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
2023

Cover illustration

Japanese Children's Books 2023

SHIOTANI Mamiko

Born in Chiba in 1987 and raised in Saitama. Graduated from
Joshibi University of Art and Design, Department of Crafts,
Ceramic Course. After working for a background art production company, began creating picture books; won the Pinpoint
Picture Book Competition Excellence Award in 2014 for Yaneuraobake, later revised as Yaneura beya no obake (The Attic Ghost;
Kaiseisha). Won second place in the MOE Picture Book GrandPrix Newcomer Award program for her 2016 debut work, Sora
kara kita koishi (The Little Stone from the Sky; Kaiseisha). Her
picture book Tamago no hanashi (The Story of an Egg; Bronze
Shinsha) won the 2021 BIB Plaque. Other works include Sakanakun (Fishie; Kaiseisha) and Ichijiku no hanashi (The Story of a Fig;
Bronze Shinsha).

Contents● Book Selection Team.................................................................................................2● About JBBY and this Catalog
picture books/chapter books and novels/nonfiction ......................... 3● Recent Japanese Children's Books Recommended by JBBY ...................4● The Hans Christian Andersen Award
Five winners and 14 nominees from Japan ........................................... 22● Japanese Books Selected for the IBBY Honour List ................................. 24● Recent Translations into Japanese Recommended by JBBY ................. 26

JBBY Book Selection and Review TeamOKUYAMA Megumi

SAKAGUCHI Mikako

SAKUMA Yumiko

SASAOKA Tomoko

SHIOZAKI Junko

DOI Yasuko

Children’s literature critic. A former high school teacher
in Tokyo, she owns the children’s specialty bookshop
Huckleberry Books and serves as an adjunct lecturer
at Shirayuri and Nishogakusha Universities. She has
authored ‘Story’ Wavering: Children’s Books in an Unclear
Age (Kurosio Shuppan) and Lessons in Layeredness (Ryoyu
Shuppan) as well as co-authored A Guide to WorldChildren’s Literature Based on Time (Hara Shobo). She
edits the journal Japanese Children’s Literature (JapaneseChildren’s Literature Association). JBBY member.

Member of the Japanese Society of Science Books forChildren. With the motto “science books and experiencesplay catch,” she teaches some 270 sessions annually fromplay-with-science times, to elementary/middle school anduniversity classes, to workshops targeted to library andchildren’s center staff. She has authored the books Science
Mysteries (Froebel-kan) and The Price of Life and Welfare(Otsuki Shoten), and translated Michael Faraday and Electricity by Brian Bowers. JBBY member.

Translator, editor, reviewer of children’s books, representative of the Japan-Africa Children’s Books Project (JACBOP),
and former professor at Aoyama Gakuin Women’s College.
Her writings in Japanese include The Cooking Stoves ofEnzaro Village (Fukuinkan Shoten). Her more than 250
translations of books from English to Japanese range fromCharlotte’s Web by E.B. White and the picture books of
Maurice Sendak to Refugee by Alan Gratz. Her translationof Last Summer with Maizon by Jacqueline Woodson madethe IBBY Honour List. JBBY board member.

Librarian at the Tokyo Children’s Library. After working
at an Italian bookstore, she was in charge of the foreign
language picture books collection at the Itabashi Central
Library. Involved in the “Picture Book Town Itabashi
Project” and the “Sister Library Exchange Project” with theSala Borsa Children’s Library in Bologna, Italy. A memberof the Association of Children’s Libraries (Jitoken). JBBY
board member.

Researcher, part-time lecturer at Keio University, and amember of the steering committee of the Associationof Children’s Libraries (Jitoken). She obtained her PhD in
Library and Information Science after working as a librarian in school and public libraries. She now researches
children’s books and reading while also teaching theory ofchildren’s library service at multiple universities, educating
future librarians. Her publications include The History of
Library Services to Children—Development of Public LibraryServices to Children in Postwar Japan (Sogensha). JBBY
board member.

Director and senior researcher at the International
Institute for Children’s Literature, Osaka (IICLO). Besides
researching reading activities and the history of Japanesechildren’s literature, she plans projects such as training
courses for teachers and librarians, as well as lectures andsymposiums for children’s book authors from Japan andoverseas. Coeditor of I Could Read by Myself!: Book Guideof 200 Books for Young Children (Hyoronsha) among others. Jury for the 2018 and 2020 Hans Christian Andersen
Awards. JBBY managing director.

NOGAMI Akira

At Shogakukan, served as editor of First Grader monthly
magazine, head of children’s books, company director,
and finally president and CEO of Shogakukan Creative.
Visiting Professor at Tokyo Junshin University. His writings
in Japanese include To the Modern Children’s Literature ofJapan (Parorusha), Children’s Literature Crossing Borders(Nagasaki Shuppan), and Contemporary History of Children’s Culture (Otsuki Shoten). Coeditor of When I Was aChild, There Was a War (Rironsha) among others. Managing director of Japan PEN Club. JBBY vice president.

For each selected title in this catalog, we provide the following:
Title in English

Title in Japanese (Title in Romanized Japanese) | Author/Illustrator |Publisher | Publication Year | Number of Pages | Trim Size | ISBN | Target
Age | Keywords

Basic Book Description (Last Name of Reviewer)Japanese Children's Books
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). In keeping with IBBY’s ideals, JBBY undertakes a range of activities inJapan. Since 2015, we have also curated this catalog, Japanese Children’s Books,
to introduce superb Japanese children’s titles abroad.
In this catalog, we provide information about recent Japanese books recommended by a JBBY selection and review team in several categories: picture
books, chapter books and novels, and nonfiction. In addition, we introduce
Japanese winners of and nominees for the Hans Christian Andersen Award;
books selected for the IBBY Honour List from Japan; and recent translations into
Japanese recommended by JBBY.
The titles in Japanese Children’s Books were selected after rigorous consultationand consideration by experts who have been involved in children’s literature formany years. The books had to:•have been published in Japan between September 2021 and August 2022•

contain fine content representative of Japan•

enable children to explore Japanese cultures and the real lives of children
in Japan•be worthy of translation overseas•

be worthy of further introduction to children, caregivers, libraries, andpublishing professionals in Japan as well

We list the selected books by category and in order of target age, including
cover images and synopses along with bibliographic information. We hope that
our listings will help you discover recent children’s titles from Japan. For further
information, please contact us: info@jbby.org
UNO Kazumi, JBBY President

Cover illustration Ⓒ Mamiko Shiotani

Recent
Picture
Books

1

2

The Busy Days of Old Mr. Broad
Bean and Mrs. Pea

Rice Cakes

おもち（Omochi）| Text/Ill. HIKOSAKA Yuki & MORITO
Izumi | Fukuinkan Shoten | 2021 | 24pp | 22x21cm |ISBN978-4-8340-8635-5 | Ages: 3+ | Rice cakes, Brazier,
Woodblock prints

えんどうまめばあさんとそらまめじいさんのいそがしい毎
日（Endomame basan to soramame jiisan no isogashii
mainichi）| Text: MATSUOKA Kyoko | Ill. FURIYA Nana |Fukuinkan Shoten | 2022 | 36pp | 23x20cm | ISBN9784-8340-8658-4 | Ages: 3+ | Granny, Grandpa, Hard
worker, Humor

A picture book by two authors who started awoodblock printing studio to convey the wonderof woodblock prints. “Put the rice cakes on thegrill and let’s cook!” Two rectangular and one
round rice cakes placed on the Japanese hibachistyle brazier are heated by the burning charcoal
and plump up as they are grilled. The rice cakes
slowly being cooked by the heat from the flamesin the brazier are depicted in soft colours inthese delicate woodblock prints, using plenty of
onomatopoeic or mimetic words such as chirichiri(frizzle), paripari (crispy), pupuku (puffing up) andso forth. Wrapped in nori seaweed, dusted withroasted soybean flour, served with grated daikon
radish—all of them look so delicious! Children
won’t be able to stop themselves reaching out ahand to take one! (Shiozaki)

Mrs. Pea and Mr. Broad Bean get along well andare mamemameshii, which means hardworking
and is reminiscent of the word mame, “bean.”
Their only shortcoming is that once they getsomething into their heads, they have to get on
with it right away for their peace of mind. One
day during lunch, Mrs. pea goes to the vegetablegarden to put up some supports for the beans,
but then they start cutting the grass and forget
about the supports. When she goes to the rabbit
hutch to feed the cut grass to the rabbit, theyfind the wire netting broken and can only think
about fixing it. The affection of the author andillustrator for daily life is evident in this humorous
story’s lively writing and heartwarming pictures.
(Sasaoka)
3

4

The Night of the River Festival

川まつりの夜（Kawa matsuri no yoru）| Text: IWAJO
Hatsue | Ill. DEKUNE Iku | Froebel-kan | 2022 | 32pp |28x23cm | ISBN9784577050019 | Ages: 3+ | River, Festival, Fantasy

Ryu goes to stay with his grandpa. As they havedinner together, they hear the sound of flutes
and taiko drums outside, and his grandpa says it
must be coming from some festival or other. Ryu
wakes up in the middle of the night and again
hears the flutes and drums, so he opens the backdoor and discovers a festival is happening rightthere, complete with lots of stalls selling food andother festival items. A mask maker gives him afrog mask, and then he enjoys something to drink
together with an old man he meets as they watcha dance by crayfish and frogs dressed in yukata.
Ryu also puts on his frog mask and joins in thedance, and the old man, who has now turned into
a turtle, tells him that there used to be a river
here. The night of the river festival is magical, andthe sight of all the creatures dancing is beautiful.
(Doi)

4

5

“Ta” (Fields)

た（Ta）| Text/Ill. TASHIMA Seizo | Kosei Shuppansha |2022 | 32pp | 25x22cm | ISBN9784333028719 | Ages: 3+| Farming, Nature, LifeWe can feel the energy and rhythm of life in these
dynamic pictures depicting the drama of farming in Japan, from tilling the land to eating theharvest. The cover features the single hiragana
letter “ta,” and words and phrases in the text accompanying the pictures all start with this letter,but it is also specifically connected with the firstkanji in “tanbo”, meaning “rice fields.” The landis tilled and seeds planted, and the crops growstrong under the sun. Insects and animals that
eat and destroy crops have to be warded off, but
eventually the crops ripen, and people help eachother with the harvest. They then give thanks to
the gods for the harvest, and hold a festival withsinging and dancing. Finally, we arrive at the last
picture in which children are enjoying a feast.
(Sakuma)

The Color of My Friends

ともだちのいろ（Tomodachi no iro）| Text/Ill. KIKUCHI Chiki | Komine Shoten | 2021 | 32pp | 23x23cm| ISBN978-4-338-26139-5 | Ages: 3+ | Dogs, Friends,
Colors

A black dog, Kuro, is visited by his friend, Frog,
who asks, “Kuro-chan, what’s your favorite color?”“Green!” he answers, and Frog is so happy that hejumps up and down. Then Kuro’s friends come tovisit one after another—a red bird, a blue lizard, abrown weasel, a yellow butterfly. Finally, anotherblack dog with the same name, Kuro (whichmeans “black”) appears. Kuro loves the colors of
all his friends, and in the end exclaims in frontof everyone that his favorite color is “The Colorof My Friends!” The bright colors on a pale ivory
background and the lively lines vividly convey the
fun and excitement of Kuro and his friends. A newtitle by the artist who won the Golden Apple in2013 and the Plaque in 2019 at the BIB. (Shiozaki)

picture books
6

7

A Day in the Life of a Wave

A Haitian Folktale: I am Tipingee

なみのいちにち（Nami no ichinichi）| Text/Ill. ABE
Yui | Holp Shuppan | 2022 | 40pp | 24x29cm |ISBN9784593103072 | Ages: 3+ | Ocean, Days, People

The Snake is Too Long

わたしがテピンギー（Watashi ga tepingi）| Retold:
NAKAWAKI Hatsue | Ill. Azumimushi | Kaiseisha | 2022 |32pp | 29x25cm | ISBN978-4-03-960420-0 | Ages: 3+ |Folktales, Girls, WorldIn the morning as the sun rises, the seagulls wakeup and the fishermen head out to sea. At noon
the beach is crowded with bathers, and in theevening an unexpected encounter prompts an old
man to reminisce. And at night, when the moonrises, people who have died come back. This book
is told from the anthropomorphic perspective ofa wave. The author is from a town on the Tohoku
coast that was devastated by the tsunami that
followed the magnitude 9 earthquake in March
2011. Her depiction of the sea, with the changes
in color of the sky and the reflections of light, is
so wonderful that you can even hear the soundof the waves and smell the salt air. It awakens thememory of the sea in the reader and leaves anunforgettable impression, especially by the munificence of the sea as it says, “I am always here,
waiting for you.” (Sasaoka)
98

へびながすぎる（Hebi nagasugiru）| Text/Ill. FUKUNAGA
Junpei | Kogumasha | 2022 | 32pp | 18x30cm | ISBN9784-7721-0257-5 | Ages: 3+ | Animals, Nonsense

A squiggly, green snake slithers into view, but it’s
far too long to see the whole thing. A bunch ofmice think it makes a perfect slide, while a groupof rabbits try to use it as a skipping rope. Someanimals swing on it, while others coil it up and fill
the circle with water to make a swimming pool!
The comical expressions on the animals’ faces andtheir unwitting enjoyment of what is actually asnake are entertaining. Readers can’t help turning
the pages to find out when the animals will realize
it’s a snake. But even when they do, anothersurprise awaits them and the reader. The rhythmic
prose and playful, nonsensical words make this anentertaining read. (Sasaoka)

This book is a retelling of a Haitian folktale, andpart of the series Girls’ Folktales Picture Books
featuring girls from Japan and around the world.
The main character, Tipingee, loses her parents
and is about to be sold off as a servant by her
stepmother. She asks the girls in her class to allwear the same color clothes and sing together,“I’m Tipingee too! We’re Tipingee too!” to confuse
the man who is trying to buy her. It is a poignant
story of overcoming difficulties through wisdomand cooperation. The girls’ red and black dresses
stand out strongly against the bright green
landscape of Haiti, depicted in simple collage
pictures. (Okuyama)

10

11

Let’s Play in the Dark!

Crocodile Under My House

Squirrel and Frog’s Trip in the Rain

Two brothers are staying in the attic of their
grandmother’s house, but the little one is too
afraid to sleep. “Let’s play in the dark then!” hisolder brother suggests. First, they make shadow
figures with a flashlight. Next, they tape coloredcellophane over the flashlight heads and make“light pictures” by adjusting the shutter speed
and combining different colors. The enjoyment
they get from these games makes the darkness
seem gentle. The book includes explanations on
how to play each game as well as QR codes for
instruction videos. This is the latest in a series ofpicture books, such as Let’s Go Catch Bugs, thatencourage siblings to enjoy observing nature
together. (Okuyama)

A crocodile lives under a little boy’s house. Everynight, the boy brushes its teeth. The crocodile
opens its mouth wide for the boy to climb inside,
but you can never be too careful. The boy uses
one toothbrush, one toothpick, one magnifying
glass, one stick, one futon clip, one bottle ofpepper, and one mask to get the job done. The
crocodile almost eats the boy by mistake, but
the boy wisely gets out of it. Once he’s done,
they both fall asleep, looking very relieved.
The curious, trusting relationship between thecrocodile and the boy is intriguing, and the subtly
changing expressions on the crocodile’s face andthe meticulously drawn cross-sectional views of
the house make every detail enjoyable. (Sasaoka)

Watercolor illustrations delicately depict thejoys and adventures of Frog and Squirrel andthe impact of rain, wind, and fog. The two havebeen planning a trip, but it rains on the day theyplanned to go. Frog, however, is happy because
for him, rainy weather is perfect. They set off intheir rowboat. Soon, a fog rolls over the water,
making it hard to see ahead. Frog swims off to see
where they are, while Squirrel waits behind. The
wind picks up, blowing the boat away. Squirrel
feels like he has travelled a long way, but when
the fog lifts, he sees he’s back at Frog’s floatingisland. The two spend the rest of the day chatting
and admiring the beautiful stones Frog has found.
(Sakuma)

まっくらあそびしようよ！（Makkura asobi shiyo yo）| Text/Ill. HATA Koshiro | Holp Shuppan | 2022 | 32pp
| 25x22cm | ISBN9784593103263 | Ages: 3+ | Siblings,
Play, Dark

ゆかしたのワニ（Yukashita no wani）| Text: NEJIME
Shoichi | Ill. KOMATSU Shinya | Fukuinkan Shoten | 2022
| 32pp | 20x27cm | ISBN978-4-8340-8661-4 | Ages: 3+ |Crocodile, Brushing teeth, Nonsense

りすとかえるとあめのたび（Risu to kaeru to ame notabi）| Text/Ill. UEDA Makoto | BL Shuppan | 2022 | 32pp
| 22x26cm | ISBN978-4-7764-1056-0 | Ages: 3+ | Rain,
Squirrel, Frog, Travel

5

12

13

My MumI’m Late for School

うちのおかあちゃん（Uchi no oka-chan）| Text: KODEMARI Rui | Ill. KOSHIDA Mika | Kaiseisha | 2022 | 32pp |27x23cm | ISBN978-4-03-350230-4 | Ages: 7+ | Mother,
Parent and child, Blindness

さかなくん（Sakanakun）| Text/Ill. SHIOTANI Mamiko| Kaiseisha | 2022 | 32pp | 23x19cm | ISBN978-4-03350180-2 | Ages: 7+ | Fish, Friends, School, Injury

Sakanakun, a little fish, lives underwater. When hegoes to school, he has to wear a glass helmet filledwith water and rubber shoes on his fins. During arelay race in gym class, he injures one of his finsand doesn’t want to go to school anymore. Lizard
and Boy come to visit him, and Boy gives him apair of roller skates. Once his fin heals, Sakanakun
puts on the roller skates and skates to school.
This story conveys the joy of making friends while
appreciating diversity. Depicted in pencil andwatercolor, the detailed illustrations bring thisimaginary world to life. A new title by the artist
who won the Plaque at the BIB 2021.(Doi)6

クリシュナのつるぎ（Kurishuna no tsurugi）| Text: AKINO
Kikushi | Ill.AKINO Fuku | BL Shuppan | 2022 | 32pp |27x22cm | ISBN978-4-7764-1050-8 | Ages: 7+ | Myths,
Hinduism, Sword, HeroAt 7:47 AM, a little boy dashes out the door on
his way to school while summer clouds begin togather. Each two-page spread shows anotherminute in the boy’s race to get to school on time.
Strange phenomena appear before him—a puddle that looks like it’s hiding a crocodile, a mazelike pedestrian bridge, a long train that won’t let
him cross the tracks. All of these highlight theboy’s panic. The bold, original illustrations convey
speed and motion, drawing the reader into thepage. A satisfying conclusion awaits as it becomes
clear the boy is trying to get to school by 8:00 AM
to watch the solar eclipse with his class. (Okuyama)

16

Fishy

Krishna’s Sword:
A Folktale from India

がっこうにまにあわない（Gakko ni mani awanai）| Text/
Ill. The Cabin Company | Akane Shobo | 2022 | 34pp |26x27cm | ISBN978-4-251-09955-6 | Ages: 7+ | School,
Time, Solar eclipse, Illusion

My mother’s good at playing the shamisen, andshe’s smart too. She’s also talkative and determined. After an unsuccessful surgery on her eyes,
she gradually lost her sight. When she went blind,
she cried for just one day. Then she announced, “I’mgoing to be the best Helen Keller in Japan.” This
work is modeled on the author’s mother, who losther eyesight rapidly as an adult. The story is told
from the perspective of the daughter, and theconversation between mother and child related
in the Okayama dialect conveys this heavy themewith a light touch. The artist is also a sculptor, andthe illustrations powerfully depict the mother’sresilience. (Shiozaki)

15

14This is the story of Lord Krishna, the most beloved
hero of the myriad Hindu deities. Born in a prison
cell, Krishna was a disobedient and mischievous
boy. As a young man, his skill on the flute madehim popular with young women. Later, he went on
to save many people by stopping heavy rains andextinguishing large fires. Eventually, with the helpof the heavenly god Vishnu, he destroys a wicked
king who oppressed the people. Written and illustrated by a Japanese painter, who loves India andhas visited often, and her son, the simple, concisestyle and striking artwork make this story appealing even to children. First published in 1969, it has
been revised and reprinted under a new publisher.
(Sakuma)

17

A Year in the Life of Nekomata Cat
Spirits

Who’s in Hare’s House?
A Maasai Tale from Kenya

This book stars a family of nekomata, yokai catswith two tails. Starting on Japan’s national Cat
Day, the 22nd of February—a month once called
Kisaragi—the book moves to March (Yayoi) andthen April (Uzuki), going on to show festivals
throughout the year in humorous spreads, full offrolicking cats. The year includes human festivals
such as Setsubun: the day for tossing beans
to banish evil as spring begins. It also includes
Obon, the summer honoring of the dead. Somefestivals add nyaa (meow!): the March doll festival
Hinamatsuri becomes Hi-nyaa-matsuri, andChristmas is Christ-nyaas. There are also new
events like Tsuki Nekomata no Gi (Moon Cat
Ceremony) and Denkikurage (Electric Jellyfish)
Festival. It’s fun to watch with two nekomata
newlyweds as their five kittens grow! (Okuyama)

Once upon a time, a caterpillar crept into a hare’s
house to relax. The hare came home and sensed
a presence. He asked who was there, and thecaterpillar replied in a loud, booming voice, “I
am a brave, strong warrior!” Frightened, the hare
asked a jackal, elephant, rhinoceros and elephantfor help, but they all feared the voice and fled. At
last, a frog came along and unmasked the voice’s
owner. The ending of this tale, when everyone
laughs aloud to learn the “warrior” is a caterpillar,
is funny and carefree. A traditional tale from the
Maasai people of eastern Africa, it is illustratedusing Japanese painting techniques that evoke
beautiful green grasslands and the animals’ many
charms. (Shiozaki)

ねこまたごよみ（Nekomata goyomi）| Text/Ill. ISHIGURO
Ayako | Poplar | 2021 | 40pp | 27x22cm | ISBN978-4-59117184-4 | Ages: 7+ | Cats, Yokai, Annual festivals

ノウサギの家にいるのはだれだ？（Nousagi no ie ni
irunowa dare da?）| Retold: SAKUMA Yumiko | Ill. SAITO
Takao | Tamagawa Daigaku Shuppanbu | 2022 | 32pp |27x18cm | ISBN9784472060113 | Ages: 7+ | Caterpillars,
Rabbits, Kenya, Folktales

picture books
18

19

Happeanuts

All Black

The Dawn

When a teacher asks students to draw what comesto their minds, a boy makes his paper completely
black. The befuddled teacher asks him to try
again, but he makes his next sheet of paper all
black too—and the next, and the next. Even after
he goes home, and with everyone around him
perplexed, the boy continues to fill sheet after
sheet of drawing paper with black. Then he puts
all the sheets together, and a huge whale appears
and thanks him for passage to this world. The
wonder of a child’s creative imagination shines
through, as infinite black papers transform into awhale in this book’s pages. Impressive. (Nogami)

In autumn, amid beautifully changing leaves, achild travels with Grandpa in a boat down theriver. As the village’s top hunter, Grandpa isgoing to sell his furs in town. At night, he builds
a fire and tells a story about encountering atiger. After falling asleep under a sky full of stars,
the two awaken in fog, and as Grandpa paddles
the boat, dawn arrives. Each scene evokes two
people alive in the midst of grand nature, andthe mountains dyed orange by the dawn are
stunning. An homage to the picture book Dawn
by Uri Shulevitz, which was inspired by the poetryof Liu Zongyan, as well as to Oh Deer, My Brother
Deer! by Toshiko Kanzawa, illustrated by Gennadiy
Dmitriyevich Pavlishin. (Doi)

まっくろ（Makkuro）| Text: TAKASAKI Takuma | Ill. KUROI
Ken | Kodansha | 2021 | 36pp | 27x22cm | ISBN978-406-524734-1 | Ages: 7+ | Imagination, School, Drawing,
Whimsyはっぴーなっつ（Happinattsu）| Text/Ill. ARAI Ryoji |Bronze Shinsha | 2022 | 32pp | 27x21cm | ISBN978-489309-704-0 | Ages: 7+ | Journeys, Seasons, Nature,
Happiness		When a young girl wakes early in the morning, herears journey from her bed and bring back various
sounds. A bus motors along, a boat moves, a fish
jumps, a squirrel climbs a tree—and in the tree, an
egg starts to hatch. The girl’s ears coax her eyes
open with the information that spring is here! The
left pages have black-and-white manga in panels,
and the right pages show nature and scenes thatthe ears hear in vivid color. The -peanuts in thetitle is an homage to Peanuts, the American comic
strip by Charles M. Schulz, and combining with
Happy describes the feeling festively conveyed
through the girl’s mental images. A new workby an Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner.
(Nogami)

21

20

22

Crybaby Seitoku:
A Child in the Battle of Okinawa

なきむしせいとく（Nakimushi Seitoku）| Text/Ill. TAJIMA
Yukihiko | Doshinsha | 2022 | 48pp | 25x26cm | ISBN9784-494-01248-0 | Ages: 9+ | Okinawa, War, LifeThe author spent forty years gathering information and creating this picture book with thekataezome dying technique. He aimed “not toscare children, but to give them hearts that longfor peace.” The setting is Okinawa, 1945. The main
character is an eight-year-old boy who cries easily. Due to the Pacific War, his father and middleschool brother have been called up to serve assoldiers. When American warships surround his
island, people must flee not only the US attack
but also the Japanese army’s violence. Everyone
runs for dear life. The boy Seitoku loses his armand his family. But against all odds, he overcomes
his tears and vows to live. This work also touches
on current issues related to US military bases in
Okinawa. (Sakuma)

よあけ（Yoake）| Text/Ill. ABE Hiroshi | Kaiseisha | 2021
| 36pp | 26x26cm | ISBN978-4-03-352120-6 | Ages: 7+ |Grandfathers, Rivers, Journeys

23

Walking with Bare Feet

はだしであるく（Hadashi de aruku）| Text: MURANAKA
Rie | Ill. ISHIKAWA Eriko | Asunaro Shobo | 2022 | 36pp
| 28x23cm | ISBN978-4-7515-3114-3 | Ages: 9+ | Bodies,
Nature, Earth

When a girl sees a crow pecking at a watermelon
in the field, she removes her galoshes and chases
it away in bare feet. The bottoms of the girl’s feetget caked with dirt from the field, and they stingfrom pebbles in the asphalt road. But walking inbare feet makes her feel like king of the street!
She strides and swaggers. When she steps on a
manhole, it’s hot enough to burn—so she races
down a bank and walks in the stream. The boldlycomposed illustrations, showing the bottomsof the girl’s feet in close-up and the blue sky far
above, are dynamic and striking. The girl feels
the earth with her feet, touching nature and evensmall creatures. Her untamed side awakens, freshand wild! (Nogami)

The General and the Three Doctor
Brothers

北守将軍と三人兄弟の医者（Hokushu shogun to san-nin
kyodai no isha）| Text: MIYAZAWA Kenji | Ill. SUZUKI Koji
| Miki House | 2021 | 72p | 26x25cm | ISBN978-4-89588147-0 | Ages: 9+ | Doctors, Desert, Horses

General Son Ba-yu comes home after thirty years
fighting in the northern desert. He has never hada chance to dismount his horse, so his body sticks
to his saddle, and a strange gray fuzz covers his
face and hands. He consults three doctor brothers, and thanks to their unique skills, he finallydismounts. He and his horse return to normal.
The king then tries to promote Son Ba-yu, but thegeneral declines and retires to his village, becoming a mountain hermit. Author Kenji Miyazawa
died in obscurity in 1933 at age 37, but he is now
revered as a major children’s author of the modern era. This story shows war’s absurdity, and thedetailed paintings by an artist often nominatedfor the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava are marvelous. (Nogami)

7

Recent
ChapterBooks
and Novels

25

Friends in the Fields

草のふえをならしたら（Kusa no fue o narashitara）| Text:
HAYASHIBARA Tamae | Ill. TAKEGAMI Tae | Fukuinkan
Shoten | 2022 | 128pp | 21x16cm | ISBN978-4-8340-8657-7| Ages: 7+ | Grass whistles, Animals, Short story collection

A collection of eight short stories for children
featuring whistles made of grass, flowers, and nuts.
Amusingly expressive onomatopoeic words are used
for the sound of the whistle and animals cries in eachstory, and the friendly interactions between animals and children are heartwarming.
In “Call Me with a Leek Whistle,” little Mako is making miso soup, which
she is good at. She tears off the green part of the leek she is putting in thesoup and makes it into a whistle. She blows into it and is amused when it
makes a sound like a pig’s squeal. Suddenly a pig appears and says he isgood at tasting food, so Mako-chan asks him to taste her miso soup. The pig
was supposed to be just tasting the soup, but has two second helpings and,completely stuffed, is as pleased as can be. The two become good friends
and promise to use the leek whistle as a signal for tasting food.
In “Peapod Pupippupi,” little Tae is making a whistle from a common
vetch peapod when a mother mouse comes and asks her if she can havethe peas she took out of the pod to make the whistle. As Tae is helping themouse pick up the peas, the mouse’s children also gather around in delightand sing a song about eating the peas with rice. Tae is so happy that sheplays her whistle along with the song.
Other stories include “The Racoon Dog’s Restaurant,” in which Tomocomes to dig bamboo shoots, and when he plays his bamboo whistle aracoon dog brings some things to swap with him, and “The Orange Foxtail
Concert,” in which Yutaka walks around playing his orange foxtail whistle asanimals gather one by one around him. The humorous illustrations are well
suited to the stories and stimulate interest in common plants. (Sasaoka)

8

24

A Martian’s Request

かせいじんのおねがい（Kaseijin no onegai）| Text/Ill. ITO
Hiroshi | Doshinsha | 2021 | 72pp | 20x16cm | ISBN978-4494-02074-4 | Ages: 7+ | Space, War, Love, Peace

I was on my way home from a friend’s house when I
came across a strange old man who made a strange
request: to help him return to Mars.
He told me that he was a Martian, and that
Martians do all kinds of training in their spare time
to become better Martians. The illustrations, by the author himself, depict
the strange kinds of training practice they do, such as not speaking and only
nodding their head, or eating only other people’s leftovers, and are very funny. The highest level of training is to live on Earth for 687 days, the Martianyear, pretending to be an Earthling without being found out, and at the end
reveal themselves to someone who will help them return to Mars.
Martians do not lie or fight. They trust people and get along with them,otherwise, they would not be able to survive on Mars. Earthlings, however,lie with impunity, cheat, fight, and even go to war. He said that even if Martians live on Earth, which is full of conflicts and deceit, and get a taste forlying and fighting, once they return to Mars they will trust people and live
together as they used to.
Listening to the old man, people on Earth seem like savage creatures.
I didn’t manage to help him get back to Mars, but one evening, I saw him
holding hands with a young man carrying a guitar on his back, before disappearing into the sky shining and sparkling.
This book conveys the importance of love and peace while offering a
nonsense story with humorous and heartwarming illustrations. (Nogami)

26

Full Moon in Hiroshima

ひろしまの満月（Hiroshima no mangetsu）| Text: NAKAZAWA
Shoko | Ill. SASAMEYA Yuki | Komine Shoten | 2022 | 64pp |22x16cm | ISBN978-4-338-19243-9 | Ages: 7+ | Hiroshima,
Atomic bomb, Turtles, Full moon

Kaede moves to a house in Hiroshima that has a pondin the garden. Here she meets Mame, a turtle that isable to speak human language since one full moonnight. Mame tells Kaede about its past experiences,including its memories of when Kaede’s great-grandmother was a child.
Mame used to live in a large pond at a temple, but had been caught by
Minoru, a junior high school student, who put it in his lunch box and took
it home with him for his little sister Matsuko, since he was worried that she
didn’t have any friends after moving to their new place. Their father hadgone to war as a soldier, and food was scarce in those days.
On the day the atomic bomb was dropped, Minoru had left early in themorning with his lunchbox and wearing his uniform with a slightly chipped
ceramic button to clear away some lumber near the riverbank in town. Backhome, the ground shook soon after 8:00 a.m., and when the neighbors
started talking about something terrible having happened to the town, theirmom went to look for Minoru. She went to town every day to search for him,
and on the seventeenth day after the big bomb hit Hiroshima, she returned
with nothing but Minoru’s lunchbox and a button. Gazing at the full moon,
Mom, Matsuko and Mame wept for Minoru. Then, just when they thought
they couldn’t cry any more, Mame uttered Minoru’s name.
Through Mame’s story, Kaede vicariously relives Matsuko’s experienceof her brother’s death and her mother’s grief, bringing home the cruelty ofwar. The soft-touch illustrations also bring the various scenes to life for thereader. (Doi)chapter books and novels
27

Mountain Animal Hospital

やまの動物病院（Yama no dobutsu byoin）| Text/Ill. NAKAGAWA Chihiro | Tokuma Shoten | 2022 | 64pp | 22x16cm |ISBN9784198655037 | Ages: 7+ | Cats, Doctors, Veterinary
hospital

28

Dr. Machino’s little veterinary practice is located on
the outskirts of a small town, and with few patientscoming to him for treatment he lives an easy life
with his big cat, Toramaru. When night falls and Dr.
Machino goes to sleep, Toramaru turns into a doctor and the hospital istransformed into the Mountain Animal Hospital.
Dr. Toramaru has a stream of patients, such as a baby fox with apersistent cough, a mole with scraped paws from digging too many tunnels,a cuckoo with a sore throat, a squirrel with mouth ulcers from stuffing his
mouth full of nuts, a serow with a pebble stuck in its hoof, and a bat with ahole in its wing. It is amusing to see how Dr. Toramaru takes each animal’scharacteristics into account when considering their symptoms, and it isdelightful to see him treating them all with the utmost seriousness.
One day, a dog called Julia is brought to Dr. Machino with toothache.
Dr. Machino wants to extract the bad tooth, but the owner doesn’t want him
to, so he decides to keep Julia overnight at the hospital. That night, a duckwith its head stuck in a glass jar comes to see Dr. Toramaru at the Mountain
Animal Hospital. All the animals help him pull the duck’s head out of the jar,and in the confusion Julia’s tooth is also successfully extracted.
Illustrations by the author are included on every page. The characters’
expressions are lively and charming, and the scene where Julia’s tooth falls
out is a must-see. The peaceful daily life of Dr. Machino and Toramaru is also
heartwarming. (Sasaoka)

29

My Pet Bird Cheepa

ぼくのちいぱっぱ（Boku no chipappa）| Text: NAGAE Yuko
| Ill. HAYAKAWA Yoshio | Goblin Shobo | 2022 | 144pp |21x16cm | ISBN978-4-902257-43-4 | Ages: 9+ | Birds, Pets,
Town, Friends

Itaru, a year 3 elementary school student who lives
in an 18th floor apartment, loses his pet cockatiel
Cheepa. He and his parents search the neighborhoodand make posters to look for the missing bird, but
are unable to find him. His parents keenly feel responsible since they’d left
the cage and balcony doors open. Itaru fights back tears and he sees strange
things, mishears things, and says things he doesn’t mean… His classmate
Mutsu, who lives in the same apartment building, comments that his world
has been turned upside down without Cheepa.
However, in his new reality Itaru now sees many things he didn’t used toand becomes adept at finding lost items at school, and his classmates end
up helping him search for Cheepa. Thanks especially to his interactions withclassmates Mutsu, who loves insects, and Washio, who follows Indian rose
ringed parakeets, he gradually comes to accept life without Cheepa.
The story sensitively tracks the feelings of animal-loving children
through the loss of a pet. It is also set against an evocative backdrop of anurban neighborhood that is a mix of office district, traditional shopping
street, high-rise condominiums, and a botanical park. (Okuyama)

Leon the Chameleon: Five Secret Days

ないしょの五日間（Naisho no itsukakan）| Text/Ill. OKADA
Jun | Kaiseisha | 2022 | 240pp | 22x16cm | ISBN978-4-03610200-6 | Ages: 小学中から | Fantasy, School, Chameleon,
Parent and child

Sakura Wakaba Island is connected to the humanworld of Sakura Wakaba Elementary School by several
passages. Detective Leon, a chameleon who canchange not only his color but also his appearance,
travels between the two worlds to solve all kinds of cases. Sakura Wakaba Island is populated with unusual characters who cause incidents and give Leon
advice, such the Rabbit Brothers who are circus performers with mysterious
flying skills, and Hikizaemon, a frog who dresses as a samurai and teaches
history at a high school.
The protagonist of this story is elementary school pupil Subaru, achameleon whose father is the president of a large company. His parents
want him to take over the company and expect him to hide the fact that heis a chameleon, so he asks Kyotaro, a sixth grader at his elementary school,
to switch places with him. Kyotaro, who has been bullied by his classmates,
accepts the swap, and the two manage to see their own problems from a
distance and seek ways to solve them. Leon investigates their secret andhelps them as he solves the mystery of the five-day swapping incident.
This is the third book in the “Leon the Chameleon” series, which depicts
the reality of school while contrasting it with a parallel world full of humor.
(Okuyama)

30

Gardo the Ghost Crocodile

ワニのガルド（Wani no garudo）| Text/Ill. ONARI Yuko |Kaiseisha | 2022 | 96pp | 21x16cm | ISBN978-4-03-530970-3| Ages: 9+ | Animals, School, Friends, Ghosts

Hina Kitajima is in the third grade of elementary
school, but has just moved house and hasn’t madeany friends at school yet. One day she is brushing her
teeth, rubbing her eyes sleepily thinking she doesn’treally want to go to school, when her green toothbrush suddenly starts
moving on its own in her mouth. Taken aback, she spits it out and it turns
into a big green crocodile.
The crocodile tells her he is the ghost of a crocodile that lived in the Nile
River for over 200 years and is called Gardo. Gardo follows Hina to school,
helps her with math problems that she cannot solve by herself, and tells herthat only lonely people can see him. However, a popular girl called Ayaka,
who is a model, has played a princess on TV, and is always surrounded bylots of girls, can see him. “Kitajima’s brought a crocodile to school,” she tells
everyone, but nobody believes her. She goes red and shouts, “There’s acrocodile here!” but her friends feel uncomfortable and begin to tease her,shouting “Crocodile! Crocodile!” When Ayaka starts to cry, Hina tells her thecrocodile’s secret, and after school she takes Ayaka to the river to introduce
her to Gardo.
The importance of friendship is keenly conveyed through the strange
and delightful interactions with the crocodile who can only be seen by lonely
people. The author’s own illustrations are also humorous and amusing.
(Nogami)9

31

Wind God, Take It Away!

風の神送れよ（Kaze no kami okureyo）| Text: KUMAGAI
Chiseko | Ill. KUMAORI Jun | Komine Shoten | 2021 | 196pp |20x14cm | ISBN978-4-338-30807-6 | Ages: 11+ | Traditional
events, Gods, Pandemic

32

In southern Nagano where sixth grader Yuto lives, aritual called the Koto Yoka is held every year aroundFebruary 8th.
On the first evening, the participants go fromhouse to house in the village chanting Buddhist prayers and collecting
heisoku (ornamental offerings of rope and paper) and bamboo grasses. Earlyin the morning on the second day, they take all the heisoku and bamboo
grasses out of the village to throw them away, in order to drive the god ofcontagious diseases out of the village. Children from ages eight to twelve
lead everything, from the preparations to the rituals. Beforehand, they makeflags, and they practice playing the gongs and taiko drums and chanting.
This year, a seventh grader called Ryo is in charge, with the younger
Yuto, who is generally considered lazy and unreliable, as his assistant.
However, three days before the ritual, Ryo breaks a bone, and Yuto is forced
to take his place. Yuto lacks confidence and worries terribly. He wishes theevent could be canceled, but the village decides to go ahead with it to get
rid of Covid.
This book vividly depicts children feeling the weight of history througha ritual that has been handed down through generations. They becomeaware of being community members as they listen to the stories of elders,
overcome difficulties such as snow, sleet, injuries, and arguments, and help
one another grow. Incidentally, this ritual is still held today, and the author
wrote this story because she was so moved by seeing the children carrying itout. (Sakuma)

33

Keke, the Half-Witch Girl: Spin-off
Stories 3 of Kiki’s Delivery Service

ケケと半分魔女（Keke to hanbun majo）| Text: KADONO
Eiko | Ill. SATAKE Miho | Fukuinkan Shoten | 2022 | 248pp |21x16cm | ISBN978-4-8340-8643-0 | Ages: 11+ | Searching,
Wonder, Forest, Adolescence

A spin-off of the Kiki’s Delivery Service series by aHans Christian Andersen Award-winning author. The
story is presented as an account written after the factby a woman called Keke, who comes across as sharp
and angry, although “behind her attitude is loneliness, insecurity, and lack ofconfidence,” according to the author’s afterword.
The protagonist of the story is a girl called Tata, who resembles Keke. Tata’s mother died when she was only four years old, and she is being raised byher father and aunt. Tata is not content with herself, feeling that she is only
“half” there. One day, she comes across her mother’s belongings in the attic
and hears a voice singing “Your other half, you need to search for yourself.”
Tata cannot forget this song, and people start calling her a bad girl who
is “as prickly as a porcupine’s quills.” Just before her fifteenth birthday, sheruns away from home taking her mother’s book The Final Door with her,
and wanders alone in the “forest of people looking for something precious”
where time is fluid. In the forest she meets some mysterious individuals, including a boy called Nobino, who is looking for a girl who had a guitar she’dmade herself and who sang together with him; a little girl called Hirokko,
whose grandmother told her “I must have a proper name too. Find it forme!”; and a woman called Kurae, who runs a strange store.
The work is an allegorical depiction of an adolescent girl’s anxious searchfor herself. Drawing on elements of fantasy, backed up by the author’s keenobservation and insight into human nature, this is a story that will resonate
with readers. (Sakuma)

10

Friday’s Porcupine

金曜日のヤマアラシ（Kinyobi no yamaarashi）| Text: TATENAI
Akiko | Ill. NAKATA Ikumi | Alice-kan | 2022 | 220pp | 20x14cm| ISBN978-4-7520-1012-8 | Ages: 11+ | Parents and children,
Friends, Figures, Soccer

Sixth grader Uta Hasebe’s mother died of an illness
two years ago, and she lives alone with her father
Sakutaro, who works for a toy company making prototype figurines. Father and daughter get along well andcall each other Uta and Saku-chan. Despite being busy at work, Saku-channever fails to cook dinner for Uta every day, and Uta tells him about everything that happens at school.
In the new semester, there a new boy in Uta’s class, a transfer student
called Bin Kiribayashi, who is good at soccer. Uta grumbles to Saku-chanthat whenever she tries to talk to Bin, he just says “Shuddup” and glares at
her and is so prickly he reminds Uta of a porcupine. Saku-chan recalls having made a porcupine figurine and tells Uta about the “porcupine dilemma”
described by a philosopher. Two porcupines were cold and tried to snuggle
together, but their quills hurt too much so they decided to stay just far apartenough that they could still feel each other’s body heat. Saku seems quite
interested in Bin and wants to hear more about him, so Uta decides to report
to Saku-chan about Bin that Friday.
Bin wants to become a soccer player and Uta helps him count his kickups. Their classmates are suspicious of their relationship, but Bin, who had
been shunned by everyone until then, manages to save the day with hisquick wit. (Nogami)

34

Shanshan, Summer News

シャンシャン、夏だより（Shan shan, natsu dayori）| Text:
ASANO Ryu | Ill. NAKAMURA Takashi | Kodansha | 2022 |
160pp | 20x14cm | ISBN978-4-06-526387-7 | Ages: 11+ | Summer vacation, Friends, New student, Cicada

No one wants to take care of the pet lizard in Nobuto’sclass over the summer holidays. Yuichi, the top student
who transferred in last year, tries to make Nobuto takeit. Nobuto puts the lizard on Chitose’s desk. Chitose, a
new student who lives near Nobuto, takes care of the school’s animals, but
she grabs the lizard and throws it out the window.
“We’ll never be able to catch it again,” Nobuto protests.
“Who cares?” Chitose says. “It’s just like me. Nobody likes it.”
The local children’s association organizes radio exercises during summer
vacation. Nobuto is happy to be put in charge of checking attendance, but
he’s the only sixth grader who comes. There are few long-term farming families like Nobuto’s left, and the children’s association is losing its cohesion.
Nobuto’s mother asks him to take Chitose’s family some tomatoes. When hearrives, he inadvertently scares away a black cicada Chitose is trying to catch.
She tells him they’re rare in this area, and Nobuto decides to do his summer
project on black cicadas. He invites Yuichi to join him, but Yuichi tries to keep
all the information to himself so he can get top marks. Chitose lives with herfather, a newspaper delivery man, and moves repeatedly. Her developing
friendship with Nobuto’s mother and sister brings her some relief. When she
moves yet again, summer vacation comes to an end.
Through Nobuto’s eyes, the novel provides a unique window onto theloneliness children experience and their growth in diverse environments.
“Shanshan“ in the title is an onomatopoeia for the sounds of black cicadas,
symbolising summer. (Doi)chapter books and novels
35

Eighteen Portraits: A Collection of
Short Stories by Sachiko Kashiwaba

36

18枚のポートレイト（Juhachi mai no potoreito）| Text: KASHIWABA Sachiko | Ill. UEDA Tateri | Rironsha | 2022 | 224pp| 19x14cm | ISBN978-4-652-20483-2 | Ages: 11+ | Shortstories, Supernatural, Great East Japan Earthquake

Tales of Solo Swamp

ソロ沼のものがたり（Soro numa no monogatari）| Text/
Ill. TATENO Hiroshi | Iwanami Shoten | 2022 | 184pp |19x16cm | ISBN9784001160376 | Ages: 11+ | Nature, Living creatures, Struggle for survival, Life and death

A distinctive fantasy that depicts the lives of diverse
creatures and insects inhabiting Solo Swamp. This
mythical, reddish-black swamp lies in a deep, darkforest where the wind stops and sound disappears.
Long ago, many large frogs from faraway lands moved there and lived
happily, but they devoured all the smaller creatures and then each other, until
only one was left. That frog, along with a huge tree that had a cavernous
hole in it, became the guardian deity of the swamp. Sometimes, the tree’s
cavern sucks in the wind with a roar, occasionally swallowing a passing deeror wild boar along with it. A three-day-old water strider skates across theswamp, down the wide river which flows through the plain and into the sea
where it is met by countless waves and seems to vanish into the blue sky. A
short, smart-aleck grasshopper sent to the school of the reputable Professor
Mole cricket undergoes a complete metamorphosis, growing up strong andsturdy. Other episodes include the strange tale of a swallowtail butterfly anda silver ladybug, as well as a dragonfly race, and the battle of the millipedes.
All portray the epic drama of life and death and survival of the fittest. This is
the first novel by this miniature artist, who is highly acclaimed for his uniquepicture books on insect ecology, and his beautiful illustrations with theirdelicate depictions of nature complement the text. (Nogami)

空と大地に出会う夏（Sora to daichi ni deau natsu）| Text: HAMANO Kyoko | Ill. Shirako | Kumon Shuppan | 2022 | 184pp| 20x14cm | ISBN9784774333793 | Ages: 11+ | Found family,
Unusual friends, Summer vacation
		This collection includes two short stories related to the2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, ten featuring mysterious creatures like kappa, demons, and witches, andsix about diverse family situations and relationships.
In one story, a boy waits for his father to come give him a kendo lesson,
but his father died in the earthquake. In another, a guardian deity attends afarewell party for children changing schools after the earthquake. Relievedto see them smiling again, he reassures them he’ll watch over the children
taken by the sea.
There’s the tale of snowmen who come to rescue their buddy when he’s
taken home by a girl to cheer up her sick brother, the legend of a motherwho stops to nurse her baby in the mountain pass and is approached by amountain baby who wants to drink too, and the story of a witch who tells agirl to think about her school’s sixth wonder. In one story, a girl is found ina field of rape blossoms and welcomed into a new family as if she was theirdaughter, and in another, a girl visits an elderly woman who lives alone. The
child’s identity is revealed at the end.
The author depicts families that aren’t blood relations and the ambiguous line between the real world and the spirit world, giving us an interesting glimpse of how humans look from the perspective of that other world.
Stories influenced by folktales from Tohoku, the author’s birthplace, reveal
the region’s rich culture. (Doi)37

The Summer When I Met Sky and Earth

Riichiro, a sixth grader, gets good grades and excels
at sports and piano, but he hates anything illogical.
He also doesn’t like wasting his time on unnecessary
things. One day, Misora, a student in the class nextdoor, loses her ticket at the station and Riichiro lends her the fare. Misora
introduces him to Natsuki, a senior high school student who is teaching
Misora baking, and his younger brother Hiroto. Hiroto used to be Riichiro’sclassmate until he transferred to a different school, and the two haven’t seen
each other since. Riichiro is surprised to hear that Natsuki and Hiroto aren’t
biological brothers. “Even though we aren’t biologically related, we’re truly
family,” they say. Riichiro feels as if the world he knows has been turned
upside down.
Misora is cheerful and energetic, but she’s also laid back and sloppy.
Hiroto tends to skip school and is always thinking about odd things. Unlike
Riichiro, neither are good at getting things done. But once he begins
spending time with them, Riichiro begins to change. He goes so far as to lie
to his parents so that he can skip piano lessons during the summer and go
for walks along the trail in the nearby forest. He watches the leaves glistening
in the sun, climbs up to a tree house, and lies on a hilltop gazing at the sky.
This refreshing story depicts a summer in which children broaden theirhorizons through friendships with people who are different and learning toaccept other people’s values as they take their next step forward. (Sakuma)

38

Things Probably No One Knows

たぶんみんなは知らないこと（Tabun minna wa shiranai koto）| Text: FUKUDA Takahiro | Ill. SHINYA Yuko | Kodansha | 2022
| 192pp | 20x14cm | ISBN978-4-06-527043-1 | Ages: 11+ |Intellectual disability, Special-needs school, Family, CommunicationSuzu, a fifth grader, has a severe intellectual disability
and is unable to speak. The story depicts her daily life
at a special-needs school. While mainly narrated by thevoice in Suzu’s mind, other perspectives are presented
through communications between her mother and homeroom teacher, herolder brother’s blog which he writes instead of a diary, and class newsletters.
Suzu develops slowly, supported by others as she learns to get dressed,
eat, and go to the bathroom. Sometimes she tries a little harder, to prove thatshe’s grown up. Sometimes she endures things patiently out of consideration
for her family and friends. Her honesty, gentleness, and inner strength are
moving. But it’s not all nice. Sometimes people tease her and say heartlessthings. Suzu’s brother wonders if her life is even worth living when she’s souseless. He concludes, however, that her existence in this world is importantto him, a realization that reveals the deep feelings of the author, who works
at a special-needs school.
One snowy day, Suzu goes outside alone while her family are out.
The reader experiences her feelings of elation, impatience, anxiety, andaccomplishment, and at the same time, encounters the rich world that
unfolds within Suzu’s mind. It’s clear that while people who live withdisabilities require support and assistance, they are not merely weak andvulnerable. They also give something to others through their very existence.
The book leaves the reader feeling hopeful and uplifted, reassured that weare all good enough, just the way we are. (Sasaoka)

11

39

In Front of a Small Door to the Universe

ちいさな宇宙の扉のまえで（Chiisana uchu no tobira no maede）| Text: ITO Miku | Ill. SATO Makiko | Doshinsha | 2022 |
312pp | 20x14cm | ISBN978-4-494-02077-5 | Ages: 11+ | Sixth
grader, School, Friends, Graduation

40

Narrated by Itoko Hosokawa, a positive, cheerfulcharacter who loves good food, and four of her sixthgrade classmates, this story is a sequel to Itoko’s
Bathroom Scale, which depicts the daily lives of thesame protagonists when they were in the fifth grade.
Returning to school after an appendectomy, Itoko discovers a newstudent in her class: Megumi Hino. Megumi follows Itoko everywhere. At
first, Itoko is flustered, but she recognizes Megumi’s strengths and tries tobe a good friend. Megumi pretends to be innocent and mysterious, trying
to attract friends by giving away nice little things, but comes to see that she
can’t make true friends this way. Although she finds the objective, strongwilled Ryoko Machida disconcerting, Ryoko is facing her own difficulties. An
aspiring ballerina, she’s at a loss when her ballet audition coincides with aschool trip. Mami Sakamaki really likes Ryoko, but is beginning to wonder
if her feelings are something more than friendship. Keisuke Takishima is
outwardly cheerful and energetic, but when his single mother starts talking
about remarrying, he worries that he’s a burden on her.
Each protagonist has their own worries, doubts, and hopes as they gothrough the school day. In the midst of this, the presence and actions of
Itoko, who sees others objectively and expresses herself openly, captivate
the reader and lead the story in a positive direction. In her speech at theschool’s graduation ceremony, Ryoko declares her determination to focus on
the future and press forward, undeterred by failure or disappointment. Her
words linger in the heart of the reader. (Shiozaki)

41

The Song of the Tree of Life

いのちの木のあるところ（Inochi no ki no aru tokoro）| Text:
SHINDO Etsuko | Ill. SATAKE Miho | Fukuinkan Shoten | 2022
| 528pp | 528pp | 22x16cm | ISBN978-4-8340-8669-0 | Ages:
13+ | Turkey (Country), World Heritage site, Artisan, Royalfamily, War

The author visited the Great Mosque and Hospital of
Divriği, a World Heritage site in Turkey, and was soenchanted by the size and beauty of its portals andtheir elaborate relief work that she wrote this magnificent historical tale about the king and queen who built them. Set in a remotemountainous kingdom, the story takes place about 800 years ago. Princess
Turan is a daredevil who is full of curiosity and loves stories. She is invited
to Dibri, a small kingdom deep in the mountains, where she meets Prince
Ahmad Shah. The story depicts how the majestic mosque with its intricate
reliefs and adjacent hospital emerged in this remote location through thepresence of skilled workers escaping war, as well as traders and nomads.
Despite being over 500 pages in length, the dramatic storyline is fast-paced,keeping the reader engrossed to the very last page. What did people who
were caught between warring kingdoms seek from the mythical Tree of Life?
And why was the main gate left unfinished? Much remains unknown about
this structure’s history. The author made multiple visits to the site to conduct
interviews, and the historical tale unfolds through her eyes and conveys
her longing for lasting peace. The numerous illustrations provide historicalbackground and enhance the story’s realism through the artist’s creative
imagination, which has meticulously restored patterns that were destroyed
by non-Muslims. (Nogami)

12

Blue and Sky from the Hospital Library
病院図書館の青と空（Byoin toshokan no Ao to Sora）|
Text: REIJO Hiroko | Ill. Kashiwai | Kodansha | 2022 | 224pp| 20x14cm | ISBN978-4-06-527417-0 | Ages: 11+ | Reading,Classic children’s stories, Friends, Hospital, Library

The main character is Soraha (meaning Sky Flower),
who moves in the second term of fifth grade due toher father’s work. She loves reading, but there’s nobookstore or library nearby, and the library at her new
school is like a warehouse with dust-covered bookshelves. Her classmates
are not interested in books at all and seem intimidating and unfriendly.
When Soraha is hospitalized with acute nephritis, she discovers the hospital’s
small but wonderful library. In it, she finds a copy of Pippi Longstocking,which she’s read before. She opens it to the page where Pippi is baking
gingerbread cookies. The aroma of freshly baked cookies fills the air, anda girl dressed in blue slips out from the edge of an illustration. She tells
Soraha that her name is Ao (meaning Blue), meaning blue, because that’s
her favorite color. Soraha thinks she must have been dreaming, but the nextday, when she opens the pages of The Little Princess, Ao reappears. They
are drawn into the book and have an animated discussion about the foodin the story. The slightly insensitive and sharp-tongued Ao takes Soraha
into such books as Anne of Green Gables and Mary Poppins. Through theirrelationship, Soraha’s personality subtly changes. She wishes she could stayin the hospital and keep talking about books with Ao, but when she returns
to school, she’s able to see that her classmates, with whom she thought
she could never get along, are actually kind. The dramatic and unexpected
ending, which reveals Ao’s identity, is deeply moving. (Nogami)

42

The Glass Fish

ガラスの魚（Garasu no sakana）| Text: YAMASHITA Haruo | Ill.
UNO Akira | Rironsha | 2021 | 352pp | 19x14cm | ISBN978-4652-20470-2 | Ages: 13+ | Parent and child, Friendship, Fallingin love, Island

The final volume of a trilogy, the story takes place inthe 1950s on an island in the Seto Inland Sea between
Honshu and Shikoku. Akira, a first-year junior highstudent living with his single mother, spends most of
his summer holidays in the hospital because of a leg injury. On the last dayof vacation, he discovers a corpse in the river near his school. Was the victim
killed in an accident or a crime? The truth is gradually revealed along with
depictions of Akira’s situation and his relationships with others.
Nothing seems to be working out for Akira, and he worries that his
future is hopeless. His leg is slow to heal, his classmate Chokai picks on him,
his father suddenly reappears after years of no contact, there’s talk that his
mother might marry the head of the fishing coop, Akira has a one-way crush
on a girl who transferred from another school, an older boy Akira looks up tois being chased by a criminal gang, and Akira’s grandmother, who had doted
on him, dies. Through his interactions with various people, however, Akira
grows and matures.
The author’s vivid prose brings to life the people and events of thisseaside town, drawing the reader into Akira’s world. The children’s strengthand resilience, despite their vulnerability, dazzle within the setting of apostwar Japan transitioning from militarism to democracy and the resultant
disruption of traditional values. The final chapter, in which Akira and Chokai
test their courage by racing brakeless bikes down a steep hill is exhilarating.
(Sasaoka)chapter books and novels
43

Sasamori’s Skates

笹森くんのスカート（Sasamori kun no sukato）| Text: KOBE
Haruma | Ill. Misuzu | Kodansha | 2022 | 208pp | 20x14cm |ISBN978-4-06-528046-1 | Ages: 13+ | Uniform, Senior highschool, LGBTQ+, School festival

44

Hiroshi Sasamori is a first-year student at Sakusabe
High School in the west part of Chiba Prefecture. At the
beginning of the second semester, he suddenly starts
wearing skirts to school. Although gender-free school
uniforms are permitted, Sasamori is a handsome and popular guy, and thissudden change causes quite a stir. Against the backdrop of preparations forthe upcoming school festival, the author depicts Sasamori’s transformationand people’s reactions through the perspectives of four classmates: Tomoya
Shinohara, who perspires profusely and is always worried about his bodyodor; Fumino Saibara, who sounds like an anime character and has beenraised by same-sex parents; Miu Hosono, who wants a handsome boyfriend
but worries about being too chubby; and Ichika Toyama, who has a hard time
understanding what it means to be in love and hides her beauty behind her
glasses. Through their interactions with the skirt-clad Sasamori, the reader
learns about their daily lives and concerns and engages with the way their
feelings and perspectives change.
The final chapter is written from Sasamori’s point of view. It becomes
clear that he chose to wear a skirt because he wanted to understand his
cousin who hates wearing the traditional girl’s school uniform known as asailor suit. Sasamori is disconcerted by the reactions of those around him,
but his willingness to experiment helps create an atmosphere in which
everyone can choose what they want to wear and how they want to live. The
ending, in which all Sasamori’s band mates wear skirts on stage, is a pleasing
touch. (Okuyama)

45

Scratchスクラッチ（Sukuracchi）| Text: UTASHIRO Saku | Ill. OKANO
Kensuke | Akane Shobo | 2022 | 336pp | 20x14cm | ISBN978-4251-07312-9 | Ages: 13+ | Covid-19, Club activities, Volleyball,Art

In the summer of her third year of middle school, Suzune becomes captain of the volleyball team—but their
tournament is canceled due to Covid. With no matches
to win, Suzune loses her sense of purpose and struggles to channel her disappointment.
Kazuaki is president of the art club and planned to enter an exhibition,
but the judging gets canceled. He feels let down but tries to switch off histhoughts. He focuses on making art panels for the school’s upcoming autumn sports day.
When Suzune sees Kazuaki’s colorful art, she accidently spills blank ink
on it. Black is a color Kazuaki has seldom used lately. When his family suffered a flood five years ago, he began choosing bright colors only. Now, hecovers the entire painting in black and begins scratching a design in the top
layer using a palette knife. Seeing bright colors appear where he scratches
the black, Kazuaki feels his heart change. He realizes he has been suppressing his feelings, holding them in with excuses that he’s a “gloomy character”
or has a “communication problem.” Guided by a desire—I want to paintthis—he creates. By the time he finishes, he has seen a side of himself that
does not care about others’ reactions. Suzune, too, had forced a calm face infront of her team, but now she stands before the art she blackened and lets
her emotions go, weeping openly. She has broken through a barrier.
Over one summer, middle school students grow while facing the gloomof the pandemic. (Shiozaki)

A Boyhood Year: Far-Off Vapor Trails

少年時代 飛行機雲はるか（Shonen jidai hikoki gumo haruka）| Text: SHIONO Yonematsu | Ill. MATSUOKA Tatsuhide |Rironsha | 2022 | 416pp | 20x14cm | ISBN978-4-652-20480-1| Ages: 13+ | Nature, Seasons, Friendship, PlayA year in the life of boys in Tohoku in the 1950s or 60s
is depicted in fresh strokes. In spring, bookish Akio
forms the “Three Musketeers” with his friends. Aroundthe same time, their town’s children’s club spars withanother town’s over a playground. Akio and his chums make swords out ofplants and prepare for a “duel,” arranged by their junior high leaders. Despite
a gap in age and numbers, Akio’s group follows their strategy and fights
hard, leading to a draw. In the summer, Akio’s crew develops a homemade
underwater rifle to catch a huge catfish; they even use everyday materials
to build a telescope. In autumn, their former rival, the children’s club in thenext town, disbands; to commemorate them, everyone brings ingredientsfor a food and recreation event on the riverbank. In winter, Akio’s town’s club
divides into elementary and junior high groups, dismantling a “fort” long
passed down for “duels.”
The richness of nature and the work of the boys’ hands are meticulously
described. Many activities are no longer common, but the detailed art byan illustrator of science picture books assists the imagination. The children
in the book follow the lead of older students, exchange ideas, and playwith abandon. Young ones look up to older ones, and older ones look after
young ones warmly. An affection for things lost in time pervades, so thateven readers who did not experience this era will feel a strange nostalgia.
The book leaves a lonely yet bracing aftertaste. (Sasaoka)

46

Snake Dance

スネークダンス（Suneiku dansu）| Text: SATO Madoka |Ill. TANJI Yoko | Shogakukan | 2022 | 256pp | 19x14cm |ISBN9784092893160 | Ages: 13+ | Cultural comparison,
Wooden architecture

Keito was born to Japanese parents in Rome andgrew up attending local school in Italy. He has a deep
knowledge of art history and architecture. Six months
after his father dies, he and his mother move “back” toJapan to live with his grandparents in Tokyo. He enters public middle school
as a second-year student. In this unfamiliar environment, Keito tries to keep
quiet and calm and not make waves. But one day, he watches a ninja-likefigure spray graffiti on a building marked for demolition.
The graffiti culprit is Ayumu, a girl from the homeroom next to Keito’s atschool. Ayumu detests her lawyer father and his new wife and lives with her
grandmother. A rebel for any cause, she does graffiti because she opposes
old wooden buildings being razed. Keito begins talking with her about theirshared artistic interests; he finds her shocking, but he is also intrigued. Whenhe says that wooden structures may not hold up well in earthquakes, shecounters that Japan’s Horyuji temple has a five-tiered, wooden pagoda thathas stood for 1300 years. It does not resist movement but absorbs it, shaking
with the earth in what architects call a snake dance. A structure built like thiswill not collapse, even when the earth sways.
This novel explores differences between cultures and values, while
showing how humans can “snake dance” and live. It’s interesting how
the outlaw-like Ayumu breaks through Keito’s shell. This book offers theopportunity to reexamine seemingly familiar aspects of Japan. (Sakuma)

13

47

Science the World!

セカイを科学せよ！（Sekai o kagaku seyo!）| Text: YASUDA
Kana | Ill. UCHIDA Sanae | Kodansha | 2021 | 240pp | 20x14cm| ISBN978-4-06-524629-0 | Ages: 13+ | Insects, Club activities,
Non-Japanese ancestry, Classmates48

The science club at Tsutsumi Middle School boasts
fifty years of tradition. But while it was once home tophysics and biology groups, only a computer groupremains, and the students who sign up tend to want an

Sora’s Words Fall from the Sky

そらのことばが降ってくる（Sora no kotoba ga futte kuru）| Text:
TAKAYANAGI Katsuhiro | Ill. AYANO Ayu | Poplar | 2021 | 232pp| 20x13cm | ISBN978-4-591-17106-6 | Ages: 13+ | Haiku, Hiding in school nurse’s office, Friends, Bullying

Sora is a second-year middle schooler who was bulliedin first-year; now, he comes to school but stays in thenurse’s office. Then a so-called troublemaker named
Haseo initiates haiku meetings in the office and includes
Sora. Sora soon becomes absorbed in haiku.
The meetings start out with disaster. Sora’s experience of being bulliedbegan on a class trip, when his classmate Shigeru called the mole below
Sora’s nose a booger. Sora now wears a mask outside of the nurse’s office.
But when Haseo and the nurse hold the first haiku meeting, Haseo writes
Sora’s mole into a haiku as a lighthearted greeting. Sora flees all the way
home, and Haseo goes to apologize.
After that, they keep going and invite more participants. A girl named
Yumi who was unhappy in archery club joins. Then the principal announces a
Sakurayama Middle School New Year Haiku Tournament. Struggling at school
and at home, Shigeru begins spending days in the nurse’s office himself, so
Sora studies at home. But Sora keeps making haiku, and by communicatingwith Haseo, he realizes haiku’s depth. In addition, he joins the tournamentand incorporates his feelings in his haiku. Haseo writes another haiku about
Sora, saying “words fall from the sky” (sky is a way to write Sora).
Through haiku, characters in this book both express and observe their
feelings, and their communication with others evolves. The author is ahaikuist who imparts delight in haiku through the dialogue and characters’appreciation of poems, as well as through selected works that appear in the
text. (Doi)14

ソノリティ はじまりのうた（Sonoriti hajimari no uta）| Text:
SATO Itsuko | Ill. TANJI Yoko | Kadokawa | 2022 | 256pp |20x14cm | ISBN9784041124109 | Ages: 13+ | Middle school
students, Choral singing, Friendship, Romance

Saki is in her first year of middle school and vexed withherself. She likes music but is not especially talented;
she’s introverted and struggles to speak her mind.
Nonetheless, because she plays in the school band,
her homeroom classmates choose her to conduct them when they begin
preparing for a choral competition. The atmosphere in rehearsals is far from
ideal, but Saki’s childhood friend Soul encourages her as he accompanies on
piano. With the help of two basketball team members, Ryoma and Harumi,
the class eventually falls into line—but then Saki injures her right hand andcan’t hold the baton. The one who ends up conducting is Gaku, anotherbasketball player who has not even been coming to morning rehearsals. At
the competition, Saki and Harumi take solo parts as the class sings “Sonority.”In this book, the prodigiously talented Soul coolly handles decisions andbrings the students together. Ryoma can handle nearly anything but can’t
seem to find any one thing he’s passionate about. Basketball-lover Gaku getsjealous of Ryoma, because of Ryoma’s basketball playing sense. Harumi isbright and proactive but self-conscious about being tone-deaf. Amid all theirchallenges, the students work to figure out their identities, and they grow.
They also develop fledgling love interests, typically one-sided. Whenintroverted Saki tells Gaku that she likes him, it’s agonizing, but the way she
grows fond of him and tells him so is inspiring.
This is a clear-eyed portrait of Japanese middle school students. (Shiozaki)

easy club activity.
Mikhail Todo has a Japanese father and Russian mother and looks like awhite foreigner. He hates sticking out and longs to fly under the radar—but
he accidentally gets chosen as club vice president.
One day, a new girl arrives in his class: Abigail Nana Yamaguchi. Nana’s
father is of African descent, and she has curly hair and a large frame. In frontof everyone who expects her to be a “cool black person,” she declares that
she is a Japanese born in Japan, speaks Japanese only, has zero athletic
ability, and studies mushi—that is, insects and other creepy-crawly small
creatures. Everyone’s dumfounded.
Nana joins the science club, resurrects the biology group, and begins
raising mushi (grass lizards, woodlice, jumping spiders, water fleas). The clubis in uproar and Mikhail completely befuddled. But Nana’s devotion to mushi
and her unflappability begin influencing her fellow club members. Readers
become experts on the habitats of the oft-reviled mushi, as they read thishumorous account of how the club members rediscover their ambitions.
Each student is an idiosyncratic individual, but they learn to look beyond
each other’s surfaces and differences and bond, ultimately observing
and researching water fleas as one. The last scene, where Mikhael shouts
resolutely in Russian, remains in the heart. (Shiozaki)

49

Sonority: A Song of Beginning

50

Museum Girl: The Mysterious Research
Begins
博物館の少女（Hakubutsukan no shojo）| Text: TOMIYASU
Yoko | Ill. Zennosuke | Kaiseisha | 2021 | 344pp | 19x13cm| ISBN978-4-03-814510-0 | Ages: 13+ | Meiji period (18681912), Museums, Sleuthing, Antiques

Ikaru Hanaoka is the daughter of an Osaka antiquesdealer. In 1883, at age 13, she loses her parents andmoves to Tokyo to live with distant relatives. The couple who become her guardians are strict, and she feels
stifled until one day, she makes friends with their granddaughter Toyo, who
is a member of her generation and lives nearby. Ikaru and Toyo visit Tokyo’s
Ueno area, and for the first time, Ikaru enters a museum. Museums are still ararity. A coincidence leads Ikaru to assist the elderly Mr. Oda in an old storehouse behind the museum, where he works on “Mystery Research.” Ikaru has
a connoisseur’s eye for antiquities and an uncanny sense for the strange andsupernatural.
One day, a black-lidded lacquer box goes missing from the storehouse.
It was thought that only items of little value were kept there, but as Ikaru and
Mr. Oda search, together with Mr. Oda’s assistant Akira, they discover thatthe lost lacquer box conceals a secret. It belonged to Japan’s Hidden Christians in the 1600s and supposedly comes from an island where immortals
dwell. When Ikaru and the others find the box, they open the lid, and a bonafide Mystery occurs.
At a time of upheaval, as Japan rapidly modernizes and opens to theworld, Ikaru marshals her talents and drive to solve mysteries and live boldly.
She is plunged into a mysterious world where reality and fantasy intertwine.
The museum where this story takes place is the former Ueno Museum, now
the Tokyo National Museum. (Shiozaki)

chapter books and novels
51#MyName#マイネーム（#Mai nemu）| Text: KUROKAWA Yuko | Ill. SUDOHaruna | Saera Shobo | 2021 | 232pp | 20x14cm | ISBN978-4378-01558-3 | Ages: 13+ | Names, Divorce, Young caregivers,
Social media

Mion Tomatsu is in her first year of middle school. Herparents divorced when she finished elementary school,and she’s still not used to how her surname changed
from her father’s to her mother’s. Mion lives with andcares for her mentally unstable mother.
One day, when Mion searches by “my name is odd,” she discovers#MyName, a social media group for middle schoolers in her area, and she
joins. School authorities have been discouraging use of nicknames andmaking everyone call each other their last name plus -san (Ms./Mr.) as
an anti-bullying measure. But the #MyName members resist, refusing to
use their school nametags and instead pinning on nametags they makethemselves, using names they wish to be called. This becomes a movement.
The chat room is home to King Beeo (the leader), Ninja 99, Chaeyoung (whoseems to have a Korean connection), No-Meaning Child, and more. As Mion
reads, she realizes that all of them are her classmates, and she discovers a
different side of them.
Mion’s area is home to a fairly set group of people, but then a married
couple with different last names open a book café that becomes the middle
school hangout. Students make their homemade nametags here. When theschool finds out, this is seen in the community as opposing the anti-bullying
measures and criticized.
This book depicts a variety of issues that Japanese middle schoolers
face today, relating to names, identities, family relationships, unreasonable
school policies, and social media and friendships. (Doi)53

52

Pouch and Notebook

ポーチとノート（Pochi to noto）| Text: KOMATSU Ayako | Ill.
miii | Kodansha | 2021 | 208pp | 20x14cm | ISBN978-4-06524081-6 | Ages: 13+ | Menstruation, Romance, Family, Libraries

Miku is a girl in her second year of high school. In her
desk in homeroom, she hides two things: (1) a pouchof sanitary napkins that her grandmother Asae gave
her at her 10th birthday party, and (2) the light blue
notebook where she has written out her daily worries and frustrations likepoetry, ever since the beginning of middle school.
During summer break, Miku develops a crush on Hosaka, a college
student who comes to work part-time as an assistant in the school library. He
has a gentle mouth like a dolphin, and he and she have fun communicatingin Esperanto. The more Miku becomes attracted to Hosaka, the more she
worries about not yet getting her period like other girls.
But hearing about the experiences of her friend Mei, who has aboyfriend, and observing the free lifestyle of her grandmother Asae, whobecame a single mother at 17, Miku opens up to both about her crush andher stress, and she begins to face the complex she has about her body.
This novel sensitively depicts romantic and sexual concerns that many
teens may struggle to share with parents and teachers. It does so withaccurate information and the relationships among its unique characters.
Miku’s story reminds us to take things slowly and care for one another andourselves. (Okuyama)Love Problems Never End

恋愛問題は止まらない（Renai mondai wa tomaranai）| Text:
YOSHINO Mariko | Ill. satsuki | Shogakukan | 2022 | 256pp |19x14cm | ISBN9784092893184 | Ages: 13+ | Romance, Gossip, BaseballAt Toko Middle School, rumors fly that the players
on the baseball team will have to shave their heads.
Apparently, their well-known coach has told them thatsince they were slacking, he plans to quit next week
unless they cut their hair and came back with new attitudes. On top of that,he seems to blame romance for one player’s lack of motivation.
Many people side with Takanori, the team captain who is the object ofmany girls’ fantasies. But when another rumor circulates, that Takanori has
secretly been dating the student body president Ayaka, bashing ensues.
This book consists of 34 chapters, each written from the perspective ofa different character with a unique experience and opinion of romance. Most
characters are students at the school, but others are students from otherschools or adults (the school nurse, baseball coach, webmaster, PE teacher,caretaker). Four characters appear five years later to give a glimpse of how
everything ended.
The many first-person voices weave together and offer a range ofperspectives, building just like a 34-member chorus. It is fascinating toread to the end and at last get a sense of the whole story. Middle schoolers
beginning to take interest in romance will find many points to ponder here.
Initially serialized in a newspaper for middle and high school students
and then expanded, this story’s chapters stand on their own and are easy
to read. They help us to hear the voices of Japanese middle school students
today. (Sakuma)

15

Recent
Nonfiction

54

55

The Forest Is Watching

The Ant Family

In a quiet forest, we are being watched by a redsquirrel from its nest hole in a pine tree, and anuthatch hidden in the top of a cedar. A couple ofbear cubs are up in an aspen, their mother down
below them. A reindeer stands behind a cluster oftrees at dusk. The yellow eyes of an owl shine in
the darkness of the forest at night. Feeling theirgaze, you must feel as though you are with them,holding your breath in the quiet, deep forest. This
photobook features animals living with nature in
the Northwoods of Northern America, and is by aphotographer who is a recipient of the prestigious
Ken Domon Award. (Shiozaki)

For small children who see the world from a low
perspective, ants are probably the first insects
they encounter. This picture book follows a single
carpenter ant queen from the time she starts
building her nest in the spring until a year later,when she has a family of about a hundred ants.
The queen keeps laying eggs for at least 20 years,
and the worker ants, who grow from eggs to pupae and then adults, go out and bring back foodto the nest. The workers collaborate in caring forthe larvae and queen. When the nest becomes
too small, the workers sometimes carry eggs
and cocoons to a new nest. Realistic illustrations
show the most important features of the inside ofa nest, which is usually hidden from view. Don’t
miss the pictures and text on the last page of thebook, “The family working together”! (Sakaguchi)

もりはみている（Mori wa mite iru）| Text/photos: OTAKE
Hidehiro | Fukuinkan Shoten | 2021 | 24pp | 22x21cm| ISBN978-4-8340-8634-8 | Ages: 0+ | Forest, Gaze,
Nature, Animals

56

57

16

58

Animals Brag About Their Bottoms

Lightning

Animal faces are often depicted in books, but
this is a unique and fun picture book introducing
their bottoms. Starting with a cute rabbit, every
time you turn the page you see a range of animalbottoms of different shapes, colors, and patterns.
From a small bottom to an elephant’s enormous
bottom, an okapi’s striped bottom, a panda’s
two-tone bottom, a sheep’s woolly bottom, ahedgehog’s prickly bottom, a deer’s heart-shaped
bottom, and a mandrill’s colorful face-like bottom,
all depicted with a heartwarming touch. At theend, all twenty species are lined up in a row,
proudly showing us their bottoms. The names of
the animals are also included. (Sakaguchi)This picture book shows cumulonimbus clouds
forming in a blue sky, growing into larger
thunderclouds covering the sky, and then flashesof lightning and rain. The book also explains whatlightning is, how it happens, and why it strikes theground in a way that is easy for young children tounderstand. Detailed photos show how lightning
not only strikes from above, but also moves
between clouds, strikes upwards, many flashes
happen at once, and sometimes numerous bolts
come together to form one thick bolt, connectswith the ocean, makes a U-turn and comes backon itself, and crawls from place to place. (Sakuma)

おしりじまん（Oshiri jiman）| Text/Ill. SAITO Maki |Fukuinkan Shoten | 2022 | 24pp | 23x21cm | ISBN978-48340-8649-2 | Ages: 3+ | Animals, Bottoms

アリのかぞく（Ari no kazoku）| Text: SHIMADA Taku |Ill. OSHIMA Kanako | Fukuinkan Shoten | 2022 | 28pp |26x24cm | ISBN978-4-8340-8655-3 | Ages: 3+ | Japanese carpenter ants, Queen ant, Nest

かみなり（Kaminari）| Sv./Photos: TAKEDA Yasuo | Text/
Struct. KOSUGI Minori | Iwasaki Shoten | 2022 | 36pp
| 21x21cm | ISBN9784265831067 | Ages: 3+ | Thunder,
Lightning, Sky, Rainbow

Bats

こうもり（Komori）| Text/Ill. AYAI Akiko | Sv. FUKUI Dai| Kaiseisha | 2022 | 40pp | 26x22cm | ISBN978-4-03232680-2 | Ages: 3+ | Bats, Wildlife, Ecology

House bats are not well known in Japan, despite
being common. Their life is depicted here insimple language and warm illustrations, making
it as enjoyable to read as a story picture book.
Easy-to-understand comparisons are made withfamiliar objects, such as the size of a bat’s bodybeing about the same as an adult’s thumb, andits weight being equivalent to about 5-10 one yen
coins (each 1g). It also provides some surprising
facts, such as how bats eat half their weight in
insects in one night, use ultrasonic waves that are
inaudible to humans to hunt for insects, and cannot fly when it is raining. After reading this book,
you will want to go out looking for bats at night.
A commentary by the editor is included at the endof the book. (Sasaoka)

nonfiction
59

60

61

Mudflats Are a Treasure Trove:
I Found a Blue Crab

Making Candy

ひがたはたからばこ（Higata wa takara bako）| Text/photos: YOSHINO Yusuke | Tokuma Shoten | 2022 | 32pp |19x27cm | ISBN9784198654986 | Ages: 3+ | Mudflats,
Crabs, Mangroves

あめができるまで（Ame ga dekiru made）| Text/
Struct. MIYAZAKI Shoko | Photos: SHIRAMATSU
Kiyoyuki | Iwasaki Shoten | 2021 | 40pp | 29x25cm| ISBN9784265089857 | Ages: 7+ | Candy, Japanese
sweets, Tradition, Artisans

Mudflats are places that are both on land andunder the sea due to the gravitational pull of
the sun and moon. This picture book is by aveteran marine photographer, who introduces
small creatures living in mudflats on Iriomote
Island, Okinawa—registered as a World Natural
Heritage site for its biodiversity. If you lookclosely at the mudflats, you will see blue- and redcolored fiddler crabs, a soldier crab that moves
forward instead of sideways, a mangrove tree thatlives in seawater, a barred mudskipper fish thatspends time on land … Through these organisms,
each with its own unique traits, we can see therelationship between land and sea, as well as theconnections among creatures in nature. (Sakuma)

This book introduces traditional candy-making
processes at three shops in Matsumoto City,
Nagano, which have been in business for over 300
years. Rich photographs take us through manytime-consuming steps. The author is surprised
to learn that the only ingredients used are
glutinous rice, water, and malt. Her respect forthe craftsmanship cultivated through centuries
is evident, as she depicts tasks that cannot be
replaced by machines, such as boiling down amixture over time to produce subtle flavor. The
finished candies come in a variety of colors andshapes, and look delicious! Detailed explanationsof each process are included at the end of thebook. (Sasaoka)

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63

Thunder

Halil in the City on the Strait

海峡のまちのハリル（Kaikyo no machi no hariru）| Text:
SUEZAWA Yasufumi | Ill. KOBAYASHI Yutaka | Sanrinsha| 2021 | 58pp | 21x30cm | ISBN9784990811679 | Ages: 7+| Turkey (Country), Painting, Grandpa

Halil lives in Istanbul, where he helps his
grandfather make the city’s traditional ebru
marbled paper. He crosses the water to deliver thepaper to Mr. Nakamura’s house, where he meets
Tatsuya. Together they go to a store at the back of
the bazaar to buy tools for making ebru. From theroof of the store, they look out over the city andbecome friends. Tatsuya then visits Halil’s houseto learn how to make ebru with him. The city is
attractively illustrated with detailed black-andwhite pictures, and examples of ebru printed incolor on special paper are also included. ThroughHalil, we can learn about the lives of the people ofIstanbul and about ebru in this picture book. (Doi)64

かみなり（Kaminari）| Sv. SENOO Kenichiro | Cooperate with Otowa denki kogyo | Poplar | 2022 | 40pp |21x26cm | ISBN978-4-591-17420-3 | Ages: 7+ | Nature,
Clouds, Electricity

Jakuchu’s Picture Book: I Found It!

若冲の絵本み～つけた！（Jakuchu no ehon mitsuketa!）| Text/Struct. YUKI Masako | Shogakukan | 2021 | 32pp |27x22cm | ISBN9784097277101 | Ages: 7+ | Ito Jakuchu,
Art, Hidden picture puzzles

Great White Sharks

Cumulonimbus clouds form in the summer sky,
it grows dark, and it looks as though it will rain
at any moment, then suddenly a bolt of lighting crosses the sky quickly followed by a roarof thunder. This picture book is based on thewinning photos of the “Lightning Photo Contest,”
which has been held annually since 2003 by the
only company in Japan that develops, manufactures, and sells lightning protection products,
with photos of the likes you’ve never seen before.
The bright flashes of light against the dark sky
and the loud rumbles of thunder are scary, but
the power and beauty of the shapes of the various
types of lightning in these photos are overwhelmingly beautiful. At the end of the book there arecomprehensive explanations on how lighting isformed and the various types, and how to protect
yourself from it. (Nogami)This is a book in the “Shogakukan Art Book” series
for children and features nine of the 30 paintings
in the representative “Realm of Living Beings”
series by Ito Jakuchu, a Japanese painter activein the Edo period (1603-1868). Readers search forthe creatures featured in each, a playful way tofamiliarize themselves with his works. Paintings
are displayed on one side of each double-page
spread, allowing the viewer to appreciate theirbreathtaking beauty. On the other side of the
spread, a part of each painting is enlarged toshow Jakuchu’s skill at painting with precision
and attention to detail. Several specialists helped
to identify the creatures depicted in “Insects at a
Pond”. The biography of Jakuchu and commentaryon his works at the end of the book are also wellorganized. A good starting point for an interest inJapanese art. (Sasaoka)

This picture book presents impressive pictures ofthe ecosystem of great white sharks, which livein all of the world’s oceans except the Arctic andAntarctic. The book shows how they chase theirprey, their scaly skin suited for swimming, theorgan at the front of their face that detects thefaint electric signal emitted by other creatures,
their nose that can distinguish even the slightest
scents, their sharp teeth that can grow back again
and again, the mating of males and females, theprocess of childbirth, and the life of baby sharks,
all presented as one aspect of ocean life. There isa fascinating close-up of a great white shark’s face
as it catches a fur seal. The harshness of natureis also conveyed by a shark biting into a deadwhale’s body, and a baby shark being chased by a
pod of killer whales. (Doi)

ホホジロザメ（Hohojirozame）| Text: NUMAGUCHI
Asako | Ill. SEKI Shunichi | Fukuinkan Shoten | 2022 |40pp | 30x26cm | ISBN978-4-8340-8668-3 | Ages: 7+ |Sharks, Ocean

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66

The Ezo Chipmunk:
Mountain GardenerShoko Ahagon: Protect the Earthand Life, Peace from Okinawa

エゾシマリス（Ezo shimarisu）| Text/Photos: SATO
Kei | Bunichi Sogo Shuppan | 2021 | 48pp | 27x19cm |ISBN978-4-8299-9014-8 | Ages: 7+ | Chipmunks, Ecology, Life阿波根昌鴻（Ahagon shoko）| Text: HORIKIRI Rie |Ill. HIROKAWA Saeko | Akane Shobo | 2022 | 144pp |22x16cm | ISBN978-4-251-04626-0 | Ages: 9+ | Okinawa, War, Land, Life, Peace

Daisetsuzan in Hokkaido is Japan’s largest nationalpark. Home to several mountains, it is covered
with snow for about half of the year and is atreasure trove of alpine flora. Ezo chipmunks playa role in creating beautiful flower meadows here.
We see these baby chipmunks grow during springand summer, as well as their natural enemies
and rivals for food. In autumn, as they prepare
to hibernate, the chipmunks fill their cheekpouches with nuts and carry them to burrows dug
in the ground. In the spring, after hibernation,
they bury seeds and nuts in various places, thus
spreading plant species far and wide. This photopicture book answers eleven questions about
the chipmunks’ physical traits and other topics.
(Sakaguchi)

Toward the end of the Pacific War, fierce fighting
engulfed Okinawa, wiping out a quarter of the local population. After Japan’s surrender, Okinawa
was placed under American control. The UnitedStates army bulldozed local farmland, burned
people’s homes, and appropriated their landfor bases. This is a biography of Shoko Ahagon,the ‘Okinawan Gandhi’ who led local farmers ina non-violent resistance against the American
occupation. The movement demanded the returnof seized land and rejected bases for war. Ahagonestablished the House of Nutidotakara, a peacemuseum, on his home island of Iejima, and his
legacy lives on in the anti-US military base movement in Okinawa. “Life is the greatest treasure,”
he said, continuing to appeal for peace until his
death in 2002 at the age of 99. (Nogami)

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69

Rock Ptarmigan

お山のライチョウ（Oyama no raicho）| Text/Photos:
TOZUKA Gaku | Sv. KOMIYA Teruyuki | Kaiseisha | 2022
| 40pp | 26x21cm | ISBN978-4-03-333730-2 | Ages: 9+ |Grouse, Endangered species, Animal protection

The first page introduces the habitat, size, andcharacteristics of twenty-two species of grousealong with illustrations. The main focus is theJapanese grouse, which lives the farthest south ofany grouse species in the world. Native to Japan,
this nationally protected species inhabits thecountry’s central mountains. The photo-picturebook introduces the mating process, the hatching
and rearing of chicks, and conservation activities.
It also reveals that global warming has brought
Japanese macaques and deer to the alpine zone
where the grouse live. These eat the chicks andthe plants the grouse feed on, threatening theirsurvival. The author’s sense of urgency and desire
to warn the world of this crisis is vividly conveyed.
(Sakaguchi)

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67

The Life Cycle of the Great Purple
Emperor: Japan’s National Butterfly
Shines in the Mixed Summer Forest

オオムラサキと里山の一年（Oomurasaki to satoyama no
ichinen）| Text/Photos: TSUTSUI Manabu | Shogakukan |2022 | 40pp | 21x23cm | ISBN9784097251637 | Ages: 9+| Great purple emperor, Butterfly, Mixed forest

The great purple emperor was chosen by the
Entomological Society of Japan as the national
butterfly. It inhabits mixed forests and is about
the size of a child’s palm. The male’s wings are
an iridescent bluish-purple color. The butterfly
mates, lays eggs, and hatches in the summer.
Butterfly larvae winter under fallen leaves during
the first four instar stages. After growing slowly
over the course of a year, they finally hatch at
the beginning of summer, but life as a butterfly
is short. This photo-picture book captures thegrowth process of the great purple emperor,
including how it evades natural enemies and lives
in the rich wooded environment. A series of six
photos featuring the hatching of a first instar larva
is particularly stunning. (Sakaguchi)
70

Discover Harvest Mice in the Grass:
A Tale of Japan’s Smallest Mouse

Satoyama Nature:
Twenty Years of the Coppice

Three little harvest mice stare out from thegrass. The smallest mice in Japan, they live ingrassy areas, do not hibernate, and bear young
repeatedly throughout the year. Before giving
birth, they build ball-shaped nests out of stalksof Japanese pampas and other grasses as aplace to bear and raise their young. To protect
their young from storms and predators, such as
praying mantis, they carry them from nest to nest.
The photos, which were taken over a five-year
period, graphically portray the unknown ecologyof these little mammals. Although once common
in grasslands, the species is now threatened withextinction as changing human activity encroaches
upon their habitat. (Sakaguchi)

Together, mixed forests, waterways and farm
fields form areas known in Japan as “satoyama.”
Traditionally, trees were cleared on only one plot
per year, and the lumber was used for the whole
village. This scientific picture book examines
how these cleared plots changed over time using
detailed illustrations and explanations. The firsthalf alternates double-paged seasonal spreadsof a satoyama from a bird’s eye view with interior
views of the forest including its flora and fauna.
The latter half depicts the changes on a plot of
land three, five, ten, and twenty years after it
was cleared. Human activity, such as charcoaland compost making, is also shown, conveying
nature’s cycles and abundance. The book also
includes a detailed illustrated encyclopedia of animals and a glossary. (Okuyama)

草はらをのぞいてみればカヤネズミ（Kusahara o nozoite
mireba kayanezumi）| Phtos: FUKUDA Yukihiro | Text:
YUKI Etsuko | Shogakukan | 2022 | 40pp | 21x23cm |ISBN9784097251644 | Ages: 9+ | Harvest mice, Nest,
Field

雑木林の20年（Zoki bayashi no niju nen）| Text/Ill.
SENAGA Tsuyoshi | Kaiseisha | 2021 | 64pp | 27x25cm |ISBN978-4-03-971250-9 | Ages: 9+ | Satoyama, Nature,
Lifestyle, Seasonsnonfiction
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72

Keeping the Teachings: The Story ofThree Generations of Ainu

伝え守る アイヌ三世代の物語（Tsutae mamoru ainu
san sedai no monogatari）| Text/Photos: UI Makiko |Shonen Shashin Shimbunsha | 2021 | 40pp | 27x22cm| ISBN978-4-87981-751-8 | Ages: 9+ | Ainu, Cultural
heritage

Japanese Sandfish, Radiant Life in
Rough Seas

Fermentation: The World is Full of
Bacteria

Akita is located in northern Japan along the Japan
Sea. The Japanese sandfish comes here during
the storms and rough seas of winter. This photobook conveys the fish’s amazing ecology. Photos
brimming with life present the fish’s colorful, gemlike egg masses, swirling schools rising from thedeep sea, the mystical moments of spawning andhatching, and the way the fish, once its life has
been spent, supports the lives of other creatures.
After a three-year fishing ban, the Japanese
sandfish population appeared to rebound but
the author uses graphs to show the severe reality
and introduces sustainable fishing methods. The
book also features the fish’s integral connection
with Akita culture in fish sauce, local cuisine, andsongs. (Sakaguchi)

Fermented foods include such things as wineand bread which use yeast to ferment grape
sugar and flour, respectively, and cheese, whichferments milk with lactic acid bacteria. Japanese
pickles are made by fermenting vegetables withlactic acid bacteria, sake by fermenting rice withyeast, vinegar by fermenting rice with acetic
acid bacteria, miso and soy sauce by fermenting
soybeans with yeast, and natto by fermenting
soybeans with natto bacteria. Indigo dye madefrom the leaves of the indigo plant and humus,
which improves the soil quality, is also made byfermentation. This picture book vividly conveys
the role of invisible microorganisms throughphotographs and text. (Sakuma)

ハタハタ（Hatahata）| Text/Photos: TAKAKU Itaru |Akane Shobo | 2021 | 32pp | 30x22cm | ISBN978-4-25109951-8 | Ages: 9+ | Japanese sandfish, Ecosystem, Sea

A brother and sister of Ainu descent move with
their mother from Osaka to her hometownin Hokkaido to live with their grandfather.
Through numerous photos, the book shows how
the grandfather transmits Ainu culture to his
grandchildren. When a deer is killed, the Ainu
offer prayers and use every part. By never taking
more than they need, they conserve nature’s
bounty for humans and other creatures. The
book also introduces the grandfather’s exquisite
Ainu wood carving skills and the traditional
Ainu-patterned kimonos made by their mother.
Scenes of the siblings learning about theirheritage through dancing and singing powerfully
demonstrate the oral transmission of culture.
(Sakaguchi)
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76

75

What is a Black Hole?

ブラックホールってなんだろう？（Burakku horu tte
nandaro?）| Text: MINESHIGE Shin | Ill. KURABE Kyoko |Fukuinkan Shoten | 2022 | 40pp | 26x20cm | ISBN 978-48340-8666-9 | Ages: 9+ | Black hole, Universe, Discovery, Science

Black holes are surrounded in mystery. They are
astronomical objects with an enormous masssqueezed into a small space in the universe.
They are much heavier than the Earth and have agravitational pull so strong it sucks in everythingaround it. The reason they appear black to
our eyes is because even particles of light fall
into them and can’t escape. The author has
been studying the mysteries of black holes formany years. Here, he uses pictures to introduce
contemporary findings in an easy-to-understandmanner. While black holes tend to be viewed asa bad thing, they may in fact be important to theuniverse. This picture book broadens the reader’sinterest in the mechanisms of the universe andthe unknown world. (Shiozaki)

はっこう（Hakko）| Text/Photos: OGAWA Tadahiro | Sv.
YOKOYAMA Kazunari | Asunaro Shobo | 2022 | 48pp |29x23cm | ISBN978-4-7515-3111-2 | Ages: 9+ | Bacteria,
Fermented foods

Japanese Candle Connections

和ろうそくは、つなぐ（Warosoku wa, tsunagu）| Text/
Photos: ONISHI Nobuo | Alice-kan | 2022 | 48pp |26x20cm | ISBN978-4-7520-1004-3 | Ages: 9+ | Japanese candles, Traditional craft, Artisan, Nature

Warosoku are traditional Japanese candles.
The author introduces the many locations andartisans involved in the manufacturing process.
The candles are handmade using techniques thathave been passed down from one generation to
the next. Nothing is thrown away. The candle wax
is made by drying, steaming and pressing the
fruit of the Japanese sumac tree. Waste from thisprocess is used by indigo-dyeing craftsmen, andchunks of excess wax cut off when the candles
are shaped are melted down and reused. The
process reflects the traditional Japanese lifestylein which nature’s bounty was used with reverence
and care and finally returned to the earth. The
book conveys the craftsmanship and wisdom ofJapanese artisans and the way such things arevalued in Japanese culture. (Shiozaki)

See and Understand: What is theTreaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons?

核兵器禁止条例ってなんだろう？（Kakuheki kinshi jorei tte nandaro?）| Sv. KAWASAKI Akira | Ill.
KAWAI Chiaki | Jumposha | 2021 | 112pp | 27x19cm |ISBN9784845117079 |Ages: 11+ | Nuclear weapons,
Treaty, Atomic bomb

On January 22, 2021, the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons took effect. This book
explains what nuclear weapons are, how to get
rid of them, how the treaty came to be, what itsays, and Japan’s role as the home of the only twocities to have suffered nuclear attack. Numerous
illustrations and photographs present informationin an accessible yet detailed way. The testimonies
of two atomic bomb victims graphically portraythe cruelty of nuclear weapons. The author points
out that the only road to abolition is to know anddiscuss the truth, think carefully, and raise one’s
voice. This worthwhile read inspires us to see different perspectives and ponder this issue deeply.
(Sakaguchi)

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78

Solve the Mystery of the HandOperated Generator! Hiraga Gennai,
Engineer Who Made Electricity

During the Edo period (1603-1868), when Japan
traded only with Holland and China and theonly international port was Nagasaki, a genius
appeared named Hiraga Gennai (1728-1780). Usinga hand-operated electric generator from Holland
designed for medical use, he learned to build one.
This book evokes his passion and his struggles tounderstand a tool for creating static electricity, ata time when the very concept of electricity wasnew. He also learned to make a thermometer andpedometer like those from the Netherlands. In
addition, he founded an organization to identify
medicinal substances, and he pursued minedevelopment and western art. He was a pioneer inmany ways. (Sakaguchi)

A Bear! Help Us, Bear Dogs:
Dogs with Special Talents

When Fumio Koizumi (1927-1983) was 30, an
experience researching music in India led him totravel the world studying traditional music. Aftercompleting his time abroad, he taught at Tokyo
University of the Arts while also sharing the joys
of world music with the public, by appearing on
television and inviting ensembles from Africa andAsia to the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka. He
also took interest in music education in Japan,
saying that Japanese traditional music should beemphasized as well as Western music. He and his
students compiled a book about Japanese children’s songs, or warabe uta. Until his death fromcancer at age 56, he poured his spirit into social
activism, his research and his family. This biography includes a QR code to hear eight instruments.
(Doi)

Like guide dogs, bear conflict dogs have a job:
inform humans when a bear is nearby, and barkand chase it away. In central Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, dog handlers in a non-political organization work with U.S.-bred bear conflict dogs todeter bears from human settlements. This way,
the bears living near human populations do nothave to be killed for the humans’ safety. Bears
learn to avoid locations where humans live andreturn to the mountains. Humans, in turn, learn
to take care with their own actions, such as how
they put out their garbage. Educating bears andhumans to protect both takes time and care; thisbook encourages us to think about coexistence.
(Sakaguchi)

81

How Deep Does Life Go?
Searching Beneath the Sea Floor

生物がすむ果てはどこだ？（Seibutsu ga sumu hate wa
dokoda?）| Text: MORONO Yuki | Kumon Shuppan |2022 | 96pp | 22x16cm | ISBN9784774327112 | Ages: 11+| Sea floor, Microbes, Research

The deep-sea scientific drill ship Chikyu is one-ofa-kind in the world, equipped to stay stable on thewater’s surface while making cylindrical cuts andextracting samples from deep in the subsea floor.
The author of this book has been searching for
microbes in the samples, probing the limits of how
deep life can survive. This teaches us more aboutlife itself. He first took interest in this subject asa boy and began studying it by making tools.
He later worked out how to count the microbes
he found and how to prove they are alive. This
book vividly portrays the joys of discovery andthe importance of the scientific method, whichhelps scientists replicate each other’s studies.
(Sakaguchi)

20

My First Biography of a Musician:Fumio Koizumi

小泉文夫（Koizumi fumio）| Text: HINO Madoka | Ill.
KITAZAWA Hesuke | Yamaha Music Entertainment Holdings | 2022 | 304pp | 19x14cm | ISBN9784636977295 |Ages: 11+ | Music, World, India

エレキテルの謎を解け（Erekiteru no nazo o toke）| Text:
NARUMI Fu | Ill. TAKAYAMA Kenta | Iwasaki Shoten |2021 | 224pp | 20x14cm | ISBN9784265840243 | Ages:
11+ | Electricity, Biography

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79

クマが出た！ 助けてベアドッグ（Kuma ga deta! Tasukete
beadoggu）| Text: OTA Kyoko | Iwasaki Shoten | 2021
| 156pp | 22x16cm | ISBN9784265840281 | Ages: 11+ |Bears, Dogs, Animal protection

82

Stay Safe on the Internet:
Let’s Think and Talk! Information
Ethics for the Future 1

Encyclopedia of the History ofPeople and Animals of Japan 5 vols.

ネットトラブルをさけよう（Netto toraburu o sakeyo）| Sv.
FUJIKAWA Daisuke | Kaiseisha | 2022 | 48pp | 29x22cm |ISBN978-4-03-636210-3 | Ages: 11+ | Information ethics,
Internet

人と動物の日本史図鑑（Hito to dobutsu no nihonshi
zukan）| Text: KOMITA Teruyuki | Text: ABE Koshi | Ill.
SAKAI Yojiro | Shonen Shashin Shimbunsha | 2021 |48pp | 27x22cm | ISBN978-4-87981-748-8 | Ages: 11+ |Animals, Japanese history, Culture

This is the first in a four-book series that invites
readers to join in thinking about information
ethics. Its many illustrations and photos makeit easy to browse. Many topics will hit close tohome, such as rumors and misinformation on theInternet, slander, stealth marketing, online gaming
pitfalls, and billing troubles. Manga vignettes
on full spreads show characters grappling withvarious issues, and the book provides real-life
examples, hints for further thinking, concrete
problem-solving strategies, and relevant laws andpolicies. The aim is to impart accurate information
to enable young people’s independent judgments.
The backmatter shows a media studies class forgrade 5 (age 11), as a hint for how to teach thismaterial. (Sakaguchi)This series introduces people and animals of Japanover five eras: Paleolithic times through the Yayoi
period and rice farming (approx. 300 BCE-300 CE);
the Kofun period (250-538 CE) through the Azuchi-Momoyama period (approx. 1558-1603); theEdo period (1603-1868); the Meiji period (18681912) through the early Showa period (1926-1989);
and post-World War II through the current Reiwa
period (2019-). It traces many topics, including thefirst domestic dogs, the introduction of cattle andhorses, beekeeping, falconry, whaling, the wagyu
cow, Covid-19, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Photos and illustrations abound. The
author is a former director of Ueno Zoo, and his
explanations are backed by rich experience andknowledge. (Sakaguchi)

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84

A Family in Hiroshima:
Tracing the Paths in Hiroshima

Who Were the Comfort Women?
Thinking Together about Women
Hurt in the War「ヒロシマ消えたかぞく」のあしあと（Hiroshima kieta
kazoku no ashiato）| Text: SASHIDA Kazu | Poplar | 2022
| 240pp | 20x14cm | ISBN978-4-591-17395-4 | Ages: 11+| Hiroshima, Atomic bomb, Photography, Life

女子サッカー選手です。そして、彼女がいます（Joshi sakka
senshu desu. soshite, kanojo ga imasu）| Text: SHIMOYAMADA Shiho | Ill. YONEMURA Tomonori | Kaiseisha |2022 | 176pp | 21x15cm | ISBN978-4-03-636320-9 | Ages:
13+ | Sex, Gender, Sports

Shiho Shimoyamada began to play soccer midway
through elementary school, and then went on
to play professional women’s soccer in Germany
and Japan. This elite athlete struggled to identify
as male or female; liked girls; and above all, wasdevoted to soccer. These naturally occurring
feelings bumped up against what society
considered “normal,” which often caused stress,
but it helped to have teammates and teachers who
pushed back against discrimination and prejudice.
By presenting Shimoyamada’s story, this bookexamines gender, sexual orientation, and gender
expression in their diverse forms and considers
how we can all respect each other’s minds andbodies. A volume in the Research for All series.
(Okuyama)

俳句のきた道（Haiku no kita michi）| Text: FUJITA
Shinichi | Iwanami Shoten | 2021 | 256pp | 18x11cm |ISBN9784005009404 | Ages: 13+ | Haiku, Edo period(1603-1868)

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), Yosano Buson (17161784), and Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828) were threemajor haikuists of the Edo period (1603-1868). This
book introduces their lives and haiku and conveys
haiku’s charms. The section on Basho details how
he studied with disciples and others near him,
before embarking on a haikai journey later in life.
The section on Buson conveys that he was a finepainter whose haiku shared elements with hisvisual art. Finally, the section on Issa follows himfrom his birthplace of Shinano (now Nagano) to
Edo at 15 as an apprentice, through an inheritancedispute with his brother, and to marriage at 52;
his haiku exhibited a unique sense of people
and nature. The haiku in this book are accessibly,interestingly shared. (Doi)In 1991, the author helped sue the Japanese
government for violating the rights of comfort
women in World War II. Here she introduces Song
Sin-do (1922-2017), a former comfort woman
who initiated the lawsuit. The book tells how
Song became a comfort woman, migrated toJapan, and took action; it also details the trial andthe military brothel system and traces comfort
women’s activism from the 1990s on. In addition,
it introduces former comfort woman Kang Dukkyung (1929-1997), who painted her experiencesat the House of Sharing in Seoul, and Kim Bokdong (1926-2019), who worked to make the
comfort women’s movement a human rights
movement. Accessible writing makes this topic
relatable. (Doi)87

Research for All: I’m a Female
Footballer. And, I Have a Girlfriend.

Three Paths to Haiku: Basho, Buson,
Issa「慰安婦」問題ってなんだろう？（Ianfu mondai tte
nandaro?）| Text: YAN Chinja | Heibonsha | 2022 | 224pp| 19x13cm | ISBN9784582838886 | Ages: 13+ | WorldWar II, Comfort women, Trial, Korean peninsula

In 2019, the author published a nonfiction photopicture book called A Family in Hiroshima, whichused left-behind photos to explore the life ofa family who all died in the atomic bomb: theSuzukis. This book starts with a bilingual synopsis
of that book, in Japanese and English, and it goeson to reveal the picture book’s backstory andthe research process. It delves further into the
Suzukis’ era and the emotional lives of Japanesechildren then, as shown in journals and drawings.
In addition, it describes reactions of readers to
the photo picture book and new interactions andlearnings since its publication. The author’s drive
to keep examining signs of the Suzukis’ lives isitself a wish for peace, shining through strongly.
(Sakuma)
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Radio Health Center:
Teens Ask about Sex

ラジオ保健室（Rajio hokenshitsu）| Text: NHK Rajio
hokenshitsu Team | Ill. TAMAGAWA Sakura | Littlemore| 2022 | 256pp | 19x13cm | ISBN978-4-89815-556-1 |Ages: 13+ | Sex, Bodies, Growing

Over five days in August 2020, Japan’s NHK Radio
1 broadcast a summer break series about teenagers’ sex questions. This book pulls together
the answers. Ten guests, from a cross-dressing
performer to an obstetrician, answer seriously
and sometimes humorously the various sexual
concerns and complexes that the young people
expressed. Information such as how to use birthcontrol pills and condoms is presented clearly andaccurately. The tone is open and friendly, exactly
like on the radio show. Some sixty questions fromyoung people regarding bodies, relationships,
pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and infections, and LGBTQ+ matters are discussed, andthe experts’ responses are sure to put readers atease. (Sakaguchi)

The Power of Laughter, The Powerof Words: Inheritance from HisashiInoue

笑いの力、言葉の力（Warai no chikara, kotoba nochikara）| Text: WATANABE Fumiyuki | Ill. MATT Kazuko| Rironsha | 2022 | 240pp | 19x13cm | ISBN978-4-65220498-6 | Ages: 13+ | Words, Humor, Family

The writer Hisashi Inoue (1934-2010) left behind
novels and numerous plays and agitated forpeace. This biography focuses on his younger
years. He was born in 1934 in the town of Komatsu
in Yamagata prefecture. As Japan lurched fromwartime to the post-World War II era, he cameof age, steeped in books, baseball and movies.
Family circumstances led to him living in anorphanage during his middle and high school
years. He went on to attend university whileworking a number of part-time jobs. All of theseexperiences are described here with language
from works by Inoue himself. Readers discover the
background that gave rise to this writer’s uniquehumor, rebellious spirit, and obsession with words.
(Okuyama)

21

The Hans Christian Andersen Award
KADONO Eiko 19352018 Author Award
Born in Tokyo, KADONO Eiko moved toBrazil for two years when she was 25,

and based on her experiences there she

Winners

wrote her first book. Since then she has
written many books for children of several

generations. Her chapter book Majo notakkyubin (Kiki’s Delivery Service), written

in 1984, won a number of prizes and wasincluded on the IBBY Honour List. This story
was adapted into a wildly popular animatedfilm by MIYAZAKI Hayao. Kadono has been
decorated by the Emperor of Japan forher significant contributions to children’s
literature.

22

UEHASHI Nahoko 1962-

MADO Michio 1909-2014

2014 Author Award

1994 Author Award

Born in Tokyo, UEHASHI Nahoko researchedindigenous people in Australia for her PhD
in cultural authoropology. Her literary debut
came in 1989, when her first book won anaward that brought her into the spotlight.
In 1996, she began to write her historicalfantasy series Moribito (Guardian), which

MADO Michio was born in Tokuyama.
When he was a small child, his family left
for Taiwan, leaving him behind with his
grandfather. 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 the time. This
marked the beginning of Mado’s career as acreator of nursery rhymes, songs and poems
for children. The Animals , co-publishedbecame a huge hit and received several
literature awards in and outside of Japan,
including the IBBY Honour List and the
Batchelder Award in the USA. Her series The
Beast Player is now out in the USA and theUK.

in the USA and Japan as a bilingual book,
was translated by then Empress Michiko ofJapan.

ANNO Mitsumasa 1926-2020

AKABA Suekichi 1910-1990

1984 Illustrator Award

1980 Illustrator Award

Born in Tsuwano, a village located in a valley
surrounded by mountains, ANNO Mitsumasa
developed a strong desire to experienceplaces beyond those 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 onlyabound with visual trickery and illusions but
also display a playful sense of humour.

Born in Tokyo, AKABA Suekichi emigrated
to Manchuria at the age of 21. He worked
in industry and began to paint while still
there. He was awarded special recognition
three times at the Manchurian National
Art Exhibition. After returning to Japan at
the age of 36, Akaba mastered painting
techniques on his own; he published his first
picture book in 1961. His influences include
traditional Japanese painting and Felix
Hoffmann.

These authors and illustrators, among the finest creators of Japanese children’s literature, were
all nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Five were named winners.

Nominees since 2000

ARAI Ryoji

CHO Shinta

1956-

1927-2005

HAYASHI Akiko
1945-

2022, 2024 Illustrator

1998, 2000 Illustrator

2008, 2010 Illustrator

ISHII Momoko

IWASE Joko

KAKO Satoshi

KANZAWA Toshiko

1907-20081950-

1926-2018

1924-

2002 Author

2022. 2024 Author

2012 Illustrator

2000, 2006 Author

KATAYAMA Ken

NASU Masamoto

OHTA Daihachi

SATO Satoru

1940-

1942-2021

1918-2016

1928-20172014, 2016 Illustrator

2012 Author

1970, 2002-2006 Illustrator

2004 Author

TANIKAWA Shuntaro

TASHIMA Seizo

TOMIYASU Yoko

1931-

1940-

1959-

2008, 2010 Author

2018, 2020 Illustrator

2020 Author

23

Japanese Books Selected forthe IBBY Honour ListJBBY has selected books for three categories (writing, illustration, translation) of the IBBY Honour List every
two years since 1996. Since 2008, JBBY has given these books the JBBY Award.
Writing 2022
HANAGATA Mitsuru
Tokujiro and I
Tokujiro to boku
RironshaWriting 2020
NASHIYA Arie
Sensing Your Presence
Kimi no sonzai o ishiki suru
PoplarWriting 2018
FURUUCHI Kazue
Hula Boys
Furadan
Komine Shoten

Writing 2016
IWASE Joko
Since the New One Came
Atarashii ko ga kite
Iwasaki Shoten

Writing 2014
MAHARA Mito
Where the Steel Sparks Fly
Tetsu no shibuki ga haneru
KodanshaWriting 2010
HAMANO Kyoko
FusionFyujonKodanshaWriting 2008
TAKADONO Hoko
Let's Be Frrrrriends
Otomodasa ni narimasho
Froebel-kan

Writing 2006
OGIWARA Noriko
The Tale of the Flute Player
Fujinhisho
Tokuma Shoten

Writing 2004
UEHASHI Nahoko
Guardian of the God
Kami no moribito
Kaiseisha

Writing 2002
TOMIYASU Yoko
Mokko in Mount Yamamba
Yamanba yama no Mokko tachi
Fukuinkan Shoten

Writing 2000
ITO YuA Bridge to the Other WorldOni no hashi
Fukuinkan Shoten

Writing 1998
OKADA Jun
The Stories of the Kosoado Woods
Kosoado no mori no monogatari
RironshaWriting 1996
ITO Hiroshi
Hurrah, I'm a Monkey
Osaru ni naru hi
KodanshaWriting 1994
IWASE Joko
Tanikawa Said It's Not a Lie
Uso janaiyo to Tanikawa kun wa itta
PHP InstituteWritingIllustration
Illustration 2018SUZUKI Koji
Dome Story
Domu gatari
Text: Arthur Binard
Tamagawa University Press

24

Illustration 2022
TASHIMA Seizo
Gotcha!
Tsukamaeta
Kaiseisha

Illustration 2016
YOSHIDA Hisanori
The Ranch of Hope in Fukushima
Kibo no bokujo
Text: MORI Eto
Iwasaki Shoten

Illustration 2020
TAMURA Shigeru
Night Sounds
Yoru no oto
Kaiseisha

Illustration 2014
ABE Hiroshi
To the New World
Shin sekai eKaiseishaIllustration 2012INOUE Yosuke
Hats
Boshi
East Press

Illustration 2006
CHO Shinta
The Story of the Earthworm
Named Ossan
Mimizu no Ossan
Doshinsha

Illustration 2000
ONO Kaoru
The Night of Kagura
OkaguraText: WAKI Akiko
PoplarIllustration 2010
ITO Hideo
Ushio
Ushio
Billiken Shuppan

Illustration 2004
SAITO Takao
The Frogs and the Cat:
Story Inspired by Heike
Monogatari
Kaeru no Heike monogatari
Text: HINO Kazunari
Fukuinkan Shoten
Illustration 1998
KOBAYASHI Yutaka
My Sweet Village
Sekai ichi utsukushii
boku no mura
PoplarIllustration 2008
ARAI Ryoji
A Sound of Taiyo-Organ
Taiyo orugan
Kaiseisha

Illustration 2002
CHO Shinta
The Magical Fun of
the Long-nosed Ogre
Tengu no hauchiwa
Text: KAYAMA Yoshiko
Kyoiku Gageki
Illustration 1996
MATSUOKA Tatsuhide
Exploring the Dinosaur Age
with My Robot
Boku no robotto kyoryu tanken
Fukuinkan Shoten

Translation 2022
Trans. NAGNO Toru
Folo, il Centauro
by Roberto Piumini
Kentaurosu no Porosu
Iwanami Shoten

Translation 2020
Trans. NISHIMURA Yumi
De Blauwe Maansteen
by Tonke Dragt
Aoi tsuki no ishi
Iwanami Shoten

Translation 2018
Trans. MOTAI Natsuu
Please Be Quiet, My Father is
Taking a Nap: Jewish Folktales
Oshizukani, chichi ga hirune shiteorimasu
Iwanami Shoten

Translation 2016
Trans. HARADA Masaru
No Crystal Stair
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Haremu no tatakau honya
Asunaro Shobo

Translation 2014
Trans. JINGU Teruo
Swallows and Amazons
by Arthur Ransome
Tsubame-go to Amazon-go
Iwanami Shoten

Translation 2012
Trans. SAITO Michiko
A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
Shikago yori tondemonai machi
Tokyo Sogensha

Translation 2010
Trans. KODAMA Tomoko
Dido and Pa by Joan Aiken
Daido to tochan
FuzanboTranslation 2008
Trans. CHIBA Shigeki
Dumb Creatures by Jeanne Willis
Ori no naka no himitsu
Asunaro Shobo

Translation 2006
Trans. HISHIKI Akirako
Maj Darlin by Mats Wahl
Mai ga ita natsu
Tokuma Shoten

Translation 2004
Trans. MATSUOKA Kyoko
Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary
Ramona to atarashii kazoku
GakkenTranslation 2002
Trans. SAKUMA Yumiko
Last Summer with Maizon
by Jacqueline Woodson
Magaretto to Meizon
PoplarTranslation 2000
Trans. SAKAI Haruhiko
The Arabian Nights
edited by Wiggin and Smith
Arabian naito
Fukuinkan Shoten

Translation 1998
Trans. WAKI Akiko
The Silent Shore by Ruth Elwin HarrisOka no ie no Sera
Iwanami Shoten

Translation 1996
Trans. KAKEGAWA Yasuko
Darkling by K. M. Peyton
Unmei no uma Dakuringu
Iwanami Shoten

Translation

25

Recent Translations into Japanese
Recommended by JBBYJBBY selected books in three categories (picture books, chapter books andnovels, nonfiction) for its recent publication Translated Children’s Books. JBBY
publishes this catalog every year for Japanese readers.

26

Picture Books

Sagan Om Den Lilia Farbrorn by Berbro Lindgren & Eva Eriksson (SE) |Chiisana ojisan to okina inu, trans. HISHIKI Akirako; Asunaro Shobo

Adrian Simcox Does Not Have A Horse by Marcy Campbell & Corinna
Luyken (US) | Eidorian wa zettai uso o tsuiteiru, trans. HATTORI Yuichiro;
Iwanami Shoten

Tijger by Jan Jutte (NL) | Obaasan to tora, trans. NISHIMURA Yumi; Tokuma
Shoten

Air Miles by John Burningham, William Salaman & Helen Oxenbury (UK) |Pairotto mairuzu, trans. TANIKAWA Shuntaro; BL Shuppan

When Grandfather Flew by Patricia MacLachlan & Chris Sheban (US) |Ojiichan no negaigoto, trans. NAKAGAWA Chihiro; Mitsumura Kyoiku Tosho

Count on Me by Miguel Tanco (CA) | Sugaku de sekai o miruno, trans.
FUKUMOTO Yumiko; Holp Shuppan

Who Took the Farmer's Hat? by Joan L. Nodset & Fritz Siebel (US) | Ojisanno boshi wa doko itta?, trans. YASUDA Fuyuko; Shuppan Works

Die Geschichte Vom Kleinen Siebenschläfer, Der Nicht Einschlafen
Konnte by Sabine Bohlmann & Kerstin Schoene (DE) | Yamane no boya wa
nemurenai!?, trans. WAKAMATSU Noriko; Hisakata Child

Zwerveling by Peter Van den Ende (NL) | Tabi suru kobune; Kyuryudo

The Hospital Dog by Julia Donaldson & Sara Ogilvie (UK) | Nana wa serapi
doggu, trans. FUKUMOTO Yumiko; BL Shuppan한밤중 개미 요정 by Shin Summi (KR) | Mayonaka no chiisana yosei, trans.
SHIMIZU Chisako; Poplar

I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott & Sydney Smith (US) | Boku wa kawa no
yo ni hanasu, trans. HARADA Masaru; Kaiseisha

Chapter Books and Novels

Jessica by Kevin Henkes (US) | Jeshika to issho, trans. KOKAZE Sachi;
Tokuma Shoten

All the Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman (UK) | Rasuto furenzu,
trans. DAIDA Akako; Seizansha

The Lady with the Books by Kathy Stinson & Marie Lafrance (CA) |Kodomo no hon de heiwa o tsukuru, trans. SAKUMA Yumiko; Shogakukan

BAMBI by Felix Saiten (DE) | Banbi: mori ni ikiru, trans. SAKAYORI Shinichi;
Fukuinkan Shoten

The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld (US) | Ki no
robotto to maruta no ohimesama no daiboken, trans. KANEHARA Mizuhito;
Holp Shuppan

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (US) | Watashi wa yume omitsuzukeru, trans. SAKUMA Yumiko; Shogakukan

Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson (US) |Mairo no skecchi bukku, trans. ISHIZU Chihiro; Suzuki Shuppan

De Blauwe Vleugels by Jef Aerts (BE) | Aoi tsubasa, trans. NAGAYAMA Saki;
Tokuma Shoten

Moon Pops by Beak Heena (KR) | Otsuki-san no shabetto, trans. HASEGAWA
Yoshifumi; Bronze Shinsha

De eikelvreters by Els Pelgrom (NL) | Donguri gui, trans. NOZAKA Etsuko;
Fukuinkan Shoten

The Boxer by Hasan Mousavi (IR) | Bokusa, trans. AIKO Keiko; Top StudioHR

The Echo Park Castaways by M. G. Hennessey (US) | Umi o mita hi, trans.
SUGITA Nanae; Suzuki Shuppan

Mummy, Time to Sleep! by Hilit Blum & Vali Mintzi (IL) | Mama, mo neru
jikan dayo, trans. MOTAI Natsuu; Mitsumura Kyoiku Tosho

El Compañero Desconocido by Marcelo Birmajer (AR) | Mishiranu tomo,trans. UNO Kazumi; Fukuinkan Shoten

Piper by Emma Chichester Clark (UK) | Kuro no atarashii uchi, trans.
KODAMA Tomoko; Tokuma Shoten

Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis (US) | Watashi ga tori ni
naru hi, trans. CHIBA Shigeki; Shogakukan

The Rabbits by John Marsden & Shaun Tan (AU) | Usagi, trans. KISHIMOTO
Sachiko; Kawade Shobo Shinsha

The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare by Zillah Bethell (UK) | Paragon
to reinbo mashin, trans. SANBE Ritsuko; Shogakukan

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge (UK) | Garasu no kao, trans.
KODAMA Atsuko; Tokyo Sogensha

Nonfiction

Fly, Cherokee, Fly by Chris d'Lacey (UK) | Tobenai hato o mitsuketa hi kara,trans. SAGARA Michiko; Tokuma Shoten

111 Trees by Rina Singh & Marianne Ferrer (CA) | Hyaku-ju-ippon no ki,trans. KODAMA Tomoko; Mitsumura Kyoiku Tosho

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes (US) | Gosuto boizu, trans. TAKETOMI
Hiroko; Hyoronsha

The Bat Book by Charlotte Milner (UK) | Komori no hon, trans. MATSUURA
Naomi; Godo Shuppan

Granny The Pag by Nina Bawden (UK) | Atashi no obaachan wa, puta,trans. KODAMA Tomoko; Dowakan Shuppan

A Climate in Chaos by Neal Layton (UK) | Tomenakucha! Kikohendo, trans.
IWAJO Yoshihito; Hisakata Child

Honk: The Moose by Phil Stong & Kurt Wiese (US) | Machi ni kita herajika,trans. SETA Teji; Tokuma Shoten

Fourteen Wolves by Catherine Barr & Jenni Desmond (UK) | Shizen o saisei
saseta ierosuton no ookami tachi, trans. NAGAMINE Ryo; Kagaku Dojin

Nice Work for the Cat and the King by Nick Sharratt (UK) | Neko to osama
shigoto o sagasu, trans. ICHIDA Izumi; Tokuma Shoten

Grow by Nicola Davies & Emily Sutton (UK) | Umarete sodatsu, trans. OCHI
Noriko; Goblin Shobo

Par-Int by Lee Hee-young (KR) | Peinto, trans. OSANAI Sonoko; East Press

If You Come To Earth by Sophie Blackall (US) | Chikyu no koto o oshiete
ageru, trans. YOKOYAMA Kazue; Suzuki Shuppan

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (US) | Shijin ni naritai wtashi ekkusu,
trans. TANAKA Akiko; Shogakukan

Just Ask! by Sonia Sotomayor & Rafael López (US) | Ne, kiite mite!, trans.
SUGIMOTO Emi; Chobunsha

Pták Ohnivák A Liška Ryška by Karel Jaromír Erben,et al. (CH) | Hi no tori
to kitsune no rishika, edit/trans. KIMURA Yuko; Iwanami Shoten

The Kid's Book of the Elements by Theodore Gray & Nick Mann (US)| Sekai de ichiban utsukushii kodomo genso zukan, trans. TAKEI Mari;
Sogensha

Raising Lumie by Joan Bauer (US) | Rumi to oribu no tokubetsu na
jukkagetsu, trans. SUGITA Nanae; Shogakukan

Making a Baby: An Inclusive Guide to How Every Family Begins by
Rachel Greener & Clare Owen (UK) | Yokoso! Akachan, trans. USHITORA
Kaori/URANO Kuniko; Otsuki Shoten

Ronja Rövardotter by Astrid Lindgren & Ilon Wikland (SE) | Sanzoku nomusume ronya, trans. HERENHARUME Miho; Iwanami Shoten

A Sporting Chance by Lori Alexander & Allan Drummond (US) |Pararinpikku wa sekai o kaeru, trans. CHIBA Shigeki; Fukuinkan Shoten

Rosalind by Elsa Beskow (SE) | Rosarindo no niwa, trans. HISHIKI Akirako;
Asunaro Shobo

Stay Curious! A Brief History of Stephen Hawking by Kathleen Krull,
Paul Brewer & Boris Kulikov (US) | Sutibun hokingu, trans. SAKUMA Yumiko;
Kagaku Dojin

Sophie's Secret by Nicki Cornwell (UK) | Sofi no himitsu, trans. SHIBUYA
Hiroko; Bunken Shuppan

Un millón de ostras en lo alto de la montaña by Alex Nogués & Miren
Asiain Lora (ES) | Yama no ue ni kaigara ga arunowa naze?, trans. UNO
Kazumi; Iwasaki Shoten

Sweeping Up The Heart by Kevin Henkes (US) | Haru no usagi, trans.
HARADA Masaru/OSAWA Satoko; Shogakukan

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed (US) |Omaru to hassan, trans. NAKAGAWA Hiroko; Godo Shuppan

The Liberation of Gabriel King by K. L. Going (US) | Boku no yowamushi onaosu niwa, trans. KUBO Yoko; Tokuma Shoten

Wie viel wärmer ist 1 Grad? Was beim Klimawandel passiert by K.
S. Schreiber & S. Marian (DE) | Kion ga ichido agaruto, do naruno?, trans.
MATSUNAGA Miho; Nishimura Shoten

Things Seen From Above by Shelly Pearsall (US) | Sora kara mieru, ano ko
no kokoro, trans. KUBO Yoko; Doshinsha
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki (US) | Disu wan sama,trans. SANBE Ritsuko; Iwanami Shoten
What's That in Dog Years? by Ben Davis (UK) | Sayonara no mae
ni, gizumo ni sasete agetai kokonotsu no koto, trans. SUGITA Nanae;
Shogakukan
The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown (US) | Kaere yasei no robotto,trans. MAEZAWA Akie; Fukuinkan Shoten
명헤 by Kim So Yon & Jang Ho (KR) | Myonhe, trans. YOSHINAKA Kimiko/
YAN Okusun; Kage Shobo

27

Japanese Children's Books 2023

JBBY’s recommendations for young readers throughout the world© Japanese Board on Books for Young People (JBBY), 2023
JBBY Secretariat
1-32 Kandajimbocho, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-0051 Japan
Tel. [int. +81] 3 6273 7703
Fax [int. +81] 3 6273 7708
E-mail: info@jbby.org
https://jbby.org/
Translation: Cathy Hirano, Ginny Tapley Takemori, Avery Fischer Udagawa
Supported by
The Foundation for the Advancement of Juvenile Education in Japan