Words to Make a Friend: A Story in Japanese and English
by Donna Jo Napoli (Author) Naoko Stoop (Illustrator)
A clever and innovative bilingual English/Japanese picture book about a Japanese girl and an American girl who prove you don't need to speak the same language to understand each other.
When a young Japanese girl moves into her new house, she is happy to see a girl her age playing in the snow just outside her window. The only problem is the Japanese girl doesn't speak English and the American girl doesn't speak Japanese. How will these two girls have any fun at all? As it turns out, it's not that hard when both girls are looking for a friend! What starts with a simple hello and konnichiwa becomes a day filled with fun in the snow.
Each girl's love of play, snow, and making a new friend transcends the need to speak the same language, and by using simple words in their own languages, along with a bit of charades, the girls find they have all they need to build a snow creature. An important book to show children that speaking the same language isn't a prerequisite to making a new friend.
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ALA/Booklist
This sweet read about finding a sense of belonging in a new place emphasizes openhearted friendship and how learning and teaching a language can build connection. A great choice for group storytimes or one-on-one reading.
Copyright 2021 Booklist, LLC Used with permission.
Publishers Weekly
Spare, dialogue-only text by Napoli allows Stoop's detailed textural vignettes, done in mixed media on plywood and finished digitally, to take center stage in this simple yet heartwarming picture book, showcasing two children bridging the language barrier on a snowy day. As a Japanese child in a Fair Isle sweater unpacks boxes in a new bedroom, they see a brown-skinned child in a light fuchsia puffer coat running out into the falling snow outside. After the first child dons snow gear as well, an enchanting spread surveys the duo from above as they approach each other over a layered white expanse of snow. Color-coded speech bubbles distinguish Japanese words, including "Konnichiwa," "Gojira," and various onomatopoeia, from their English counterparts as the duo builds a snow creature--and a friendship--in this sweet bilingual tale. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)
Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV011020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Asian American
Picture books
United States
Bilingual
Snow
Picture books for children
Japanese
Communication
Japanese language
Japanese language materials
