Karate Kid, age 9, is interested in all things Japanese. While we’ve been touring Asia and Australia and the South Pacific, he’s been concentrating mostly on Japan and books set in Japan. Here are the books he’s read and his, mostly unedited, responses to them:
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy Hoobler
I was in a dark tunnel, creeping along, feeling my way through the cold passage. My name is Seikei, I am twelve years old. I dream of being a samurai, one of the legendary warriors. I was working for Judge Ooka, a samurai himself who was too big to fit into the small tunnel. . . I was searching for a ghost!
Takao and Grandfather’s Sword
There once was a boy named Takao who lived in Japan. He owned a sword that his grandfather had given to him. He didn’t know how much trouble he would get out of it. He would be in fires and cry. He would have dreams. He would . . .sell his sword???
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
This story is about a girl who lived in Japan and her name was Sadako. I really hate this story because she dies in the end. DO NOT READ IT.
I couldn’t leave the (few) spelling errors alone. I’m a bad typist, but a good speller, and I can’t leave misspelled words on my blog.
I feel the same way about Sadako and the Thousand paper Cranes. I abandoned the idea that it might make a good read-aloud for my Japan-obsessed kids when I actually pre-read it. Still a good story, but no way I could make it through the end without bawling.