• 5 Star Reads
  • Audiobooks
  • Books on Screen
  • Children’s Books
  • Christian
  • Fiction
  • Giveaways

5 Minutes For Books

  • Home
  • About
    • Who Are We? Reviewer Bios
    • 5 Star Reads
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
  • Join In
    • 5 Minutes for Books Bookclub
    • Children’s Classics
    • Kids’ Picks
    • What’s on Your Nightstand
  • Link To Us
  • Contact
    • Advertise

K is for Kabuki

October 16, 2009 by Carrie

The creators of the States Alphabet Books have released a few new titles for your reading pleasure. These two books focus specifically on the country and culture of Japan.

The first book is K is for Kabuki: A Japan Alphabet and is part of Sleeping Bear Press‘ Discover the World series. Just like the state books, this book takes you on a tour of the country through the letters of the alphabet. Along the way you learn lots of interesting facts. The most interesting letter/fact for me was “M” which stands for Manga. Manga is the Japanese word for comics and are highly sought after for entertainment purposes by the people in Japan. Manga are apparently so popular that they make up 22% of all printed material in the country! That’s pretty impressive.

There is a lot to learn from this book, including which letter of our alphabet is not found in theirs. Can you take a guess at which of the 26 letters of the alphabet does not appear in the Japanese language? Hmm, look it up and see for yourself!

Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers is a story about a young girl named Yuki who travels from Kyoto to Edo. From the introduction:

“In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the provincial governors of Japan were required by law to spend half of their time in Kyoto, the home of hte emperor and the imperial court, and half of their time in Edo (today’s Tokyo), Japan’s political center, ruled by the shogun. The 300-mile road between Kyoto and Edo went over mountains and along the sea.”

This story talks about the journey of the young girl, Yuki, whose father is a provincial governor. One thousand men come along to help Yuki and her family move between the two cities. For lack of a better term, Yuki keeps a “diary” of the trip in the form of haikus, which she writes every day. Both the telling of the story is lyrical and moving, as is the artwork by Yan Nascimbene. The reader really does feel transported to a different point in time in reading the words and looking at the pictures. This book was very intriguing.

If you are interested in learning more about Japan and it’s people and culture, you might care to start with these two books. They really stand out as being unique.

To learn more about the Discover the World series, visit the website.

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know.

Filed Under: Carrie, Children's Books, Easy Readers, Middle Grade Chapter Books

« Calling all Monsters!
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress »

Comments

  1. Dawn says

    October 16, 2009 at 9:24 pm

    I also have two books by Gloria Whelan, and I’m hugely impressed with her ability to represent a wide variety of cultures and settings with such clarity and beauty.

  2. Amy says

    October 19, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    Hmmm. .. these would’ve been great for us a few weeks ago. I’ll have to see if our library has them.

  3. Amy says

    October 19, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    Oh, I missed that the second book is by Gloria Whelan. I read Homeless Bird waaaaay back in library school, and I LOVED it. I’ve reviewed a couple of her books on my blog. Here’ s a link, just in case anyone is interested—> http://hopeistheword.wordpress.com/?s=whelan%2C+gloria

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Welcome to 5 Minutes for Books. We are a team blog dedicated to sharing reviews and information about children's lit, fiction, memoir, and more. Read More…

Reviews

5 Minutes for Books

Jennifer Donovan
Managing Editor

MEET OUR TEAM



Connect With Us


Pinterest

Community

Cybils Logo Draft 3

Disclosure:

Find out about our relationships with publishers and affiliate networks in our full disclosure statement.

Recent Posts

  • Gillespie Field Groove
  • If I Had a Hammer
  • Hyphenated Relations
  • The Vanishing at Castle Moreau
  • Tending the Fire that Burns at the Center of the World

Categories

Privacy Policy    |     Disclosure Policy
Terms & Conditions
© 5 Minutes for Mom

Let’s Socialize

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Pinterest is Our FAVORITE!

Find and Follow Us at
pinterest.com/5min4books

Copyright © 2023 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316