この本は、とても面白くて、可愛いです。一郎は京子さんが好きです。でも、京こさんは知りません。
This book is easy to read and very interesting. I will recommend 1st-year Japanese students to read as it would be a great start for the yomu yomu project.
田舎のネズミと町のネズミ
この本はとてもおもしろくて、かわいいです！大すきです。ネズミは小さいですが、たくさん食べますよ！男の人は大きいです。ねこはしんせつじゃないです。こわいですね！田舎のネズミは田舎のうちがすきです。でも、まちのネズミはまちのうちがすきです。この本をよんでください！
This book was really cute, and a bit longer than the others, which I liked. The vocabulary were mostly things we know, but with a few new words that could be learned from context. It is based on an Aesop fable which is really cool since I read those a lot as a kid! It had a nice message about how what’s a perfect fit for someone, isn’t necessarily a perfect fit for everyone (and that’s ok!). Overall, I would recommend it for anyone just starting Japanese (first year, first semester).
きむらけの毎日 「けっこんしき」
きまらけさんのおばさんは、けっこんします。Kimurake and her family help prepare for and go to the wedding ceremony. The book explains several aspects of the traditional wedding ceremony such as the drinking of wine (おさけ） and the leaving of money as a gift at the table after the ceremony. There is a cute twist at the end where Kimurake’s parents forget to leave the money and are distraught, having to give the money later in person.
本は、とてもおもしろくて、たのしかったです。むずかしくなかったです。I would definitely recommend this book to level 1 Japanese students. It was a relatively quick read, with cute illustrations that help the reader understand the vocabulary. It was also really fun learning about a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony.
田舎のネズミと町のネズミ
この本は難しくないです、がやさしくないです。短いですよ。でも、可愛い絵たくさんあります。あたらしいぶんぽもちょっとあります。単語はちょっと難しいです。
I would recommend this book to japanese 110 students. There’s one or two simple grammar structures that may prove useful down the road. Also, since it’s a story a lot of people already know, the story is very easy to follow. But for the same reason, it isn’t extremely interesting.
どうしてエビの体は曲がった？どうしてねこ年がない？
この本はとてもおもしろくて、かわいいです。大好きです！
The book consists of two stories. The first one is why the shrimp’s body is not straight, and the second one is why there is no cat year. It’s so fun to know some Japanese traditional stories! There are some unknown words in the book, but I can figure out their meanings when I see pictures.
かさじぞう
おじいさんとおばあさんはおかねがありません。おじいさんはまちにかさをうりにいきます。でも、だれもかさをかいません。それから、おじいさんはじぞうのあたまに、かさおかぶせます。すぎのあさ、おじいさんとおばあさんはたべものおみつけます。
An old man and old woman are poor. The old man goes into the market to try and sell his umbrellas, but no one buys any. When he is walking home he sees the じぞう (Jizo statues) have snow on them so he puts the umbrellas on them and goes home. In the morning the old man and woman discover food outside their home. The じぞう must have left it as thanks.
I think this is a really interesting folk story within a graded reader. It gives good insight into Japanese culture. However, it is a rather difficult read for a first year first semester student. I would recommend this book if you are in your first year of Japanese and looking for a challenge. It would also be a good read for someone starting their second year of Japanese.
笠地蔵
This story gave me an at-home feeling. I felt like I wanted to curl up under the covers with a cup of hot chocolate by the fire. Sweet and straightforward, it wasn’t terribly difficult, and the illustrations blew me away.
I would definitely recommend this story to everyone taking Japanese. Because the plot is so cozy and soft, it won’t be frustrating to read. It felt special and made me grateful I was learning this language.
西町交番の良さーにわにわに？
私はこの本は大好きです、とても可愛いですから。良さんは可愛いです、にわはも可愛いです。この本はぜんぜん難しいじゃないです、優しです。漢字がたくさんありません。
This book is for Japanese 100 level students! There were some words in the book that we have not learned yet, but with the picture on the same page, it is very easy to understand what is going on in the story. I also like the drawing style a lot, it is very simple and cute! 🙂
東京の電車
一番好きな日本語の本です。漢字と文法はちょっとやさしかったです。でも、電車はとても面白いです。この本の会話は小さいですが、とてもか
わいいですね。
I was also drawn to the bright colours and the drawing-real life mix style in the book. It was also really interesting to see the train maps, and the little activities and interactions within the train were really lovely. I recommend this book to other JPN 110 students! We’ve learnt most of the kanji in the book by Chapter 6 and it is really interesting and easy to follow!
西町交番の良さん「 交番はどこ？」
この話は面白いです。良さんはとても優しいおまわりさんです。良さんは荷物を持って、おばあさんを家まで送りました。でも、交番に帰った時、良さんは道に迷いました。
Yes, I recommend this book to JPN110 students. The story is interesting and also helps students review the grammars learnt in class. There are some difficult kanji, but readers can still guess the meaning from illustrations.