Reviews (6)

Helpful
I have tried many different kinds of Japanese learning programs, but this has been the most useful so far. Although I would suggest getting a CD/Book if you don't hear Japanese often, this is a great starter program. It incorporates kana into the lessons, so you will learn also how to write.

I recommend it for all ages!

Great
I thought that this book was extraodinary! It helped me so much. The dialogue was awsome and the colorfull pages were great. I used all three books and now I speak Japanese fluently.

Learn Japanese
This book has been a guide for me through my studies of Japanese. The pictures are very colorful and helpful. The makers of this book have made up characters through which help to make the dialogue parts more intresting and comphrensable. Also through a mixture of english and hiragana, it is easy to understand while challenging you to learn hiragana at the same time. I highly recommend this book for children between the ages of 8-14, who are trying to learn japanese.

It's not that great
If you are looking for a book that helps you with Japanese grammar then this book is not for you. The book does not give in depth lessons and there are no english translations for sentences making it even more difficult to learn the language. The color pages is the only thing that is good about the book. I do not recommend this book for beginners, look elsewhere.

Really Helped!
I used this book to learn Japanese and it really helped! It makes it fast and quick to learn! ... Read more

Book Description

Created by leading educators, these colorful, large-size dictionaries introduce beginning language learners to more than 1,550 commonly taught basic words. Each Let's Learn Language Picture Dictionary in the series boasts 30 delightful two-page spreads that vividly illustrate the meanings of words. Fun-filled panoramas focus on scenes familiar to children aged three through eight, such as home life, the classroom, city life, sports, the zoo, and even outer space! Learners will love to revisit these detailed depictions of people, places, actions, and objects, each time improving their recall. Featured words are set off with individual illustrations and definitions to help learners at various levels build vocabulary. Includes an index and glossary of all the individually illustrated words. An ideal selection of first word books for parents and teachers who want to encourage second language acquisition.

Reviews (4)

Beginning Book
I got this book some years ago. I used it to name things in some of my pictures, but other than that, It's not very helpful to me. But I used this book for a while. But as I got more advanced in Japanese, the book was opened less. I'd recommend this book with another book or computer program, one that teaches simple sentences and also Hiragana, Katakana, and is you feel up to learning it, Kanji.

My First Japanese Dictionary. It Is Fantastic!
My mother is a Japanese and I am a Japanese American. She and I will be using this book to teach my son Japanese. The drawings in this book are very friendly. Kids have fun time reading this book.

We also use this book to teach adult students Japanese. Like the saying "pictures worth thousand words", the grown-ups also find the classes interesting when using material like this one.

One great thing about this book is that Kanji and English are also listed next to each picture. That is a big help for those who are serious about learning how to read and write Japanese...

We highly recommand this book.

Not what I expected.
This is actually a very well written and illustrated book. The problem is that I am a beginner. This book has hiragana, katakana, and kanji all mixed on the same pages. I am not quite ready for kanji. If you are, the book is perfect. For the true beginner, you may wish to hold off on this book until you learn hiragana and katakana in complete detail!

Japanese Picture Dictionary
This book is a necessity for any student of the Japanese language. Hundreds of words each have their own illustrations and most pages have large, beautiful composite drawings great for point 'n' mane practice. The subjects are very diverse and include "The Make-Believe Castle", "The Attic", and "The Mouse Hunt", which list some unusual and fun words. I might just need to say 'fairy princess' while in Japan, or reading manga. The book uses English, romanjij (Japanese words in the Roman alphabet), as well as kana and kanji (Japanese characters) so readers of any skill level can read and use the book. As a beginning student of the language, I found the multiple alphabet format used for each word very helpful. I enjoyed reading and learning from this book very much and I recommend it as an addition to any language student's or child's library. ... Read more

Book Description

Katie is a young American girl living in present-day Tokyo.One day, as she walks her dog, she meets Keiko, a young Japanese girl, and her brother Kenji.Together they explore the city and its surroundings as they teach each other the customs of their respective countries.Whether dining on soba (spaghetti), studying kana (the alphabet), or dancing at the Obon festival, the Tokyo friends discover just how much their two culture differ - and how much they are alike.

Vibrantly illustrated by the author, Tokyo Friends introduces young readers to Japanese traditions, customs, and the Languageuage by means of helpful English-Japanese glosses, which augment the delightful and lively narrative.Valuable as a beginner's guide to Japanese Languageuage and culture, Tokyo Friends is also an enchanting adventure for young readers. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great Book
I am a Japanese Chinese American. (Yes, we speak all three languages at home.) I like this book because
(1) it introduces people to Japanese traditions, customs, and the simple Japanese language (by English-Japanese glosses.)
(2) the drawings are excellent. They catch young readers' attention.

My mother, who is 100% Japanese, finds that some of the traditions and customs described in this book are in greater details. She says she doesn't even know some of the information listed. She still finds the book interesting, although she wouldn't recommand it to beginner readers (whom she recommands to get "1st Thousand Words Japanese" and "Let's Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary")

Great Children's book
I am not related to the author and I love this book. I am an expat living in Tokyo and have bought several copies as gifts for my children's friends back home in the States. It gives a nice comparision of typical American living and Japanese living through the eyes of childhood friends. It is a great way to show that although there are cultural difference, we are all friends. The illustrations are wonderful giving both the Japanese and English words for the items in the pictures. Simplistic, but cute.

Cute, funny, & beautifully illustrated!!
My name is Jennifer Reynolds, and I am the author's niece. Actually, the redheaded Katie character is based on me as a child! }:) This book is an EXCELLENT children's guide to Japanese culture...I know because I was there myself! This is a definite must-have for any young child who is either visiting or learning about Japan. The book is gorgeously illustrated w/ watercolour by my aunt, and is humourously written. This book is constantly sold out in Japan, so you'd better buy it here rite now! };) ... Read more

Reviews (5)

It's OK, not great
I would recommend this set only because good Japanese learning tools for young children are so hard to find. The adult singers are not native speakers; if you buy this, tell your little listeners to concentrate on the way the native children singers pronounce words. The English 'translations' are merely the usual English lyrics; many words have been altered in the Japanese to fit the rhyme and rhythm. For example, the last line of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' should be translated as "isn't it cute?" not "the lamb was sure to go."

Excellent
Familiar tunes and lovely singing (both in Japanese and English.)After we played this CD twice, my 2-year-old son has started to sing along and in Japanse.

His eyes lighted up when he first heard his favorite songs in a "new" language (Japanese is the 3rd languages my son is learning.We now have songs in all three languages!)

Music is a good way to get to know/learn a new language.It sort of take the fear away and get your all comfortable about learning new language.My family highly recommand "Teach Me Japanese (Paperback and Audio CD): A Musical Journey Through the Day" by Judy Mahoney.

Perfect for young children just learning English
They say it is best to teach children second languages as young as possible, and the best way to do that isn't necessarily to stumble through a foreign language ourselves.This is a fun, exciting way to get aquaintedwith Japanese, to open a new door in the young mind for the language. Mychildren, ages 6 and 3, love this tape, and are wearing it out.Within afew minutes they were picking up the lyrics in Japanese and relating themto English words too.Its fun for parents too.

This tape is designed for preschool - 1st grade only.
The songs are for preschool age children which my 5 year old daughter enjoyed, but the songbook does not have the English translation on the same page which makes it difficult to follow. My older children were notinterested in this tape at all.

Wonderfully fun and educational for infants to grade school
The tape has been enjoyed by both my infant and my second grader. Therepition in English and Japanese help older childern recognize and learnthe translations of familiar songs. The whole family enjoys it. ... Read more

Book Description

When people think of Japan, they think of an ancient land with temples and rock gardens, with eternal Mount Fuji brooding above the islands. But they also think of VCR's, bullet trains, and the high-tech neon clutter of Tokyo. Which is the real Japan? They are both real, both very much a part of modem Japan.

A to Zen opens up a series of windows that show young readers the broad sweep of Japanese culture. As the title suggests, letters play a part in the structure of this book, but this is not merely an alphabet book about Japan. Writer Ruth Wells has used the Roman alphabet like an adventurer uses a compass: the letters point the way to new frontiers and unexplored territory. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Living in Japan and need a present for someone?
This is a terrific gift book for friends leaving Japan. Printed from back to front, Japanese style, and colorful and full of fun things about Japan! We give these away to people leaving our school as this is such a neat memory of things around Japan!

Don Moisen ... Read more

Reviews (1)

My daughter's favorite book
My daughter is 2 1/2 years old. She wants to have it read to her every night before bed. It is a wonderful story about adding a new baby to the family. It would be a great resource for any parent needing help introducing the idea of a new baby brother or sister to a preschooler. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A sweet book
My 6 year old liked this book quite a bit. And so did my 8 year old.
I only don't like it's size,too tall to fit on any of my bookshelves, even taller then my typical tall children books.Such a nice book, but now it has no where to sit.

Which Ending Would You Choose?
Beautifully illustrated and thought evoking story which allows young readers (and their parents/teachers/siblings) to see what an impact different choices make in lives both factual and fictional.

Milo and his mice friends on their very special island find a mysterious stone and then need to decide what next step to take.Pfister gives a choice for the reader: happy ending or sad ending.Very clever and both endings should be read so that children can understand how choices build upon choices both in writing, creativity and in real life.

Great book for adults as well and Grandparents may want to keep a copy on hand for when their grand children come visit.

Helping kids to Write/ the concept of ending a story
This book so clearly shows students/children the effect the ending has on a story. It's great if you're teaching students or your own child how to write stories. Just reading it gives them perspective and, with each of their stories, they can write two different endings and choose the better one. This book is FANTASTIC! Get it!

Milo and the Magical Stones
Milo and his mice friends find some glowing, magical stones which led them into making a bad choice or a good choice.This book offers two different endings- a happy one or a sad one.This is a great story for all youngchildren to enjoy.Marcus Pfister's illustrations and texture on the pagescapture both children's eyes and hands.After reading the happy ending tomy kindergarten class, they could not wait to hear what happened in the sadending.I highly recommend this book.

A Real Page Turner for Children!
This is a great story to read out loud to a child at the end ofthe day.My kids couldn't wait to see if Milo and the other mice madea good choice or a bad choice in how to handle the magical stones.As a matter of fact, my kids (ages 10,9,and 6) made me go back and read the other ending right away.This book teaches a hard lesson about greed and covetousness without being too preachy.My kids were enthralled with the glowing stones, and the beautiful illustrations. This is a favorite book in our house - I would buy it for any child's library. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Helpful in orienting children to what life is like in Japan.
If you want your child to know what it's like being a child in Japan, this is a great reference.We are moving to Japan and I bought this book for my daughter because it contains common Japanese phrases (counting, months, greetings) that she needs to become familiar with.The colorful illustrations and rhyming phrases keep her attention and at the same time, reassure her that Japanese life (going to school, the park,playing) is not all that different than life in the U.S. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

My Son Loves This Book
A beautiful book. Great drawings, and the story is written in Japanese and English.

My son is 1 going to be 2 soon and we enjoy reading this book together. He talks about the book sometimes during the day, specially when we walk in the park. He says "grandpa in the tree." I know he is talking about this book ... ... Read more

Book Description

A middle-aged businessman reliving a murderous punch-up that happened in his youth; a chatterbox bar girl cheerfully describing her involvement in a customer's fantasy life; a novelist puzzling over an obsession with tree shadows; and a scholar dabbling irresponsibly in the biography of a famous modern poet.

This is the rich and varied world into which you are invited, a world of only half-solved puzzles for its inhabitants: the scholar, for example, discovers a tragedy in his own past in place of the impersonal facts he sought; the novelist, in his search for the origins of his strange preoccupation, encounters a woman who improbably claims to be his mother. It is a world of brilliant surfaces: satirical, at times to the point of parody; incisive, at times to the point of cruelty. A world also of sudden depths, the mind at last confronting truths it prefers not to acknowledge.

These two short stories and two novellas ("Tree Shadows" was awarded the 1988 Kawabata Prize) make up the second volume of Maruya's fiction to appear in English. His novel Singular Rebellion was acclaimed internationally as "a superb piece of urban fiction." This new collection should serve both to confirm his reputation and to give readers a better idea of the scope of his writing.

Here is a writer who not only sees the profoundly comic side of human life, but subtly reveals--without resorting to that aggressive sentimentalism which makes some Japanese literature so hard for Western readers to take--its pathos: the fact that we are all emigrants from a past we remember only too little of. It haunts us, and we try to reconstruct it, but most of what is important in it escapes us.

When Singular Rebellion appeared, Anthony Burgess generously hailed Maruya as a major comic novelist. With this second volume, the limitation of the word "comic" may, we believe, be dispensed with. Maruya's later A Mature Woman has gone one step further to confirm his reputation. ... Read more

Book Description

Lars, the little polar bear, is always ready for adventure. And no matter where his travels take him, Lars makes new friends. Now, fans of this beloved character can recreate their favorite Little Polar Bear adventures and invent new stories of their own. This fun, interactive sticker book includes ten scenes from Hans de Beer's original picture books and features more than 75 full-color stickers of Lars and his many friends. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Lovely story with wonderful illustrations
I love reading The Little Polar Bear ~~ it's a darling story about a little polar bear who gets separated from his dad while learning how to hunt. And Lars ends up traveling halfway around the world before he landed on a tropical beach.

For the first time in his life, he sees something different from his icy homeland ~~ trees, different animals and even a chamelon. He makes friends with Henry, the hippomatous. And through Henry, he finds his way home.

The illustrations are among the best. I just love looking at the pictures (so do my babies!) and the story is fun to read. It's a true adventure story guaranteed to get your kid's attention.

1-12-04

Little Polar Bear
Little Polar Bear is a very cute story, of a young polar bear named Lars, who was out with his father learning how to hunt.But as the night went on he drifted off to sleep, and something unexpected happened.This thing that happened to Lars taught him about new surroundings, and taught him new things he didnt know.He met some new friends, that he will never forget.

Yes, I would recommend this book becuase of the amazing things Lars goes through with the help of some new friends.There are some parts in the story that will make you smile and laugh.

My favorite book when i was little
I love this book!!The illustrations are wonderful and they always captured my attention.The story is of a little polar bear, Lars who goes on an adventure away from his clean, white home in the North Pole.He makes a new friend, who helps him on his adventure.

I still love this book. I take it babysitting with me sometimes, and all the kids have liked it too.

lars the polar bear
This book is a delightful childrens book about a little polar bear who loves adventure.Lars spends the day fishing with his dad and then they go off to sleep.During their rest the ice cracks and father and son become separated.Lars drifts away, arrives in a new land and is suddenly met by a huge hippo...read on to find out what happens to Lars and if how he meets back up with his dad.Short and sweet, aand a nice book to intorduce children to polar bears and the north pole.

A Bear is going around the world
After now knowing Lars the little Polar Bear for more than 10 years in Germany, was I more than delighted to find also an English translationg to give to my cousins 2 year old daughter in CA.

What wonderful stories these are, about nature, friendship and courage.
The coloring is extraodinary, like each book from the north south publishing company. Each edition a treasure.

A great book to share a new story with your children.
Though sadly enough the new movie starring Lars the Polar Bear seems to be not available in the US. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

You can't help but love this book!
This is a great book for kids who carry around a ratty, old, worn out, and much loved stuffed animal.My son could identify with so many of Davy's feelings. Davy and his family show they care for one another in many different ways.My husband loves to read this book. ... Read more

Book Description

In Adventures in Japanese Level 2, students begin to use Japanese in their own community, such as at a Japanese restaurant, speaking with a Japanese student, at a part-time job, or when giving directions. As in Level 1, topics that are part of students’ daily school life are included. Romanization is no longer used, and at the completion of this level, students will have learned 113 kanji. Widely adopted at junior and senior high schools across the U.S. because of its effectiveness, Adventures in Japanese is a user-friendly but comprehensive course that incorporates textbooks, student workbooks, kana workbooks and flashcards, teacher’s handbooks and audio CDs for a complete and enjoyable introduction to the Japanese language. The title of the series implies fun, and the books’ lively illustrations and vivid explanations make language learning enjoyable for students. Speaking, listening, reading and writing are equally stressed throughout, and Cultural Notes make important points about Japanese culture and language use. A Fun Corner--with various culturally related activities from making onigiri (riceballs) to learning Japanese songs--increases the sense of exploration and adventure, and a Japanese Culture Corner feature provides cultural topics for students to explore in depth and compare with their own culture. ... Read more