Rating: Very Good
Houghton Mifflin, 2009, $17.00
ISBN: 9780618889334
Age/Grade Level: Grades 1-3
Allen Say once again tells a touching story of Japan, with stunning illustrations to match. When Erika was a child she looked at a painting of a tea house in Japan and fell in love. Though she is not Japanese, she was inspired and set her life to learning Japanese language and culture. Fast forward through colege and Erika is off to Japan where she finds a teaching position in a small village and makes a home in the very tea house from the painting. This is an interesting story about respecting cultures and what it means to belong to a group of people. Cataloging describes this book as a 'love story,' which is true both between Erika and her fellow Japanese teacher, Aki, and between Erika and Japanese culture.
Reviewer: Jacqueline Overlid, Orange County Public Library/Villa Park
