Kitaro
Gr 9 Up—First published in the 1960s, this popular series organized Japan's many yokai (spirit monster) tales into a clear narrative, resetting them in contemporary times with added social commentary. Yokai are spirits that often cause mischief or harm, but the novel's half-boy, half-yokai hero Kitaro protects humans from their ill effects. Kitaro battles and defeats a blood-sucking tree and a monster who attacks with an army made from his own organs, among others. His closest ally is his father, who exists as an eyeball in the boy's empty left eye socket. The brief chapters highlight the whimsy, fantasy, and horror of Japanese folklore, and manga fans will spot the origins of many of the format's tropes, including shape-shifters, cuddly monsters, and mecha battles. Teens may overlook this title for more familiar, modern series: the illustrations are less angular and more cartoonish than the art found in much of current mainstream manga. However, booktalks of these strange, charming stories, along with connections to folkore in favorite series such as Akihisa Ikeda's "Rosario + Vampire" and Yellow Tanabe's "Kekkaishi"(both Viz Media), should find this volume an appreciative audience.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library