Kids' Books
There's a different sensibility in these stories for kids. On one hand, more frank (like "Everyone Poops"), but the traditional stories read like a cross between Greek myths and Aesops Fables. Most children will enjoy these titles, and some make very interesting coffee table fare for adults
Adventures of the One Inch Boy by Essei Okawa, Diane T. Ooka, Teruyo Endo Hardcover
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
The Bonsai Bear by Bernard Libster, Aries Cheung (Illustrator) Hardcover
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
The Boy Who Drew Cats by Margaret Hodges School & Library Binding
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Chibi: A True Story from Japan by Barbara Brenner School & Library Binding
64 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
A duck decides to raise her family in Tokyo's Mitsui Office Park.
Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun by Rhoda Blumberg Hardcover
144 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Story about Matthew Perry's expedition to Japan.
Contemplating Your Bellybutton by Jun Nanao, Tomoko Hasegawa (Illustrator), Amanda Mayer Stinchecum (Translator) Hardcover
28 pages
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
The Crane Wife by Odds Bodkin School & Library Binding
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
A sailmaker falls in love with a crane in the disguise of a beautiful young woman.
The Demon in the Teahouse by Dorothy Hoobler, Thomas Hoobler Hardcover
208 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
14-year-old Seikei returns from The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn to investigate murdered geishas and Edo fires.
Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi, Amanda Mayer Stinchecum (Translator), Gomi Taro Hardcover
27 pages
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
Fisherman and the Grateful Turtle by Essei Okawa, D.T. Ooka (Translator), Koichi Murakami Hardcover
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts by Shinta Cho, Amanda Mayer Stinchecum (Translator) Hardcover
28 pages
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars: A Twelfth-Century Tale from Japan by Jean Merrill Paperback
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Izumi finds worms, toads, and especially caterpillars more interesting than the hobbies of the ladies in the Emperor's court. Full color.
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Thomas Hoobler, Dorothy Hoobler Hardcover
224 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant's son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth-century Japan.
Grandfather Cherry-Blossom (Kodansha Children's Classics) by Ralph F. McCarthy, Eiho Hirezaki (Illustrator), Eiho Hirazaki Hardcover
Reading level: Ages 4-8
An elderly couple's kindness to a stray dog brings them good fortune amid sorrow.
The Holes in Your Nose by Genichiro Yagyu, Amanda Mayer Stinchecum (Translator) Hardcover
28 pages
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
In Search of the Spirit: The Living National Treasures of Japan by Sheila Hamanaka (Photographer), Ayano Ohmi Hardcover
48 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
The Invisible Seam by Andy William Frew, Jun Matsuoka (Illustrator) Hardcover
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
In Japan around 1900, Michi is apprenticed to the stern kimono-maker, Mistress Shinyo. She works hard and skillfully and soon becomes an unwanted role model for the less-talented apprentices. Then an important commission comes in, and Michi is assigned the task of sewing a kimono of pure white silk. That night, the other apprentices steal all of Michi's thread except for the red.
Japan (Food & Festivals) by Teresa Fisher
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Jingu: The Hidden Princess by Ralph Pray Hardcover
80 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Kids Draw Anime by Christopher Hart Paperback
64 pages
Reading level: Grade 3-6
Simple instructions for creating the distinctive eyes, exaggerated expressions, and dramatic poses that characterize Japanese-style cartoon figures.
The Long Silk Strand: A Grandmother's Legacy to Her Granddaughter by Laura E. Williams, Grayce Bochak (Illustrator) Paperback (also available in hardcover)
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Picture book set in ancient Japan tells the story of the love of a granddaughter and grandmother, the pieces of silk thread the grandmother winds into a ball, and what happens when the grandmother dies.
Look What Came from Japan (Look What Came from Series) by Miles Harvey Paperback
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
The Magic Fan by Keith Baker Paperback
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
A unique fan shows master Yoshi visions of the wonderful things he can create--until it is lost in a tsunami. But Yoshi realizes that by trusting in his own imagination, he can answer his questions by himself. Full-color illustrations.
Milky Way Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa, Joseph Sigrist (Translator) Paperback Reading level: Ages 9-12
Children's classic on par with A Wrinkle In Time and The Little Prince.
The Moon Princess (Kodansha Children's Classics) by Ralph F. McCarthy, Kancho Oda (Illustrator) Hardcover
An elderly bamboo cutter discovers a tiny child living in the hollow of a bamboo stalk, who grows into a beauty who attracts many suitors.
The Monkey and the Crab (Kodansha Children's Classics) by Ralph F. McCarthy, Sengai Ikawa (Illustrator) Hardcover
Reading level: Young Adult
A greedy, thoughtless monkey gets his comeuppance when the animals band together.
One Bird by Kyoko Mori Mass Market Paperback
Reading level:Young Adult
In this story set in 1975 Japan, 15-year-old Megumi comes-of-age when her mother leaves home after a divorce.
Peach Boy and Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories by Florence Sakade
Rain in the Wind: Four Stories by Saiichi Maruya, Dennis Keene (Translator) Hardcover
Reading level: All Ages
The Sea Maidens of Japan by Lili Bell Hardcover
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
A sea turtle that Kiyomi rescued years before to help her out.
Shibumi and the Kitemaker by Mercer Mayer Hardcover
48 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
An emperor isolates his daughter, Shibumi, but convinces a kitemaker to build a kite big enough to lift her, and then fly it and her into the air, threatening her father that she won't come down until he cleans up the city.
Shipwrecked: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy by Rhoda Blumberg Hardcover
80 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
In the 1800s, the Japanese government had strict isolation laws. By decree, foreigners
and ideas from outside Japan were forbidden. So when fourteen-year-old Manjiro and four other fishermen were shipwrecked on a small rocky island three hundred miles from shore, they wondered if they would ever be allowed to return home.
Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori Mass Market Paperback
Reading level: Young Adult
Twelve-year-old Yuki's mother commits suicide, and after her father remarries she discovers that she just doesn't fit into the Japan of the 1970s.
The Silver Charm: A Folktale from Japan by Robert D. San Souci Hardcover
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Ainu folktale set on the island of Hokkaido.
The Soles of Your Feet by Genichiro Yagyu, Amanda Mayer Stinchecum Hardcover
28 pages
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
Sumo Mouse by David Wisniewski Hardcover
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Tales from Japan (Oxford Myths and Legends) by Helen McAlpine Paperback
158 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Wicked giants, fairy children, beautiful princesses, fearless warriors, the Sea Spirit, the Moon God, the Emperor Kiyomori, Dragon Princess and more.
Tanuki's Gift by Tim Myers Library Binding
Reading level: K-3
Retelling of a traditional story about a friendship between a Buddhist priest and a tanuki.
Three Samurai Cats by Eric A. Kimmel Library Binding
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
A daimyo troubled by bullying rat seeks help from a shrine famous for training samurai cats.
The Two Bullies by Junko Morimoto, Isao Morimoto (Translator) Library Binding
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Two bullies, one from China and one from Japan, inadvertently intimidate one another before meeting face to face and never fight as a result. Winner of Australia's Children's Book Council Picture Book of the Year Award.
Urashima Taro and Other Japanese Children Stories by F. Sakade
Urashima and the Kingdom Beneath the Sea (Kodansha Children's Classics) by Ralph F. McCarthy, Shiro Kasamatsu (Illustrator), Roaph F. McCarthy Hardcover Reading level: Ages 4-8
After traveling to the Kingdom Beneath the Sea, a young fisherman thinks he has stayed three years but when he returns home, he discovers he has been gone three hundred years.
Why Cats Chase Mice: A Story of the Twelve Zodiac Signs by Mina Harada Eimon Hardcover
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Yoshi's Feast by Kimiko Kajikawa, Yumi Heo (Illustrator) Hardcover
32 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Fan maker Yoshi loves the delectable smell of the eels broiled by his fishmonger neighbor, Sabu. But he also loves the sound of the coins jingling in his money box, and so he never actually buys the eels, content just to smell them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Struggling to make a living selling his eels, Sabu is furious with Yoshi for his stubbornness, and demands payment for all the eels Yoshi has sniffed. Yoshi retaliates by performing a wild coin-rattling dance in the street: "chin chin jara jara... chin jara jara...." When he finishes, he tells Sabu, "You have charged me for the smell of your eels, and I have paid you with the sound of my money."
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