost Road, Under Construction. Apologies for the Inconvenience.” The road turns out tobe the way for departed souls to reach the ghost
world, and it needs maintenance. The ghosts wantto build a detour road . . . right through the boy’s
room! <Miyakawa>

Recent Chapter Books and Novels for ages 6 and up
41

ちゃあちゃんのむかしばなし
Cha-chan no mukashi banashi

42

43

ケンガイにっ！
Kengai ni!（Out of Range!）（Cha-chan’s Folktales）

きかせたがりやの魔女
Kikasetagariya no majo
（The Story-Telling Witch）

Text: Nakawaki, Hatsue | Illus. Naro, Michinori | Tokyo:

Text: Okada, Jun | Illus. Hata, Koshiro | Tokyo: Kaiseisha |kyo: Froebell-kan | 2016 | 224 pp. | 20×14 cm | ISBN

Fukuinkan Shoten | 2016 | 304 pp. | 21×16 cm | ISBN2016 | 142 pp. | 20×14 cm | ISBN 9784036460700 | Ages

9784577043486 | Ages 10+ | Internet addiction; Food;

9784834082357 | Ages 8+ | Folktale; Region; Mother8+ | Elementary school; Witch; Fantasy

Grandmother and grandchildren

The clear Shimanto River flows through the mountain enclosed region of Hata, in northwestern
Kochi Prefecture, Shikoku. In this book, an author
from Hata region retells Hata tales from longago, much as she has told them to her own twochildren. She calls herself Cha-chan because that iswhat her children called her before they could say
okasan (mother). Starting with “Izanami Izanagi,” atale of deities from Japanese myth, this collection
offers some fifty tales in all. <Miyakawa>Did you know that every elementary school has awitch or a wizard living inside? The fifth grade boy
who narrates this book goes to fetch a forgotten
item at school one day—and meets a witch on
the stair landing. From then on, the witch appears
suddenly in odd-numbered months to tell the boy
a story, based on her experiences in the world ofwitchery. Why does she want to tell him stories somuch? Well, it’s her secret. This book includes six
stories told by the witch, which are both mysteri-

Fifth-grader Shun blames himself for the deathof his younger brother in an accident. Gaming
helps him forget, and he is now hooked on online
role-playing games. During summer vacation, his
parents send him to his grandmother’s house in
the country where there is no internet. Shun tries
to run away, but he ends up staying and getting toknow his grandmother. He also makes friends with
twins in the neighborhood, one of whom is ano-

Tex t : Takamori, Miy uk i | Illus . Kato, Yasumi | To -ous and hilarious. <Nogami>

rexic. Through these relationships, he confronts
his own issues. This moving book explores issues
faced by many children in contemporary Japan.
<Doi>

17
44

45

46

ぼくが弟にしたこと
Boku ga ototo ni shita koto
（What I Did to My Brother）

ハルと歩いたHaru to aruita（Walking Haru）

ぼくたちのリアル
Boku tachi no Riaru（Our Riaru）

Text: Nishida, Toshiya | Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten | 2015 |Te x t : To m o r i , Sh i r uko | I ll u s . S a to, M a k i ko | To -264 pp. | 19×13 cm | ISBN 9784198640699 | Ages 10+ |k yo: Kodansha | 2016 | 224 pp. | 19×13 cm | ISBN

Text: Iwase, Joko | Illus. Hasegawa, Shuhei | Tokyo: Riron-Father and son; Growth; Dog

9784062200738 | Ages 10+ | Friendship; Popular student;

sha | 2015 | 160 pp. | 20×15 cm | ISBN 9784652201312 |TraumaAges 10+ | Divorce; Parents and children; BrotherAska starts fifth grade in the same class with Riaru,
who lives next door to him, and a new student
named Saji. Aska often feels inferior to Riaru, who
excels in both soccer and academics. But Aska
wonders—why does Riaru live only with this fa-

This book explores the feelings of children scarredby violence that grown-ups do not see. The author,a pioneer in Japan’s YA genre with many works to
her credit, portrays a sixth-grade boy who lives
with his mother and his brother, who is four years
younger, after a divorce. The main character hits

Yota has moved from Tokyo to his late mother’s
home of Nara. A year has passed, yet he has notmade close friends or gotten used to his new city.
After finishing his sixth and last year of elementary
school, Yota finds himself caring for a lost French
bulldog, which was left with him at the riverside bya homeless man. Yota walks his area with the dog,
seeking its owner. While walking, Yota encountersneighbors, his mother’s past, and himself. <Miyakawa>

ther? Also, why did Saji move here suddenly? As
Aska unravels these mysteries, he gets to knowboth Riaru and Aska, and all three children grow.
<Miyakawa>his brother over little things, and remembers how
his own father hit him. Observing his friend’s family, however, he rethinks how a family should getalong. The climax, when he and his brother begin
to understand each other, is deeply moving. A
masterful look at a family facing up to violence.
<Nogami>47

アリスのうさぎ
Arisu no usagi（Biblio Fantasia: Alice’s Rabbit）

48

水はみどろの宮Mizu wa midoro no miya49

レイさんといた夏
Rei-san to ita natsu（The Summer With Rei）

（The Mountain Spirit And a Girl）
Text: Saito, Hiroshi | Illus. Moriizumi, Takehito | To-

Text: Yasuda, Kana | Tokyo: Kodansha | 2016 | 239 pp. |k yo: Kaiseisha | 2016 | 166 pp. | 20×14 cm | ISBN

Text: Ishimure, Michiko | Illus. Yamafuku, Akemi | Tokyo:

20×14 cm | ISBN 9784062832397 | Ages 12+ | Identity;

9784037272104 | Ages 10+ | Library; Uncanny episodes;

Fukuinkan Shoten | 2016 | 264 pp. | 17×13 cm | ISBN

Earthquake; Parents and children

Listening to others

9784834082517 | Ages 10+ | Soul; Nature; Girl

This is a mysterious fantasy set in a city library. The
narrator and main character works part-time at thechildren’s book counter. There she meets a teenboy searching for a test prep guide that no one
is sure exists; a girl who likes Alice in Wonderland,
who chases a rabbit and gets trapped; and even agirl who has already died. Uncanny episodes likethese, which the librarian can speak of to no one,
happen one after the next. The author skillfully
weaves psychological details into these curious
stories. <Nogami>

A girl of seven named Oyo lives with an old ferryman named Senmatsu, eager to help him now
that she is big. Senmatsu tells Oyo, “People live
nourished by the river—by what it brings andwhat grows near it. Why not receive what it has togive?” Taking with her a dog named Ran, who has
accompanied a blind monk, Oyo follows the river
upstream. She reaches a palace covered in waterand meets Gon-no-Mori, a one thousand-year-old
fox. This fantasy probes the origins of water andhumanity. <Miyakawa>

Rio, a girl in her first year of middle school, has justmoved. As she huddles in a room strewn with her
things, a ghost named Rei appears. Brown-hairedwith pierced ears and a jogging jacket, Rei cannot
remember who she is and thus cannot pass into
the world of the dead; she insists that Rio help her.
Their clue is one faint memory from Rei’s former
life. As Rio’s search for her identity overlaps with
Rei’s, strange and humorous developments await.
<Nogami>18
50

川床にえくぼが三つ
Kawadoko ni ekubo ga mittsu（Three Dimples in the Riverbed）

51

52

白をつなぐ
Shiro o tsunagu（Like A Blank Sheet）

少年たちの戦場
Shonen tachi no senjo（The Boys’ Battles）

Text: Mahara, Mito | Tokyo: Shogakukan | 2015 | 272 pp.

Text: Nasu, Masamoto | Illus. Hata, Koshiro | Toyo: Shin-Text: Nishigaki, Yoko | Tokyo: Shogakukan | 2015 | 240| 19×13 cm | ISBN 9784092897434 | Ages 13+ | Long-

nihon Shuppansha | 2016 | 222 pp. | 20×14 cm | ISBN

pp. | 19×26 cm | ISBN 9784092905825 | Ages 12+ |distance relay race; Parents and children; Friendship9784406060219 | Ages 13+ | History; Child soldier; Battle

This is a moving account of a team of ten young
men ranging in age from their early teens to earlytwenties. Seven are chosen to represent theirprefecture in a grueling long-distance relay race.
Before the race starts, one of them discovers aletter that is just a blank sheet. With each change
in runner, the narrator shifts, so that we see therace from different perspectives and learn of the
struggles and dreams, love life or family problemsof each member, along with their reasons for run-

The author of the Zukkoke Three book series, whichsold fifty million copies, wrote this short story col-Friendship; International travel; FutureThis book takes the form of a travel journal by
Ayane, a second-year student in middle school.
With her friend Hana, Ayane goes along on her
aunt Fuko’s eight-day research trip to Indonesia.
Ayane’s aunt studies ancient rock layers as a paleontologist. At the Solo River, the longest river on
Java, Ayane helps perform an investigation of theriverbed, which is a layer from five hundred thousand years ago. There Ayane finds three depressions that look like dimples. <Miyakawa>ning. The significance of the mysterious blank
sheet of paper also becomes clear. <Doi>

lection around the theme of war. War is something
adults do, but it invariably victimizes young people. These four stories all portray teenage boys,
who themselves must fight in armed conflict: thecivil war when Japan became a modern state, andthe fighting in northeast China and Okinawa during World War II. With its depiction of teenagers
who face desperate fates, it is a sharp indictmentof war’s cruelty. <Nogami>

Recent Chapter Books and Novels for ages 10 and up
53

まく子
Makuko54

55

アポリア あしたの風
Aporia: Ashita no kaze（Aporia: Tomorrow’s Wind）

トンヤンクイがやってきた
Tonyankui ga yatte kita（The Dongyang Gui Came）（A Mysterious Girl Good At Scattering Things）
Te x t : Ito, Mik u | Ph oto: Sh ish i d o, K i yot a k a | To -Text: Okazaki, Hidetaka | Tokyo: Shin-nihon Shuppansha

Text/ illus. Nishi, Kanako | Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten |k yo: Doshinsha | 2016 | 271 pp. | 19×14 cm | ISBN| 2015 | 348 pp. | 20×13 cm | ISBN 9784406059534 | Ages

2016 | 256 pp. | 20×14 cm | ISBN 9784834082388 | Ages

9784494020485 | Ages 13+ | Natural Disaster; Mutual

13+ | World War II; Invasion; Resistance

12+ | Encounter; Coming-of-Age; Diversity

Assistance; Meaning of Life

Satoshi is in the fifth grade of elementary school.
No longer a child but not yet an adult, he feels
disoriented and out of step with the world aroundhim. Then a pretty girl called Kozue transfers to his
school. Kozue doesn’t bother herself with the peo-

In this YA novel set in the near future, a greatearthquake and tsunami rock Tokyo. People of different ages and backgrounds witness death andtry to find purpose, exploring what they can do forothers. A middle school student named Ichiya wasa shut-in, loathing himself for wishing to murder aclassmate. In the earthquake, as he tries to save hismother, a man drags him to safety. The fact that hecould not help his mom scars Ichiya’s heart, but as
he interacts with other people again, he reconsid-

ple around her, but leads a strange existence scattering all kinds of things, from pebbles to nuts andwater. Satoshi is captivated by her, and eventually
she confides her secret to him: actually, she is aspace alien and will one day have to return to her
own star. Through Kozue, Satoshi is able to accept
diversity and redefine himself in such a way that
he can eventually accept himself and be acceptedby others. <Sakuma>

This book alternately tells the stories of Tsao Shin,a boy who lives in China, and Takeji, a boy in Japan,
throughout the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)
and World War II. The book’s two perspectives
give the war history depth. Tsao Shin’s family are
killed by Japanese soldiers, called Dongyang guiin Chinese, and he joins the Chinese resistance.
Takeji’s mother must go to China as a nurse, andTakeji’s brother risks his life there as a probationary soldier. Takeji experiences the U.S. firebombingof Tokyo. <Miyakawa>ers his life and grows. <Sakuma>

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小やぎのかんむり
Koyagi no kanmuri（The Kid’s Crown）

57

空はいま ぼくらふたりを 中心に
Sora wa ima bokura futari o chushin ni（The Sky Holds the Two of Us）

Text: Ichikawa, Sakuko | Tokyo: Kodansha | 2016 | 252 pp.

58

ふたりの文化祭
Futari no bunkasai（Jun and Aya’s School Festival）
Text: Fujino, Megumi | Tokyo: Kadokawa | 2016 | 256 pp.

| 20×14 cm | ISBN 9784062200059 | Ages 13+ | Family;

Text: Murakami, Shiiko | Tokyo: Kodansha | 2016 | 286| 13×19 cm | ISBN 9784041038130 | Ages 13+ | Adoles-

Friendship; Affection

pp. | 20×14 cm | ISBN 9784062202176 | Ages 13+ | Highcence; High school; Bibliobattle

school club; Tanka poetry; LGBT awarenessNatsume’s father comes home from the hospitalfor bedrest, after being hurt in a car accident.
Natsume has suffered verbal abuse and even violence from her father, and has wished to kill him.
Running away from this part of herself, Natsume
goes for a summer camp at an old temple in themountains. It’s her last summer of middle school.
Over this summer, Natsume gets to know Raita, afive-year-old entrusted to the temple by his single
mother. Natsume also meets Yosuke, a high school
student who brings a young goat to graze on the
grounds. In time, Natsume builds up the strength
to face reality. <Miyakawa>This novel follows To Write Poems Is To Pick Up
One’s Life, about a high school tanka poetry club.
The narrator in the first novel is Narihira, a boy in
his final year. In this sequel, journal entries of a
new boy named Toki, who has a crush on Narihira,also appear. The book features plentiful dialogue,
including the Kansai dialect of Narihira’s girlfriend
Seira, and the club members’ one-line tanka poems pierce the novel like skewers. Layers of differing language tell a story of family problems andromance. <Miyakawa>This novel follows the developing relationshipbetween Jun and Aya, who are both sixteen. Jun
is good looking and popular, while Aya is a shy
bookworm. Although Aya remembers that theywent to kindergarten together, Jun has forgotten,
distracted by all the attention he gets. The twohave to work together preparing for the school
festival. As they do, they remember their childhood. The writer does an excellent job of capturing
the awkward communication between teenagersof the opposite sex. <Doi>

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RecentNonfiction
わたしのこねこ
Watashi no koneko

ぞうきばやしのすもうたいかい
Zokibayashi no sumo taikai（I Want to Share Your Feelings, My Dear Cat）

（Sumo Wrestling of Insects）

Text: Sawaguchi, Tamami | Illus. Azumimushi | Tokyo:

Text: Hirono, Takako | Illus. Hirono, Kenichi | Tokyo:

Fukuinkan Shoten | 2016 | 32 pp. | 26×23 cm | ISBN

Fukuinkan Shoten | 2016 | 24 pp. | 22×21 cm | ISBN

9784834082609 | Ages 4+ | Animal; Ecology; Relation-

9784834082548 | Ages 2+ | Insects; Ecology; Comparison

shipThis is the story of a little girl and her kitten, Kuro.
The girl studies and even sleeps with Kuro in her
eagerness to make friends and is delighted when
Kuro comes to greet her on her way back fromschool. The text and illustrations convincingly
portray the girl’s eagerness, and the artist’s cutout
technique deftly captures the girl’s hesitance andthe kitten’s innocent playfulness. <Doi>

At a tree stump in the woods, a sumo tournament
begins. First up are the drone beetle and jewel
beetle. The drone beetle pushes the jewel beetle
out of the ring with his head. Victory! Next, the pill
bug faces the praying mantis. The pill bug latches
onto the mantis’s front legs, and the startled mantis touches the ground. The pill bug wins! In thisway, insects do sumo in unusual pairings, using
unusual techniques. What will happen with the final pair: the stag beetle and the rhinoceros beetle?
<Miyakawa>

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イモリくんヤモリくん
Imori-kun Yamori-kun（Newt and Gecko）

さかなだってねむるんです
Sakana datte nemurun desu（Fish Sleep, Too）

アマミホシゾラフグ
Amami hoshizura fugu（White-Spotted Pufferfish）

Text/Illus. Matsuoka, Tatsuhide | Tokyo: Iwasaki Shoten

Text: Shimada, Yasuko | Photos: Ito, Katsutoshi | Tokyo:

Text: Eguchi, Eri | Photos: Ookata, Yoji | Illus. Tomonaga,| 2016 | 32 pp. | 22×27 cm | ISBN 9784265029310 | Ages

Poplar | 2015 | 40 pp. | 21×26 cm | ISBN 9784591146408

Taro | Tokyo: Holp Shuppan | 2016 | 32 pp. | 20×23 cm |7+ | Water’s edge; Living things; Adventure| Ages 5+ | Sleep; Fish; Biology

ISBN 9784593583065 | Ages 6+ | New variety; Pufferfish;

Newt loves the pond where he was born. But one
day, a boy swipes him up in a bucket, takes him
home, and puts him in the sink. Gecko, who lives
at the house and meets Newt, makes a plan for
him to escape and return to the pond. Now, Newt
is good at swimming, but he cannot survive out ofwater; Gecko can go anywhere using his legs, but
he cannot go in water. A great adventure begins as
the two try to help each other. <Miyakawa>

Fish can’t close their eyes because they have noeyelids. Can they sleep? If so, how? Through pho-

The coral reefs near Japan’s southern island Ama-

tos, the author shows how fish sleep in the sea andkeep themselves safe by changing color, hiding
under rocks, or using other fish as shields. To keepfrom drifting away, some fish anchor themselves
by biting a piece of coral while others bury them-mi Oshima are home to many unusual fish. In the
deep waters beyond, where living creatures arefew, beautiful circles appear on the seabed. These
stunning designs, long a mystery to scientists, arenests of the white-spotted pufferfish, a small rela-selves in the sand. And some just go on swimming
inside a school of fish even while they sleep. The
vivid photographs present a humorous overview
of the sleeping habits of fish. <Doi>tive of the blowfish. Only ten centimeters long,one white-spotted pufferfish creates a fantastic
design in the sand some two meters across. This
book depicts the fish in photos, with commentaryfrom a cute cartoon character. <Nogami>

EcologyRecent Nonfiction
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66

ウミガメものがたり
Umigame monogatari（Sea Turtle Story）

つちはんみょうTsuchihanmyo（Oil Beetle）

北極 いのちの物語
Hokkyoku: Inochi no monogatari

Text/Illus. Suzuki, Mamoru | Tokyo: Doshinsha | 2016 |Text/Illus. Tateno, Hiroshi | Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 2016 | 40

32 pp. | 26×26 cm | ISBN 9784494005208 | Ages 7+ | Liv-

pp. | 29×25 cm | ISBN 9784034370704 | Ages 6+ | Na-

Text/Photos: Terasawa, Takaki | Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 2015

ing things; Life; Journeyture; Insects; Miniature| 40 pp. | 26×21 cm | ISBN 9784033324807 | Ages 8+ |In summer, a sea turtle mother comes ashore at
a deserted beach. Using her hind legs, she digs ahole. In the hole, she lays about one hundred eggs.
After covering the eggs, the mother turtle returns
to the sea. Sixty days later, baby turtles are born.
Only five centimeters across, the turtles flap theirfins and somehow, with no one directing them,
they head to the ocean. Will the baby turtles makeit all the way to the ocean, and live? <Miyakawa>“Long ago, people ground this insect into powder
to make poison.” So begins this picture book on
the life of the oil beetle. The beetle’s larvae, lessthan a millimeter long, look like poppy seeds.
With plans to take up residence in a bumblebee
hive, they embark on a perilous journey—not on
their own power, but stuck to the bodies of vari-（The North Pole: A Story of Life）

Polar bear; Arctic; Global warming

ous insects. Of four thousand larvae born at once,
perhaps one or two will live to maturity. This bookshows the life of the oil beetle up close, with magnificently detailed illustrations. <Nogami>

In March, when the North Pole is at its coldest, aphotographer heads outside. On his second day
in a tent on a rise, looking out over the frozensea, he spots a polar bear. “It’s so beautiful. Over
this pure white ice walks a wild polar bear. I was
so moved I trembled.” The polar bear’s main foodis seals. Those seals—where are they? What does
the polar bear do in summer? This book uses thepolar bear’s life to reveal surprises and discoveries,
linked together in photos and prose. <Miyakawa>

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むし こぶみつけたMushikobu mitsuketa（I Found a Gall）

やさいの花
Yasai no hana（Vegetable Flowers）

Text/Photos: Shinkai, Takashi | Tokyo: Poplar | 2016 | 35

Text: Shimada, Yasuko | Photos: Hani, Shabou | Tokyo:

pp. | 21×27 cm | ISBN 9784591150023 | Ages 7+ | Insects;

Poplar | 2016 | 40 pp. | 21×26 cm | ISBN 9784591149720 |Text/Illus. Horikawa, Rimako | Edit. Miwa, Masayuki |Nature; Wonder

Ages 5+ | Vegetable; Flower; Photography

Tokyo: Asunaro Shobo | 2015 | 64 pp. | 25×19 cm | ISBN

Galls, or cecidia, are lump-like growths on theleaves and stems of plants, which form when in-

We all know what vegetables are, but we often
don’t know their flowers. If a vegetable is the seed
portion of a plant, it comes from a flower! Manysuch flowers are strikingly beautiful. For example,
burdock is a relative of chrysanthemum, and its
flowers resemble thistle. Cabbage and pak choi
are related to canola, and may produce similar yel-

くだものと木の実いっぱい絵本
Kudamono to kinomi ippai ehon
（Plenty of Fruits and Nuts）

9784751528075 | Ages 7+ | Fruit; Nuts; Seasonssects lay eggs there. If you look closely, you will
see galls here and there and in many colors. If
you look inside, you will see insects growing. The
galls are like cradles that protect the life inside. By
showing a variety of cecidia in stunning pictures,
this photo picture book opens our eyes to nature’s
wonders. <Sakuma>

low flowers. Cucumber, pampkin and bottle gourd
are related to melon. Related plants have similar
blossoms. This photo picture book surprises anddelights with photos of gorgeous vegetable flowers, which often go overlooked. <Nogami>

A picture book about fruits and nuts that children
love. While naming fruits and nuts of the four
seasons, and describing their types and how theygrow, this book also presents haiku and basic recipes. Tidbits of trivia appear throughout, and therealistic yet warm atmosphere of the illustrations
is wonderful. Includes comic strip-like panels andother innovations. <Sakuma>

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宇宙人っているの？
Uchujin te iru no?（Are There Extraterrestrials?）

築地市場 絵で見る魚市場の一日
Tsukiji shijo: E de miru uo ichiba no ichinichi

人類の歴史を作った 船の本
Jinrui no rekishi o tsukutta fune no hon（A Day at Tsukiji Fish Market）（The Boat Book: Boats Made Human History）

kyo: Kinnohoshi-sha | 2016 | 50 pp. | 29×22 cm | ISBN

Text/Illus. Morinaga, Yo | Tokyo: Komine Shoten | 2016

Text/Illus. Hisa, Kunihiko | Tokyo: Kodomonomirai-sha

9784323073576 | Ages 10+ | Space; Planets; Living things| 31 pp. | 31×22 cm | ISBN 9784338282055 | Ages 6+ || 2016 | 40 pp. | 22×29 cm | ISBN 9784864121057 | Ages

Aquatic products; Shipping; Food8+ | Boat; History; Trade

This picture book’s theme is the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, which will soon relocate after eighty
years. In the opening spread, we see how eight
thousand trucks arrive in the dead of night, bring-

Humankind began about two hundred thousand
years ago in Africa. From there, humans crossed
seas using boats and spread around the world. At
first, manpower and wind power moved the boats,
but now boats with diesel engines, and evennuclear-powered ships, traverse our world. The
history of boats is a history of people. Why wereboats first made? How have they been propelled?
This illustrated reference book presents a historyof boats using detailed drawings. <Nogami>

Text: Naganuma, Takeshi | Illus. Yoshida, Hisanori | To-

Two children ask their father if there are living
creatures elsewhere in the universe. Basing his
observations on scientific fact, their father firsttells them about life on Planet Earth and then explains how the existence of active volcanos under
the oceans on moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn
may indicate the presence of living organisms. The
children and their father then tackle the idea of life
outside our solar system and imagine what forms
organisms would have to take in order to survive.
The author is a biologist, and his firm grounding inscience makes his visions of creatures on different
planets fascinating. <Doi>

ing fresh fish to Tsukiji. The trucks are unloaded,
and tuna auctions begin. In the intermediate
wholesalers’ area, some six hundred stalls bustle.
This book shows concretely how the fish maketheir way through the market, and what jobs people do there. <Miyakawa>

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それでも、海へ
Soredemo umi e: Rikuzentakata ni ikiru（Still Going Out Fishing: Rikuzentakata after the
Tsunami）

74

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ここで土になる
Koko de tsuchi ni naru
（Here We Will Return to Dust）

わたしが外人だったころ
Watashi ga gaijin datta koro
（When I Was a Foreigner）

Text/Photos: Onishi, Nobuo | Tokyo: Alice-kan | 2015 |Text: Tsurumi, Shunsuke | Illus. Sasaki, Maki | Tokyo:

Text/Photos: Yasuda, Natsuki | Tokyo: Poplar | 2016 | 40

40 pp. | 26×20 cm | ISBN 9784752007340 | Ages 10+ |Fukuinkan Shoten | 2015 | 40 pp. | 26×20 cm | ISBN

pp. | 27×22 cm | ISBN 9784591148112 | Ages 10+ | Sea;

Dam; Husband and wife; Destruction of the environment

9784834081688 | Ages 9+ | Identity; History; War

The villagers of Itsukimura in Kyushu were evicted
to make way for a dam. One couple, the Ogatas,
refused to leave, staying behind to tend their ancestors’ graves, which lay under an ancient gingko
tree. Eventually, the authorities decided to relocate
the graveyard and the tree above the flood line.
They lopped off the tree’s branches and cut its
roots. The project, however, was suddenly halted.
Through it all, the Ogatas continued to live in theabandoned village and farm their land. This is a
powerful record in text and photos of the destruc-In this book, peace activist Shunsuke Tsurumi(1922–2015) explores the meaning of peace basedon his experiences of studying abroad in America
and serving as a soldier for Japan after the out-

Fishing; Recovery

This photo picture book shows a fisherman and his
grandchild in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. The
town was rocked by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011. Nearly allits fishing boats were destroyed. The fisherman inthis book survived by taking his boat far offshore,
but seeing the suffering, he declined to fish for along time. One day his grandson said, “I want to
eat that white fish you used to catch, Grandpa.” At
that sentence, the man decided to return to sea.
This book shows how he shares his catches, andthe port begins coming back to life. <Sakuma>tion of nature and local life for the sake of a dam.
<Doi>

break of World War II. The book reflects particularly on his sense of being a foreigner both inAmerica and Japan, a feeling that he retains to thisday, and emphasizes the importance of maintaining an objective viewpoint. This coupled with Maki
Sasaki’s surreal paintings stimulates the reader toponder such profound subjects as the meaning oflife and the reality of war. <Doi>

Recent Nonfiction
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77

いのる
Inoru（Prayer）
Text/Photos: Nagakura, Hiromi | Tokyo: Alice-kan | 2016
| 40 pp. | 26×20 cm | ISBN 9784752007623 | Ages 9+ |Prayer; Peace; Life and Death

This picture book shows people at prayer throughout the world. Some people pray for children not
to be caught up in war, for peace to prevail, orfor the deceased to go to a good place. Others
pray to overcome anxiety and keep peace in theirhearts. Some pray to ask questions about happenings they may not have understood at first. Others
pray to find the right path. With photos that show
beautiful scenes of prayer in different cultures, theauthor speaks of how prayers can connect, and theworld can slowly transform. <Sakuma>

世界のともだちシリーズ（36 巻）
Sekai no tomodachi shirizu（Friends Around the World Series: 36 vols. for 36 countries）
Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 2014-16 | 40 pp. | 24×21 cm | ISBN 9784036480104 et al. | Ages 8+ | Culture; World; LifeIn this series of photo picture books, renowned
photographer s show us the homes, schools,
leisure activities, clothing, food, and homes ofchildren in 36 countries. Each volume has as main
character a child of about ten, and focuses ona day in the child’s life: what time she wakes up,
what he eats for breakfast, what kind of school
she attends, what content he studies. The pho-

Unique festivals and rituals, artifacts, and sports
are shown, as well as other aspects of religion andculture. This series helps us see differences andsimilarities among ways of life in different places,
deepening intercultural understanding. The end ofeach volume provides recent data on the featured
country’s population, history, and industries. <Sakuma>

tos, text and illustrations provide plenty of detail.

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広島の木に会いにいく
Hiroshima no ki ni ai ni iku（A Trip to the Hiroshima Trees）

勇者はなぜ、逃げ切れなかったのか
Yusha wa naze nigekirenakatta no ka（Why the Hero Couldn’t Escape）

知里幸恵物語Chiri Yukie monogatari（Yukie Chiri: The Girl who
Gave Her All to Tell the Ainu Stories）

Text: Ishida, Yuko | Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 2015 | 240 pp. |Text: Tadokoro, Makoto | Tokyo: Kumon Shuppan | 2016

Text: Kanaji, Naomi | Tokyo: PHP Institute | 2016 | 159

22×16 cm | ISBN 9784036450800 | Ages 8+ | Hiroshima;| 112 pp. | 22×16 cm | ISBN 9784774324531 | Ages 10+ |pp. | 22×16 cm | ISBN 9784569785646 | Ages 10+ | Ainu;

War; Tree surgeon

Disaster; Disaster prevention; History

Traditional; language

There are trees in Hiroshima city that miraculously
survived the atomic bomb in 1945. The author explores the effect of the bomb on the trees and theneighborhood where they still stand. She also ex-

This nonfiction work by an archaeologist presents
things the author discovered while excavating thesites of ancient disasters. He learned, for example,
that for over a thousand years, local people had
been passing on the knowledge of how far inland
tsunami could come. He also determined throughBorn in 1903 in Noribetsu, Hokkaido, Yukie Chiri
belonged to the Ainu, the indigenous hunter-gatherer people of Japan. She grew up on Ainu legends
told by her grandmother and her aunt. Defying
ethnic discrimination, she studied Japanese. In-

amines the effect of the 2011 nuclear accident on
trees in Fukushima. The book follows the author’s
process of investigation, which allows readers toexperience the excitement of discovering the story
hidden within the trees. The writing style and theuse of abundant photos and illustrations make thisa very engaging and interesting read. <Doi>

analogical reasoning why a hero who helped all
the other villagers to escape died in the village
clad in his armor. The descriptions of archeologicaldigs and the presentation of historical research are
fascinating, and readers gain important insights
into surviving natural disasters. <Doi>spired by the linguist and ethnologist Kyosuke
Kindaiichi, she used the Japanese writing system
to record her people’s legends both in the Ainu
language and in Japanese translation. She died atage nineteen. This book graphically portrays Hokkaido during Chiri’s life and the significance of herlegacy in preserving Ainu culture. <Doi>

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82

Wordless
Books
どうぶつのおやこ
Dobutsu no oyako（Animals’ Families）

どんないろ
Donna iro（Little Eyes 2: Meet Colors）

Illus. Yabuuchi, Masayuki | Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten |Design: Komagata, Katsumi | Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 1990 |1966 | 16 pp. | 19×25 cm | ISBN 9784834000740 | Ages

12 pieces | 13×13 cm | ISBN 9784031320207 | Ages 1+ |0+ | Animal; Parents and children; Infant

Color; Shape; Imagination

This textless book is illustrated with realistic pictures depicting rabbits, dogs, monkeys, bears,
hippos, giraffes, lions and elephants with their offspring. This was an early work by Masayuki Yabuuchi (1940–2000), an animal artist who illustrated
many children’s books and animal guides. His firm
grasp of animal ecology and his deep respect forhis subjects is evident in his outstanding illustra-

Volume Two in this series of ten picture card books
for babies. A set of twelve triple-fold perforated
cards demonstrates amazing changes in simple
figures through the joy of turning pages. Volume
One for newborn babies consisted of only black
and white shapes, but this second volume, forbabies of four months or older, helps them to ap-

tions. This classic masterpiece is loved by a wide
range of readers in Japan from infants to adults.
<Doi>

preciate color. Each volume is designed to further
deepen awareness of the world through the playful addition of numbers, objects, significance, andso forth. The debut infants’ series by this worldrenowned book maker and designer. <Hiromatsu>

24
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ぞうのボタン
Zo no botan（Elephant Buttons）

84

さわるめいろ２
Sawaru meiro 2

85

どっとこどうぶつえん
Dottoko dobutsuen（Dottoko Zoo）

（Touch Picturebook with Braille: Mazes by Touch 2）
Illus. Ueno, Noriko | Tokyo: Fuzambo | 1975 | 32 pp. |Illus. Nakamura, Norio | Tokyo: Fukuinkan shoten | 2014

20×21 cm | ISBN 9784572002068 | Ages 3+ | Elephant;

Design: Murayama, Junko | Tokyo: Shogakukan | 2015

| 32 pp. | 27×20 cm | ISBN 9784834081022 | Ages 3+ |Button; Wonder| 10 pp. | 25×21 cm | ISBN 9784097265757 | Ages 3+ |Animal; Design; Quiz

Braille; Barrier-free society; Universal design

This book was first published in New York in 1973,
and it later came out in Japan. First, an elephantappears. On his tummy are four buttons. Turn thepage, and the buttons are unfastened—and we
see that a horse was inside. The horse has four
buttons as well. Turn the page, and the buttons areunfastened—and a lion appears this time! The lion
has four buttons too. What will happen when you
turn the next page? <Miyakawa>Lines of colorful geometric mazes are traced withelevated dots of resin ink, raising the patterns to aheight of 0.4 millimeters from the page. Designed
as an accordion book, Sawaru Meiro has no binding and unfolds into a single long strip. The clever
design allows children both with and without sight
impairments to enjoy the mazes together. The firstbook in a series, Sawaru Meiro won many awards
in Japan. <Doi>

This picture book portrays an unusual zoo in which
the animals are made up of a minimal number ofsquare dots. The panda, for example, is made up
of just nine black squares on a plain white background, and the giraffe, lion, and hippo are similarly abstracted. All the pictures are designed tostretch the reader’s imagination, and children canhave fun looking at them from different angles
trying to guess what the animal is. It won a special
mention in the non-fiction category of the 2014
Bologna Ragazzi Awards. <Hiromatsu>

Special Topic I : Wordless Books
86

87

88

絵巻えほん びっくり水族館
Emaki ehon: Bikkuri suizokukan

はるにれHarunire（An Elm Tree）

おふろやさんOfuroya san（The Bathhouse）（Picture Scroll Books: The Amazing Aquarium）
Photos: Anezaki, Kazuma | Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten |Illus. Nishimura, Shigeo | Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten |Illus. Cho, Shinta | Tokyo: Koguma-sha | 2005 | 26×26 cm

1981 | 32 pp. | 26×19 cm | ISBN 9784834008579 | Ages

1983 | 32 pp. | 27×20 cm | ISBN 9784834009620 | Ages

| ISBN 9784772101752 | Ages 4+ | Picture scroll; Aquari-

4+ | Photography; Tree; Seasons

4+ | Public Bath; Family; Communication

The Japanese elm is a large, deciduous tree in theelm family. One such elm is the main characterof this book. It lives in Hokkaido, standing in thescenery at autumn’s end. When you turn the page,
its leaves have dropped and snow is falling. Fur-This book introduces a Japanese public bathhousethrough pictures. A mother, father and two smallchildren visit the bathhouse every evening. Aftergoing through the entrance to the building with its
tiled roof and tall chimney, they go their separate
ways into the separate bathing areas for men andwomen. The bathhouse is a place where people of
all ages and occupations socialize while getting
themselves clean. Everything from the landscapepaintings and advertising posters over the bath-um; WonderThis volume is part of a series of picture books
based on picture scrolls. The story develops overthe course of a three-meter long picture, which isfolded accordion-style inside the book. The author
is a pioneer of nonsense picture books in Japan.
In this one, children on a school outing enter theaquarium through the open mouth of a fish on
the front cover, to encounter an array of surprises,
such as a walking shark, a shrimp bus, an old man
dugong, and underpant squids. Also vividly por-ther into the book, grass at its base begins to bed,
and spring arrives. Then comes early summer. The
scenes’ time of day varies from sunset, to a moonlit night, to noon, as we watch the elm live throughthe different seasons. <Miyakawa>tubs to the weighing scales and drink vending
machines in the changing rooms is scrupulously
portrayed in detailed pictures, bringing it alive inthe reader’s imagination. <Sakuma>

trayed are the excited reactions of the children
all the way through to the exit on the back cover.
<Hiromatsu>

25
89

90

91

かさ
Kasa (Umbrella)

そら、にげろSora, nigero（Quick, Fly Away!）

旅の絵本 VIII
Tabi no ehon（Anno's Journey VIII）

Illus. Ohta, Daihachi | Tokyo: Bunken Shuppan | 1975 | 28

Illus. Akaba, Suekichi | Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 1978 | 40 pp.

Illus. Anno, Mitsumasa | Tokyo: Fukuinkan Shoten | 2013

pp. | 27×22 cm | ISBN 9784580815339 C8793 | Ages 4+ || 23×25 cm | ISBN 9784039641205 | Ages 5+ | Humor;| 56 pp. | 26×24 cm | ISBN 9784834080032 | Ages 5+ |Rain; Umbrella; Girl

Traditional culture; Seasons

Journey; Japan; Landscape

All pages of this book are monochrome, with the
exception of a single, bright red umbrella held
aloft by a girl. Her red umbrella passes a playground, where no one is playing due to the rain.
Her red umbrella stops at a pond with waterbirds,
passing the umbrellas of a boy and his mother. The
girl carries another, black umbrella folded beneathher arm. As we watch her move through the rain,
we wonder where she is going—and soon learn.
<Miyakawa>This is the best-known work by Suekichi Akaba,
winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for
Illustration. Totally wordless, it shows a man on ajourney who is wearing a kimono with a bird pattern. A dog barks at the birds, startling them, andthey fly out of the fabric. The poor traveler’s strug-

The eighth book in this popular series takes us on
travels through towns and natural scenes, painted
in fine brush strokes. Along the way, we encounter
heroes and places from folktales. Since Volume Iof this series came out in 1977 the settings havebeen overseas, but this volume shows Japan. It is
set in the past, so we travel by horse and ox powerand steam trains, through landscapes reminiscentof the author’s youth. In a long postscript writ-

gle to catch them unfolds over eighteen spreads
that show the passage of the four seasons. Paging
through is exciting, like watching silent animation.
Look out for the sub-stories! This masterpiece
capitalizes on the picture book form. <Nogami>

ten after 3.11, the author expresses doubt about
nuclear energy and how civilization is developing,and prays for children’s future. <Hiromatsu>

92

93

Books
about
Peace
ぼくがラーメンたべてるとき
Boku ga ramen tabeteru toki

ぼくは弟とあるいた
Boku wa ototo to aruita（As I Was Eating Ramen）（I Walked with My Brother）

Text/Illus. Hasegawa, Yoshifumi | Tokyo: Kyoiku Gageki

Text/Illus. Kobayashi, Yutaka | Tokyo: Iwasaki Shoten || 2007 | 32 pp. | 27×22 cm | ISBN 9784774610573 | Ages

2002 | 36 pp. | 23×26 cm | ISBN 9784265033423 | Ages

3+ | Peace; Ramen; World8+ | Brother; Grandfather; Seeking refuge“As I was eating ramen . . . Micchan, next door,changed the channel.” As we turn the pages ofthis book, we learn that while one boy is slurping
ramen, another child near him is doing somethingelse, and another child near that child is doing
something else. We soon end up in a nearby coun-

This book portrays children who flee from war. The
setting is the shore of the Black Sea, an area close
to the author’s heart. The “I” in the story is a boy
who takes his young brother and walks to the fara-try, and another country near that, and face thefact that in some places, children are having towork to support themselves, and still another boy
has collapsed. The everyday act of eating helps us
think of lives elsewhere in the world. <Miyakawa>way town where their grandpa lives. The two arefar from their parents and anxious, but they meetmany new people, sleep under the stars at ancientruins, celebrate a baby’s birth, and gather information. After many days, they reach their destination.
The light they see spilling from their grandpa’s
house is wonderfully warm. <Sakuma>

26
94

95

96

ぼくのこえがきこえますかBoku no koe ga kikoemasuka（Can You Hear My Voice?）

盆まねき
Bon maneki（Invitation to the Summer Festival of Bon）

３＋６の夏 ひろしま、あの子はだあれ
San tasu roku no natsu（Summer of Three Plus Six）

Text/Illus. Seizo Tashima | Tokyo: Doshinsha | 2012 | 32

Text: Tomiyasu, Yoko | Illus. Takahashi, Kazue | To-

Text: Nakazawa, Shoko | Illus. Sasameya, Yuki | To-

pp. | 26×26 cm | ISBN 9784494019670 | Ages 6+ | War;k yo: Kaiseisha | 2011 | 191 pp. | 21×16 cm | ISBNkyo: Chobunsha | 2015 | 119 pp. | 19×13 cm | ISBN

Death; Grief

9784035306108 | Ages 8+ | War; Ghost; Fantasy

9784811322049 | Ages 9+ | War; Hiroshima; Fantasy

As a man is encouraged to fight for the country,
he goes to a war. As he is ordered, he shoots men.
At the same time, shells of the enemy hit him. His
eyes and hair are burning, his face and foot are
lost, then he is dead and his body is scattered,and he does not see or hear anything, but hefeels something. This book is came out of a copublishing project for peace from China, Japan,
and Korea. The author Tashima, a nominee for the2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award, succeed ininstilling and expressing the feelings and sensa-

In mid-August every year, the Japanese celebrate
Obon, a festival during which families welcome
home the souls of their ancestors. Little Natchan
spends this time with her grandparents and greataunt, who tell her strange tales of kappa (riverimps) and rice fields in the moon. Natchan herself

Three sets of twins, all ten years old, discover theghosts of dead children in their sketchbooks andin photos. Elderly people they encounter in theirlives help them find out who these ghosts were. At
the same time, the children also learn more about
World War II. This process of discovery unfolds likemeets the ghost of a boy. Later, we learn that he isactually her ancestor who was killed during WorldWar II. The author skillfully interweaves fantasy
with reality to create an intriguing tale. <Doi>

the solving of a mystery. The book vividly portrays
the relationship between the ghosts, who havenever grown up, and the elderly who keep them
alive in their hearts, as well as the six children’s
growing understanding of the ef fects of war.
<Doi>

tions elicited by war, in every illustration of thisbook. <JBBY>Special Topic II : Books about Peace
97

98

99

パンプキン！ 模擬原爆の夏
Panpukin! Mogi genbaku no natsu

トンネルの森 1945
Tonneru no mori 1945

（Pumpkin! Summer of the Mock Bomb）（The Tunnel Through the Woods, 1945）

Tex t : Reijo, Hir oko | I llus . Mi yao, K a z ut ak a | To -Text: Kadono, Eiko | Tokyo: Kadokawa | 2015 | 200 pp. |20×14 cm | ISBN 9784036430901 | Ages 10+ | Militaryk yo: Kodansha | 2011 | 95 pp. | 21×15 cm | I SBN

19×13 cm | ISBN 9784040677132 | Ages 10+ | History;base; Friendship; Regional city

9784062170772 | Ages 10+ | War; Atomic bomb; School

Parents and children; War

ピース・ヴィレッジ
Pisu birejji（Peace Village）
Text: Iwase, Joko | Tokyo: Kaiseisha | 2011 | 194 pp. |research project

Hiroka’s local convenience store has a marker
nearby that reads MOCK ATOMIC BOMB DROP
AREA. The mock atomic bomb was round andpainted orange, and nicknamed Pumpkin. Hiroka
wonders about Pumpkin, so she makes the atomic
bomb the subject of her summer research projectfor school. She soon finds, however, that the more
she learns, the more there is to know. From her
wonderings about an everyday object, comes astory about the importance of considering war
and peace. <Nogami>

The author of Kiki’s Delivery Service presents astor y that is par t frightening, par t wondrous,
about a child’s experience during World War II.
When bombings threaten her city, fourth grader
Iko evacuates to the country with her mother andnewborn brother. They learn that a deserter used
the house where they are staying as shelter; soldiers even came to search, creating an uproar, but
the man was not found. We feel the nebulous fears
of a child living away from home and her father,and taste the terror of war. <Nogami>

Kaede’s town in Japan is home to a U.S. militarybase, which even now sends soldiers to war. Kaede
is in sixth grade, and her father runs a bar cateringto the soldiers. Kaede learns that Kiri, a friend a
year older than her, has been giving soldiers antiwar pamphlets that Kiri’s father wrote in English.
Perhaps because of this, Kaede finds that Kiri
avoids her. As the story progresses, Kaede and Kiri
interact with people at the Peace Village, a beloved
spot in town, and learn stories of their neighborsthat alert them to complex realities. <Nogami>

27
100

101

102

八月の光・あとかた
Hachigatsu no hikari, atokata（August Flash and Traces）

世界の果てのこどもたち
Sekai no hate no kodomo tachi（Children at the Edge of the World）

あなたこそたからもの
Anata koso takaramono（You Are a Treasure）

Text: Kuzki, Shaw | Tokyo: Shogakukan | 2015 | 237 pp. |Text: Nakawaki, Hatsue | Tokyo: Kodansha | 2015 | 384

Shoten | 2015 | 36 pp. | 21×19 cm | ISBN 9784272211111

15×11 cm | ISBN 9784094061802 | Ages 13+ | Hiroshima;pp. | 20×13 cm | ISBN 9784062195393 | Ages 13+ | War;| Ages 8+ | Constitution of Japan; Human rights; Flower

Life; Atomic bomb

Repatriate; Friendship

August Flash is a trio of linked stories: “The Doll’sFace,” “The Stone’s Memory,” and “The Water’s Silence.” On August 6, 1945, seventy thousand people in Hiroshima died instantly due to the atomic
bomb. In each of these stories, the main character
loses a loved one and observes scenes like hell
itself. An inscription at the beginning reads, “Forthose who survived.” By following each character
through August 6 and succeeding days, the author
probes what it is to lose something irreplaceable,
yet somehow live on. The August Flash stories
appear with two further works in this Hiroshima
seventieth-anniversary edition. <Miyakawa>This novel of World War II follows three women
who meet as children in Japan-occupied northeast
China. Tamako is a Japanese from a poor village.
After the war, she gets separated from her familyas they leave China, and she grows up an adopted
Chinese. Mari is a Japanese born to a rich trader.

Text: Ito, Makoto | Illus. Taruishi, Mako | Tokyo: Otsuki

She becomes orphaned in bombings in Japan. Mija
is a Korean who used a name given by Japanese
occupiers. After the war, she goes to Japan andfaces discrimination. By giving three viewpoints,
this novel shows how the same people can become both aggressors and victims. <Sakuma>

This picture book explores the Constitution ofJapan. In simple language clear to young readers,
and with pretty illustrations of children as flowers, it explains that we must uphold the lives andhearts of each individual. It also notes that Japan’sconstitution is the only one in the world that renounces war. The gestures and expressions of thecharacters are pleasant and funny; the book is
inviting and warm. <Nogami>

103

さがしていますSagashite imasu（Searching）

104

105

被爆者 60 年目のことば
Hibakusha: Rokuju-nen me no kotoba

ふるさとにかえりたい
Furusato ni kaeritai（A-Bomb Survivors: Words 60 Years Later）（Longing For My Home Island: A Story of Nuclear
Refugees in the Marshall Islands）

Tex t : Binard, Ar thur | Photos: Okakura, Tadashi |Tokyo: Doshinsha | 2012 | 32 pp. | 27×20 cm | ISBN

Text/Photos: Aida, Noriyuki | Tokyo: Poplar | 2005 | 429784494007509 | Ages 8+ | Hiroshima; Atomic bomb;

pp. | 27×22 cm | ISBN 9784591087312 | Ages 10+ | Atom-

Text: Hanyuda, Yuki | Photos: Shimada, Kosei | Tokyo:

Nuclear weapon

ic bomb; Witness to history; Photo picture book

Kodomonomirai-sha | 2014 | 32 pp. | 27×19 cm | ISBN

From twenty-one thousand items donated to theHiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the author
selects fourteen, including a clock, work gloves,and a charred lunchbox, and explores their stories
in words and photos. These items for which time
stopped on August 6, 1945—with the dropping of
Pikadon, the atomic bomb—become “storytell-

In 2005, sixty years after atomic bombs fell on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, six people who survived
the radiation were photographed and interviewed.
This book introduces each of them, including
Hara, who continues to draw the A-bomb dome,
Yamaguchi, who in 1982 told a UN conference, “No
more Hiroshimas, no more Nagasakis, no more
nuclear bomb victims,” and Kataoka, who shares
her past despite undergoing operations to treat
the keloid scar tissue on her hands and face. Theireyes express an ardent desire for peace. A sequelcame out seventy years after the bombings. <Doi>

9784864120715 C8737 | Ages 8+ | Nuclear test; Radia-ers,” each with a poignant tale of what the nuclear
fission of uranium wrought. The back of the bookprofiles each “storyteller.” <Nogami>tion exposure; Bikini AtollThis photo-documentary picture book shows what
happened to the residents of Bikini Atoll after the
U.S. government finished holding nuclear tests
there in the 1950s. A woman named Rimiyo, who
was thirteen, suffered radiation sickness and could
not return to her home island. Moving among
other islands according to U.S. orders, Rimiyo
continued to miss home. The scourge of radiationthat remains on her island even after sixty years,
and Rimiyo’s wish for nuclear disarmament, comethrough clearly in this book. <Nogami>

28
106

107

108

これから戦場に向かいます
Kore kara senjo ni mukaimasu（On My Way to the Battlefield）

平和の種をまく ボスニアの少女エミナ
Heiwa no tane o maku: Bosunia no shojo Emina（Plant Seeds For Peace: Emina, A Bosnian Girl）

ガザ 戦争しか知らないこどもたち
Gaza: Senso shika shiranai kodomo tachi（Gaza: Children Who Only Know War）

Text/Photos: Yamamoto, Mika | Tokyo: Poplar | 2016 | 50

Text/Photos: Otsuka, Atsuko | Tokyo: Iwasaki Shoten |Text: Seita, Akihiro | Tokyo: Poplar | 2015 | 56 pp. | 27×22

pp. | 27×22 cm | ISBN 9784591150962 | Ages 10+ | War;2006 | 44 pp. | 26×22 cm | ISBN 9784265006281 | Ages

cm | ISBN 9784591145005 | Ages 10+ | Children; Family;

Journalist; Camera

10+ | Community garden; Friendship; Work therapy

UNRUWAA photo picture book by a female journalist who
covered the world’s battlefields, her camera andpen in hand. She died in 2012 when she was reporting in Syria and got shot by a government
soldier. Her photographs show us the citizens andchildren of Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, Uganda,
Chechnya, and Turkey. Her words tell us, “Using
force to make someone yield may seem effectiveon the surface, but it only sows seeds of hatred.”This book makes one feel keenly the brutality andabsurdity of war. <Sakuma>

In this nonfiction photo picture book, victims of
war use a garden to revitalize their community.
In Bosnia, three groups of people with different
religions coexisted peacefully. But when civil war
broke out, about half of Bosnians lost their homes.
The main character of this book, a girl named

In the Eastern Mediterranean, the part of Pales-

Emina, works to bring people together throughgrowing vegetables. Her attempt comes throughin beautiful photos and prose. <Sakuma>

tine called Gaza has 1.8 million residents but hasendured destruction due to conflicts with Israel.
Many Gazans have lost their lives; survivors live
surrounded by eight-meter high walls, as if in aninternment camp. The author of this book entered
Gaza as a worker in UNRUWA, a United Nations
agency charged with helping Palestinian refugees.
He shares the stories of children he met who have
only known war, portraying their daily life throughtext and photos. <Nogami>

Special Topic Ⅱ : Books about Peace
109

110

111

生きる 劉連仁の物語
Ikiru: Ryu Ryenren no monogatari

戦争がなかったらSenso ga nakattara（Survive: The Story of Ryu Renryen）（If There Were No War: Three Children, Ten Years）

2013 | 192 pp. | 22×16 cm | ISBN 9784580821965 C8374 |Tex t: Morikoshi, Tomoko | Illus. Taniguchi, Hiroki |Text: Takahashi, Kuninori | Tokyo: Poplar | 2013 | 200 pp.

Ages 10+ | Giant monster movie; Antinuclear; Peace

Tokyo: Doshinsha | 2015 | 240 pp. | 20×14 cm | ISBN| 20×14 cm | ISBN 9784591136539 | Ages 12+ | War vic-

9784494020423 | Ages 12+ | Forced labour; Abduction;tim; Child soldier; Liberia

ゴジラ誕生物語
Gojira tanjo monogatari（The Story of Godzilla）
Text: Yamaguchi, Satoshi | Osaka: Bunken Shuppan |The movie Godzilla came out in 1954. In Marchthat year, a thermonuclear weapon test at Bikini
Atoll in the South Pacific caused a Japanese fishingvessel, the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon No.
5), to be bathed in radioactive fallout. One man
on board died. This incident sparked a movement
to abolish thermonuclear and nuclear weapons.
Godzilla himself grew out of fear regarding such
weapons. In this book, a nonfiction novel, the staffof the original Godzilla put their hearts and ideas
together to create the world’s first giant monster
movie. <Nogami>

Japanese army

Ryu is kidnapped from China and forced to servein a Hokkaido coal mine during World War II. He
escapes and lives alone in the forest for years,
before being found on a snowy mountain in 1958.
For thirteen years, he has survived by his wits
in harsh nature, unaware of the war’s end. Thisnonfiction book tracing half of his life is unique inJapan, in that it clearly describes the Japanese regime as an aggressor. Through Ryu, we learn there
were people robbed of dignity and of much thatgave their lives meaning. <Sakuma>

Over a period of ten years, a photojournalist documents the lives of three children who fell victim
to civil war in Liberia. Momo and Fayah were childsoldiers who, at a sensitive age, lost the chance to
get an education and find their life’s work. They
still suffer, unable to function in society after the
conflict. Musu lost her right hand to the war as a
girl. Thanks to media coverage, she became able
to study in America and even received an artificial hand; she is unable, however, to assimilate
to American life and returns to Liberia. ThroughMomo, Fayah, and Musu, we learn that war gives
children terribly deep scars. <Sakuma>

29
1121945←2015 若者から若者への手紙

113

114

いちご戦争
Ichigo senso（Strawberry War）

（1945←2015: Letters from the Young to the Young）

はだしのゲン わたしの遺書
Hadashi no Gen: Watashi no isho（Barefoot Gen: My Final Words）

Photos: Ochiai, Yuriko | Edit. Kitagawa, Naomi/ Murota,

Te x t / I ll u s . Nak a z awa , Ke iji | To k yo: A s ahi G ak u-| 2014 | 128 pp. | 16×11 cm | ISBN 9784309275093 | Ages

Motomi | Tokyo: Korokara | 2015 | 221 pp. | 21×15 cm |sei Shimbunsha | 2012 | 221 pp. | 22×16 cm | ISBN12+ | War; Girl; Dessert

ISBN 9784907239152 | Ages 13+ | Letter; War; Survival

9784904826799 | Ages 12+ | Hiroshima; Manga; War

Compilers gathered interviews of Japanese WorldWar II survivors who were youth in 1945. Contemporary youth then read the interviews and wrote
their thoughts in letter format. The elders cover
many topics, including combat, life in Siberianlabor camps, massive Tokyo air raids, the atomic
bombs, malaria in the jungle, the student nurs-

The author of the manga Barefoot Gen describes
his early life and the process of creating his famouswork. Keiji Nakazawa was born in Hiroshima andexperienced the atomic bombing, which he tried
to forget. But when his mother died and no bones
remained after her cremation, since radiation had

1945←2015 Wakamono kara wakamono e no tegami

Text/Illus. Kyo, Machiko | Tokyo: Kawadeshobo Shinsha

ing corps, and Unit 731, which conducted humanexperiments to develop biological and chemical
weapons. Overwhelmed by these accounts, thecontemporary youth respond with stark honesty
and attempt to bridge the gap between generations. <Sakuma>

invaded them, he determined to tell his story. In
Japan, people once said not to show Barefoot Gen
to children as it is unsightly. As this book conveys,
however, what is truly ugly is war itself. <Sakuma>

This manga book is deceptively cute. In it strawberries, shortcake, and sweets engage in “war”
that is scary on every page. In a “pineapple-chunk
toothpick campaign,” falling toothpicks stab teen
girl “soldiers.” Elsewhere, strawberry ice cream
looks like a sea of blood. The book takes the formof a notebook carried into battle by one of thegirls; she keeps it in her chest pocket, and it saves
her from a flying bullet. “Even if I die, this dream
will go on,” reads a note at the end. <Nogami>

Subject Index

Dessert........................................................ 114
Destruction of the environment ....... 74

Life ............................................................... 20, 32, 54, 64, 78, 76＊ Numbers are book numbers, not page numbers.

Difference ................................................. 39

Listening to others ................................ 47

See book number near to each cover image.

Dinosaur .................................................... 23

Live together ............................................ 28

Disaster ...................................................... 49, 54, 79

Living things ............................................ 16, 18, 20, 61, 64, 70

Abduction.................................................. 110

Diversity ..................................................... 53

Long-distance relay race ..................... 51

Abstract art .............................................. 5

Doubt ......................................................... 30

Love ............................................................. 31,38

Adolescence ............................................. 58

Dragon King's palace .. .......................... 27

Making something ................................ 11

Adventure ................................................. 13, 19, 34, 61

Drum ........................................................... 9

Manga ........................................................ 113

Affection .................................................... 56

Eating .......................................................... 10

Mask ........................................................... 35

Ainu ............................................................. 33, 80

Ecology ...................................................... 59, 60, 63

Memory ..................................................... 37

Allegory ..................................................... 22

Empathy ..................................................... 39

Military base ............................................ 99
Miniature ................................................... 65

Library ........................................................ 47

Animal ........................................................ 2, 22, 59, 81, 85

Encounter .................................................. 53

Animal: Bear ............................................. 33

Era ................................................................ 9, 21

Monster ..................................................... 38

Animal: Boar ............................................. 28

Exercise ...................................................... 2

Moon .......................................................... 26

Animal: Cat ............................................... 12, 13, 26

Failure ......................................................... 14

Mountain ................................................... 21

Animal: Dog ............................................. 10, 44

Family ......................................................... 10, 56, 88, 108

Mutual Assistance .................................. 54

Animal: Elephant .................................... 4, 83

Family: Divorce......................................... 46

Mystery ...................................................... 26, 39

Animal: Fish .............................................. 62

Family: Grandparents............................. 43, 93

Nature ........................................................ 15, 24, 28, 48, 65, 67

Animal: Gorilla ......................................... 8

Family: Great-Grandparents................ 37

New variety .............................................. 63

Animal: Piglet .......................................... 36

Family: Couple.......................................... 74

Nuclear accident .................................... 36, 103, 105

Animal: Polar bear ................................. 66

Family: Parents.......................................... 1, 13, 7, 41, 44, 46

Nursery song ........................................... 4, 17

Animal: Pufferfish ................................... 63

49, 51, 81, 98

Nuts ............................................................. 69

Animal: Squirrel ...................................... 25

Family: siblings......................................... 12, 46, 93

Ocean/ Sea ............................................... 16, 73

Animal: Turtle .......................................... 27

Fantasy ....................................................... 14, 23, 29, 37, 42

Peace ........................................................... 92, 109

Antinuclear ............................................... 109

95, 96

Philosophy ................................................ 22

Aquarium .................................................. 86

Fishing ........................................................ 73

Photography ............................................ 68, 87, 104

Aquatic product ...................................... 71

Flower ......................................................... 68, 102

Picnic ........................................................... 38

Arctic ........................................................... 66

Folktale ...................................................... 27, 31, 41

Picture scroll ............................................ 86

Atomic bomb ........................................... 97, 100, 103, 104

Food ............................................................ 32, 43, 71

Place: Bikini Atoll .................................... 105

Barrier-free society ................................ 84

Forced labor ............................................. 110

Place: Fukushima .................................... 36

Battle ........................................................... 52

Friendship ................................................. 19, 21, 40, 45, 50

Place: Hiroshima ..................................... 78, 96, 100, 103, 113

Bedtime ..................................................... 25

51, 56, 99, 101, 107

Place: Tohoku region ............................ 31

Bibliobattle ............................................... 58

Fruit.............................................................. 69

Planets ........................................................ 70

Biology ....................................................... 62

Future ......................................................... 50

Poetry ......................................................... 4, 24

Birthday ..................................................... 23

Ghost .......................................................... 35, 40, 95

Poetry: Tanka ........................................... 57

Blessedness .............................................. 15

Giant monster movie ............................ 109

Popular student ...................................... 45

Boat ............................................................. 72

Girl ............................................................... 19, 21, 48, 89, 114

Prayer ......................................................... 76

Book ............................................................ 1, 8, 25

Global warming ...................................... 66

Public Bath ................................................ 88

Braille .......................................................... 84

Grief ............................................................ 94

Quiz ............................................................. 85

Button ......................................................... 83

Growth ....................................................... 32, 44

Radiation exposure ............................... 105

Camera ....................................................... 106

Helping ...................................................... 6

Rain ............................................................. 89

Change the clothes ............................... 14

History ........................................................ 52, 72, 75, 79, 98, 104

Rakugo storytelling ............................... 29Child soldier ............................................. 52, 111

Human rights ........................................... 102

Ramen ........................................................ 92Children ..................................................... 17, 108

Humor ........................................................ 90

Recovery .................................................... 73

Color ........................................................... 3, 82

Identity ....................................................... 49, 75

Region ........................................................ 41, 99

Coming-of-Age ....................................... 53

Imagination .............................................. 82

Relationship ............................................. 59

Communication ...................................... 88, 107

Infant .......................................................... 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 81

Repatriate .................................................. 101

Comparison .............................................. 60

Insects ........................................................ 60, 65, 67

Resistance ................................................. 55

Constitution of Japan ........................... 102

Internet addiction .................................. 43

Rhythm ...................................................... 3, 5, 9Country: Japan ........................................ 91

Invasion ...................................................... 55

Rice .............................................................. 30

Country: Korea ........................................ 17

Investigation ............................................ 16

Rice paddy ................................................ 20Country: Oman ....................................... 34

Japanese army ......................................... 110

School ......................................................... 42, 57, 58, 97

Culture ........................................................ 77

Journalist ................................................... 106

Science fiction ......................................... 40

Daily life ..................................................... 6, 15

Journey ...................................................... 7, 50, 64, 91

Seasons ...................................................... 24, 69, 87, 90

Dam ............................................................. 74

Landscape ................................................. 91

Seeking refuge ........................................ 93

Date ............................................................. 34

language ................................................... 80

Shape .......................................................... 82

Death .......................................................... 94

Letter ........................................................... 112

Shipping .................................................... 71

Deliciousness ........................................... 11LGBT ............................................................ 57

Size .............................................................. 11

Design ........................................................ 85

Liberia ......................................................... 111

Sleep ........................................................... 6230

Soil ............................................................... 18

Trauma ....................................................... 45

Water's edge ............................................ 61

Soul ............................................................. 48

Tree .............................................................. 79, 87

Witch ........................................................... 42

Space .......................................................... 29, 70

Umbrella .................................................... 89

Wonder ...................................................... 67, 83, 86

Spirit ............................................................ 33, 35

Uncanny episodes ................................. 47

Work therapy ........................................... 107

Sun ............................................................... 18

Universal design ..................................... 84

World .......................................................... 78, 92

Survival ...................................................... 112

UNRUWA ................................................... 108

Trade ........................................................... 72

Vegetable .................................................. 68

Traditional ................................................. 80, 90

War .............................................................. 30, 55, 75, 76, 79, 94

Transformation ........................................ 8

95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101

Transportation ......................................... 7

106, 111, 112, 113, 114

JBBY Book Selection Team
DOI, Yasuko

HIROMATSU, Yukiko

Director and senior researcher at the International

Picture book author, critic, and curator. Former chief

Institute for Children’s Literature (IICLO). Besides re-curator of Chihiro Museum, Tokyo. Yukiko Hiromatsu

searching reading activities and the history of Japa-

works include Kyo no ehon ashita no ehon (Picturenese children’s literature, Yasuko Doi plans projects

Books of Today, Picture Books of Tomorrow), Series

such as training courses for teachers and librarians,

Ima mukashi ehon Vol. 1-11 (Picture Books Now andand lectures and symposiums for children’s book au-

Then). She received the Japan Picture Book Award

thors from Japan and overseas. Co-editor of KodomoTranslated Picture Book Award for Hashire, Toto (Run,no hon hyakumon hyakuto (One Hundred Questions

Toto! by Eun young Cho) in 2014. She has sat on theand Answers About Children’s Books) in 2013. Juryjury of international competitions including Bolo-for the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Awards. For-gna Illustrators’ Exhibition, Biennial of illustrations

mer JBBY board member.

Bratislava (BIB), and the Nami Concours. JBBY board
member.

MIYAKAWA, Takeo

NOGAMI, Akira

Researcher of Japanese children’s literature, profes-

Served as managing editor of children’s monthly

sor at the Musashino University. Chief director of themagazines at Shogakukan; former president ofInternational Institute for Children’s Literature (IIC-

Shogakukan Creative. Taught children’s literatureLO). Former JBBY vice president. Takeo Miyakawa hasand culture at the Shirayuri University and the Tokyo

written a range of books including Gendai jidobun-

Seitoku University. Akira Nogami’s works include

gaku no kataru mono (What Modern Children’s Lit-

Nihonjidobungaku no gendai e (To the Modern Chil-erature Talks About), Kodomo no hon no haru natsu

dren’s Literature of Japan), Ekkyo suru jidobungaku(Children’s Literature Crossing Borders), and Kodomo

aki fuyu (Four Seasons of Children’s Books).

bunka no gendaishi (Contemporary History of Children’s Culture). Managing director of the Japan PENSAKUMA, YumikoClub, visiting professor at the Tokyo Junshin Univer-Translator, editor, former professor at the Aoyamasity. JBBY vice president.

Gakuin Women’s Junior College, and director of
the Japan-Africa Children’s Books Project (JACBOP).
After working in publishing as an editor, Yumiko Sakuma began translating children’s books. Her morethan 200 translations include Chronicles of Ancient

Darkness by Michelle Paver, Dusk by Uri Shulevitz,
and Of Thee I Sing by Barak Obama. Her translationof Last Summer With Maizon by Jacqueline Woodson
made the IBBY Honour List. JBBY president.

31

Japanese Children's Books 2017

JBBY's recommendations for young readers throughout the world
The 2nd edition© Japanese Board on Books for Young People (JBBY), 2017
JBBY Secretariat
Fukuromachi 6, Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo 162-0828 Japan
Tel. [int. +81] 3 5228 0051
Fax [int. +81] 3 5228 0053
E-mail: info@jbby.org
http://www.jbby.org/
Book selection:
Yasuko Doi, Yukiko Hiromatsu, Takeo Miyakawa, Akira Nogami, Yumiko Sakuma
Translation: Cathy Hirano, Ginny Tapley Takemori, Avery Fischer Udagawa
Cooperation: Etsuko Nozaka, Kazuko Yoda
Cover illustration: Seizo Tashima
Supported by the Foundation for the Advancement of Juvenile Education in Japan