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SNOW MONKEYS AND CRANES OF JAPAN

For Kids

Buddha Stories

Buddha Stories


by Demi

  • RELIGION
  • 1997
  • HARD COVER
  • 32 PAGES
  • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8)

Intended for ages 4 to 8, this book tells 10 of the author's favorite "jakatas," or moral tales of the Buddha. She has sumptuously illustrated the volume in gold printed on deep, dark blue (in the tradition of an ancient Buddhist text). (ASA16, $23.99)

Grass Sandals, The Travels of Basho

Grass Sandals, The Travels of Basho


by Dawnine Spivak | Demi

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 40 PAGES
  • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8)

A beautiful picture book based on the travel journals of the haiku poet Basho. The story communicates the simplicity of Basho's life and much of the ethos of daily life in old Japan. (JPN97, $18.99)

Buddha

Buddha


by Demi

  • RELIGION
  • 1996
  • HARD COVER
  • 48 PAGES
  • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)

Beautiful, intricately detailed, full-color illustrations make this life of the Buddha an excellent choice for children. Intended for children age 7-10. (ASA17, $21.99)

Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun


by Rhoda Blumberg

  • HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES
  • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)

A nonfiction account of Matthew Perry's pivotal expedition to 1850s Japan. (JPN98, $9.99)

One Day in Japan with Hokusai


by Christopher Wynne | Julia Altmann

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2001
  • HARD COVER
  • 30 PAGES
  • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)

Hokusai, an old man when this story unfolds, tells his grandkids about his life as an artist. (JPN103, $14.95)

Shipwrecked! The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy

Shipwrecked! The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy


by Rhoda Blumberg

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 80 PAGES
  • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)

The fascinating life story of Manjiro, a boy from Nakahama who was rescued from death by an American whaling crew and in 1843 became the first Japanese person to enter the United States. (JPN104, $8.99)

The Big Wave

The Big Wave


by Pearl Buck

  • LITERATURE
  • 1986
  • PAPER
  • 57 PAGES
  • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)

Pearl S. Buck's children's classic, in which a Japanese boy escapes a tidal wave that destroys the rest of his village. Ages 9-12. (JPN96, $4.99)

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn


by Dorothy Hoobler

  • MYSTERY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)

A mystery set in Tokugawa-period Japan, in which a teenage boy investigates a robbery and learns much about the ways of samurai. The authors include lots of detail about the historical period, and the mystery is quite gripping. Geared for ages 9-12. (JPN184, $6.99)

The Old Man Mad About Drawing, A Tale of Hokusai

The Old Man Mad About Drawing, A Tale of Hokusai


by Francois Place

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2004
  • HARD COVER
  • 108 PAGES
  • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12)

Exuberant watercolors decorate and illuminate every page in this lovely tale of young orphan Tojiro and his apprenticeship to the master engraver -- a vibrant introduction to the art and daily life of late 19th-century Japan. (JPN134, $19.95)

Now and Zen

Now and Zen


by Linda Gerber

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES
  • YOUNG ADULTS

In the seventh book in the Students Across the Seven Seas series, Nori studies in Japan to rediscover her Japanese heritage, but winds up posing as a local to impress a cute German student. (JPN205, $7.99)

The Ink-Keeper's Apprentice

The Ink-Keeper's Apprentice


by Allen Say

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 160 PAGES
  • YOUNG ADULTS

Living on his own in postwar Japan, a determined young boy from an aristocratic family apprentices himself to one of Japan's foremost cartoonists, in an autobiographical novel by the Caldecott Medalist of Grandfather's Journey. (JPN212, $7.99)

The Master Puppeteer

The Master Puppeteer


by Katherine Paterson

  • LITERATURE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES
  • YOUNG ADULTS

Set in samurai-era Osaka, this National Book Award-winning novel tells the story of a young apprentice puppetmaker and his hero, a bandit who steals rice from the rich to feed the poor. The book is jammed with adventure, danger, and details about 18th century Japan and Japanese theatre. (JPN183, $5.99)

Japanese Tales

Japanese Tales


by Royall Tyler

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 340 PAGES
  • FAMILY

A fine collection of Japanese tales throughout the ages. (JPN95, $19.95)

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter


by Yasunari Kawabata | Masayuki Miyata | Donald Keene

  • LITERATURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 180 PAGES
  • FAMILY

A classic Japanese fairy tale about love between humans and spirits, here retold by Kawabata and accompanied by stunning illustrations. (JPN207, $35.00)

 

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.