Book Suggestion

Theme 6 “Journey”

Starting a new year is like setting out on a new adventure. For some of you, the spring season may bring with it new experiences, such as graduation, going on to higher education, or moving to a new place. Life is a never-ending journey. While some journeys are enjoyable, others can be tough voyages and sad goodbyes. Through reading, you can travel the world, or even travel to the past or future. Let's embark on a journey of discovery together through reading.

K/ELC

”Boku no Tabi “ By Akiko Miyakoshi

Various guests from all over the world come to the hotel. But I, the hotel worker, have never left the city. At midnight, after finishing my work, I close my eyes and in my dream, I take a big bag and embark on a journey. Akiko Miyakoshi, an internationally acclaimed children's book author, has created a beautiful travel picture book with lithographs.
 

”Ma maman est une pirate”  by Karine Surugue

My mom is a pirate. She is traveling with her pirate friends to a treasure island. When she comes home, she looks very tired. What is the enemy she is fighting?
In fact, the author made this picture book to tell her four-and-a-half-year-old child about her own struggle with breast cancer and how she is working on her treatment, comparing herself to a pirate.
 

“Emma's Journey””Emma in Paris”   by Claire Frossard 

Emma, a sparrow, lives in Central Park in New York City. When Emma hears from Uncle Bob that she has relatives in Paris, France, she leaves Central Park and embarks on a great adventure to Paris.

In the sequel, "Emma in Paris," the setting moves from New York to Paris. On her way to her cousin Amélie's house in Paris, Emma gets lost and becomes friends with Edouard, a white cat who helps her. Furthermore, together with Amélie, whom she finally meets, she decides to try street performances in Paris. ...... This picture book combines illustrations with real photos of New York and Paris.
 

Elementary G1-G4

”Girl on a Motorcycle”　by Amy Novesky

With a desire to travel the world, Anne decided to leave Paris in 1973 with a minimal amount of luggage and headed west on a motorcycle to Canada, Alaska, Japan, India, and Afghanistan....... The world is beautiful, and the people are good. This picture book is modeled on Anne-France Dautheville, the first woman to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle.

In a scene of packing before departure, the author says, "You will fall, so antiseptic and bandages are extremely important.” This made me think that travel is like life. Julie Morstad's illustrations enhance Anne's strength and beauty.
 

”EDO　JAPAN WITH ALL THE CATS　A SEEK’N　FIND PICTURE BOOK”

Join over 2000 cats on a year-long tour of Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka in the Edo period to find golden beckoning cats and ninja cats! This is a bilingual picture book with English text, so you can learn about the traditions and culture of Japan in the Edo period.
 

”RYMLINGARNA”　　by Ulf Stark

My grandpa is in the hospital. He has a foul mouth and doesn't get along well with my dad. But I get along with him. Recently, he wants to go back to his old house where he used to live with his grandma who passed away. I have a perfect plan to help him escape from the hospital.... With the help of Adam, a baker, we take a ferry to Grandpa's house on the island.

This is the last work written by Ulf Stark, one of Sweden's leading children's authors, before his passing away in 2017. The story is filled with humor, but also deeply moving, as it incorporates the author's own memories of his grandfather.

Elementary G5-G6 & Secondary

”IKO TRAVELING 1948-”　by Eiko Kadono

It is 1948 in Japan, where the scars of war still remain. Iko, a G8 student, is fascinated by the "~ing = present progressive tense" she learns in her English class. ”The present progressive tense means to move forward in the present!” Although perplexed by the rapidly changing values of the world, Iko gradually begins to wish to go abroad someday on her own. However, it is still an era in which people are not allowed to travel abroad from Japan. One day, a great opportunity comes her way......

This is the autobiographical story of Eiko Kadono, a children's literature writer and the original author of the Studio Ghibli animated film "Kiki's Delivery Service".

岡崎 照男 翻訳（エーリッヒ・ショイルマン 著）By Erich Scheurmann
『パパラギ 児童書版 ヨーロッパを旅した南の島のツイアビが話した、「よく生きる」ための考えとヒント』

The original book, "Der Papalagi" (German), is a fictional narrative book published in Germany in 1920 by Erich Scheuermann, a painter and author, based on the experiences and impressions of a Samoan chief, Tuiavii, who visited Europe and told his islanders after his return.

The book is a work of fiction, but its content is a presentation of various social transformations, such as industrialization and the destruction of the natural environment, and even 100 years later, it still offers us ideas and tips on how to "live well". This book, which makes us realize "what we have gained and what we have lost in exchange," is a must-read not only for children but also for adults.
 

『国境のない生き方 　私をつくった本と旅』by Mari Yamazaki 

Mari Yamazaki, author of the popular manga "THERMÆ ROMÆ," reflects on her life with "books and travel" in this life essay full of stories and experiences. She first traveled alone to Europe at the age of 14, and when she was 17, she went to Italy for study, but struggled with the gap between what she had imagined Italy to be and the reality. In these challenging times, she was supported by good books and people she encountered from time to time. Having traveled around the world and lived in several countries in her life, the author says, "Failure is not a damage; it's all an experience. You will also find out the background behind the conception of the baths in "THERMÆ ROMÆ”.
 

”The ship that flew”  by Hilda Lewis

One day on his way home from the dentist, Peter goes to a small store and gets an old small model ship about 20 cm long. Suddenly, the boat turns out to be big enough to hold a person! It is a magical "flying boat."
Peter and his siblings first travel on this ship to visit their mother in the hospital. Then they go to Egypt, the subject of their homework, and back in history to the Norse mythological world of Earthguard, on an adventure through time and space. Hilda Lewis, is a British author who wrote this fantasy story for her young son.