From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3–
Mayumie is excited about going someplace special with her grandmother. As they set off on their journey, she cannot guess where they are headed. It isn't to the zoo, or a museum, or shopping. They travel by train, and she realizes that they are going to Tokyo. After one failed guess after another, she begins to sulk. Finally they arrive at a small park where rows and rows of beautiful cherry trees are blossoming in a symphony of bright pink. Her grandmother says that when she was a girl, her own grandmother brought her here, and she returns year after year during the week the trees are in bloom. Mayumie goes home with a few blossoms as reminders of the special place, and goes to sleep dreaming of the falling flowers.
The pale blue boxes of text, set along the outer edge of an otherwise blank white page, resemble lovely scrolls. The soft watercolors that complete the spreads have a dreamlike quality. The pink blossom-filled trees resemble cotton candy rather than individual flowers in all but one scene, and the ethnicity of the characters is not obvious from the undefined, hazy art.
Purchase as needed.–DeAnn Okamura,
San Anselmo Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description:
What is more fun than the zoo, more beautiful than the shrine, and prettier than the neon lights of Tokyo? Mayumie and her Grandmother are taking a train ride into the heart of the biggest city in Japan to see something special, but Grandmother won’t say what it is.
Mayumie tries to guess what this special place might be, but the excitement of taking a train and seeing the lights of the big city are almost thrilling enough. Finally, they turn down a quiet street in the middle of the city and find what Grandmother has been looking for: a grove of Japanese cherry trees, all in blossom.
This touching story of a little girl’s outing with her grandmother takes place in modern-day Japan, where cherry trees bloom for one week every spring. With text simple enough for the youngest readers, author Jennifer Reed captures the excitement and wonder of a little girl’s day in the big city, while Illustrator Dick Cole’s watercolors complement both the serenity and animation of Tokyo in the springtime.
Mayumie tries to guess what this special place might be, but the excitement of taking a train and seeing the lights of the big city are almost thrilling enough. Finally, they turn down a quiet street in the middle of the city and find what Grandmother has been looking for: a grove of Japanese cherry trees, all in blossom.
This touching story of a little girl’s outing with her grandmother takes place in modern-day Japan, where cherry trees bloom for one week every spring. With text simple enough for the youngest readers, author Jennifer Reed captures the excitement and wonder of a little girl’s day in the big city, while Illustrator Dick Cole’s watercolors complement both the serenity and animation of Tokyo in the springtime.
2 Comments on FRIENDSHIP WEEK: "Falling Flowers", last added: 2/17/2009
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Another great sounding childrens' book!
Marvin
Thanks. It is a good choice.
Shari