Japanese Children's Favorite Stories Book One - Hardcover

Florence Sakade

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0804834490 ISBN 13: 9780804834490

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing, 2003

Synopsis

Playful goblins with long noses, magic tea kettles and a delightfully brave hero who just happens to be one inch tall-these are some of the wonderful characters you'll meet in this collection of the 20 best-loved Japanese children's stories. Drawn from folklore and passed down for generations, these classic tales speak of the virtues of hard work, humility, kindness and good humor-"Once upon a time . . ." has never sounded so inviting.

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of one of our all-time best-selling titles. With a new foreword, each story has been lovingly revised and reset, and all the sparkling illustrations appear in color for the very first time. With so many enchanting stories to choose from, young readers will have a delightful time deciding which is their very favorite.

This classic book has had 51 reprints and sold over 175,000 copies since it was first released in 1953. Other titles in our growing series of Asian Children's Favorite Stories include Favorite Children's Stories from China and Tibet, Balinese Children's Favorite Stories and Filipino Children's Favorite Stories.

About this title

About the Author

Florence Sakade is the editor and author of numerous books on Japan, including A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese; Origami: Japanese Paper Folding; Kintaro's Adventures and Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories; and Urashima Taro and Other Japanese Children's Stories.

From the Inside Flap

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3--Fifty years after its initial publication, Sakade's compilation of popular Japanese folktales has been dusted off and prettied up for this new, third edition. Filled with now-familiar favorites, such as "Peach Boy" and "The Tongue-Cut Sparrow," along with lesser-known yet equally delightful tales, such as "Mr. Lucky Straw," this enduring collection presents 20 stories to enchant and enlighten young readers. Several of the tales can easily be compared with traditional Western counterparts: the main character in "Silly Saburo," for example, mirrors the follies of "Lazy Jack." Although a few of these tales have been made into fully illustrated picture books, this collection is greater than the sum of its parts. Minor text revisions have little effect on the stories, for the most part. "The Ogre and the Cock" has become "The Ogre and the Rooster," a "blue goblin" has been made over to green, and a formerly dead cat has been resuscitated and upgraded to merely "smelly." The text remains simple, clear, and accessible to beginning readers and storytellers alike. The "sparkling new color illustrations" are simply Kurosaki's original stylized scenes, repainted in bright dabs of watercolor. Most libraries will be glad to replace their well-worn older copies with this volume, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the fact that they are nearly identical inside.--Eve Ortega, Cypress Library, CA
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Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. This third edition, the fiftieth anniversary edition of a Japanese classic, has undergone minor cosmetic changes. The 20 stories remain intact, but color has been added to all of the pictures previously rendered in ink and wash. The pages are also slightly larger, allowing more white space. As with previous editions, sources are not cited and there is no index, but some of the stories, such as "Peach Boy," will be familiar to youngsters through American versions. This attractive new dressing should attract more children to the classic compilation of Japanese folklore. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804834490
• ISBN 13: 9780804834490
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Yoshisuke Kurosaki
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 112