木村家の毎日

面白い書ですね!木村家はとても親切ですね〜お母さんは料理するのが上手だと思います。てんぷらはおいしいですよ。

Yes, I recommend this book to all first year students! It is a story about one meal of a warm Japanese family. It is not too hard. We can see how they use short form in daily life and see some everyday Japanese that we did not learn in class.

ジョンさんの夏休み

夏休みだったから、ジョンさんは東京から仙台に行ってホームステイをしました。仙台でたくさんしました。ジョンさんはいろいろな人に会いました。ジョンさんもはなびを見て七夕祭りの日をいわいました。ジョンさんの夏休みはとてもおもしろくて楽しかったと思います。

I would definitely recommend this book to classmates who are interested in learning about home stays in Japan and Japanese cultural holidays like the Tanabata Festival and its customs. It is also very funny too, like when John mistakes Mori-san for a woman, or when John mixes up “to” and “from” on his address label! Overall, it was very nice to read about the welcoming environment John encounters through his home stay with Mori-san’s family during his summer break.

 

チーズスイートホーム

chi

私はチーがとてもかわいいと思ったから、この漫画を選びました。ある日、チーは道に迷いました。色々な所に行って家族を探しましたが、チーのママはどこにも見つかりませんでした。 ヨウヘイはチーを見つけて、家に連れて帰りました。 それから、チーは新しい家族と一緒に住んでいます。

私が一番好きだった所は、お父さんがチーを動物病院に連れて行ってから、お父さんのことを好きになる様に努力した所です。私はお父さんがかわいそうだと思いました。

I recommend this book to everyone because it’s a very light read, with more pictures than words. The kanji isn’t that difficult and there’s always hiragana next to it. It took me a while to realize that ヨウヘイand チー speak in “baby talk”, so some words I had to pronounce out loud to understand (whoops). The story plot itself is very interesting and funny, so I’m probably going to continue reading the next volume!

北欧女子オーサが見つけた日本の不思議

これはオーサ·イェークストロムというスウェーデンから日本に来た女の人が自分のブログで描いた4コママンガを集めて作った本です。二冊があります。一冊目にはシェアハウスのことどか日本語を勉強することどか色々な面白いことが描いてある。日本に生活している日常をよく紹介しているから、読むと日本文化を理解するのに効果的だと思います。そして二冊目には日本に来た友達のことと自分が漫画家としてデビューすることについて話しています。

I would recommend this series to anyone who want to know more about Japanese culture and Japanese daily life, and who want to experience a “culture shock” maybe. The vocabularies and expressions are easy and with the pictures I think first-year student can understand it easily.Nordic Girl AsaIMG_7144

寿司 ・ 女の子

IMG_7146

寿司 talks about the history of sushi. It explores how sushi became a national dish for Japan. Not only that, it also touches upon how there is a variety of sushi and how one can make sushi conveniently at home.

女の子 starts out a little sad actually. The story is about a lonely girl who is trying to adjust to her new life in the city. She doesn’t talk much throughout the story, but you can tell that she is a character with many insights to the world.

I would recommend both of these books. Starting out in level 0, I never expected myself to be able to transition so smoothly when I started reading these two books. The kanji were not so difficult at all although you may have to look up some of the characters. The pictures made it easier for me to understand the stories. Both books are children friendly and have happy endings. If you’re thinking about making a jump from level 0 on the Japanese Graded Reader series, I would recommend you to consider these choices since the length of both stories are neither overwhelming or underwhelming.

だいず

level0_vol1_daizu

This book is about the certain types of dishes and flavorings that you can make out of soybeans. In だいず, we learn about how each dish is created from soy step by step.  During Setsubun, the Japanese throwing festival that usually occurs either every February 3rd or 4th, there is a custom that involves throwing roasted soybeans in order to prevent evil spirits from coming into the house.

I would recommend this story to students who have taken at least one semester of Japanese in college. It is for readers who want to know more about what is part of the Japanese diet. Honestly, reading this book made me a bit hungry!

さくら

Sample review 1

level 0, vol 1, sakura
level 0, vol 1, sakura

さくらは、きれいですね。日本のはなみは、歌ったり、おどったり、食べたりして、とてもたのしそうです。私も春、さくらの下で、はなみがしたいです。友だちをさそって、サンドウィッチとクッキーを持っていこうと思います。

Yes, I recommend this book!  The story is easy to follow.  There is no difficult Kanji.  You can learn some fun Japanese spring traditions.