Book Review: Grandfather's Journey

We are getting really excited about visiting Washington, DC in a few weeks to take in the beauty of the blossoming cherry trees. In anticipation of that I thought we would spend a little time with the girls talking about Japan and I wanted to share a children’s book with you that we have read before and we are reading again. It is a fiction book but shares accurate information about both Japan and the US. In 1994 it won the Caldecott Medal and is still as relevant today as it was then. Wait until you see the pictures!  

Grandfather’s Journey is a story told by the Japanese American grandson of a man who traveled across the sea to explore the United States. As a result his grandfather fell in love with the US yet his unwavering love for his home country never left him. The boy tells the story of the adventures his grandfather shared with him and in doing so fell in love the U.S. as well and followed in his footsteps by traveling abroad.  

I don’t want to give away the whole story because you will enjoy it along with your kids but what I will say is that the book really spoke to my heart. What spoke to my heart most was the grandfather’s love of learning about the world around him both near and far. Passing that along for generations to come is an important part of teaching our kids to love. Love people that are alike and different from us and ultimately loving ourselves. Without love for others how can we truly love ourselves? When we love and serve someone else it does something in us that is far better than anything we can receive. We must know what other’s pain and pleasure is in order to love them.

This book is definitely worth a read and as it did with my kids it will bring about some wonderfully rich conversations about travel and cultural diversity.  It is great for any ages.  If you have a younger child just looking at the pictures and talking about them would be interesting for them.  With older children reading the text is wonderful and will start lots of great conversations if you ask some open-ended questions.

I think you will really enjoy this book a lot!  Let me know what you thought!

Let me know if you have read this book and what you thought. Also, do you have any suggestions on other books both fiction and non-fiction that could help us in ignite interest in Japanese culture?