Japanese Tadoku Books by Students
Smith College Tadoku Project
とてもいい本でしたよ！ちしきとれきしがたくさんあって、面白かったです。いろいろな時代の着物があって、きれいな絵もありました。私はこの本を読んでよかったです。れきしが大好きで、楽しかったです。
I would definitely recommend this book! The explanations were very interesting, and the only difficult bits were the words/kanji for specific parts of the kimono. I had a lot of fun reading it, and I think others would enjoy it too.
その本わたのしいとかわいいです。 キャラクターの猿さんはおもしろい、さかなをもらうがへたです。 キャラクターのクラゲさんはしんせつ、はなすがすきです。 本はなにも難しです。 でも、なにもやさしです。
“Why is the Monkey’t Tail Short? Why does the Jellyfish Have No Bones” was a good book to start out with for me, as someone who is not yet complete with the Genki 1 textbook. The story started out pretty simply with the tale of the monkey, but got more advanced with the second story. Lots of new kanji is present, but there is always furigana to help the reader understand. Context from the pictures also can really help when trying to understand new vocab. I would recommend it to others in the same stage of learning as me.
スーラ デミア （１１３）
この本は楽しかったと思います。タイトルのジョンさんはよくバスを乗りますが、いろいろな時、面白いもんだいてんがあります。私は早く読んで、わらいました。でも、文はとてもみじかくて、かんたんで、私は難しい文がほしいでした。
I would recommend this book. The kanji were very simple, and all of them had furigana, so there shouldn’t be any problems on that front. The story itself was light and funny. Give it a whirl!
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.
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.
ふるいはなしのがだいすきだから、この本を見て読みたかったです。この本は一休さんの話を三つです。一休さんはとても有名なおぼうさんでした。この本は一休さんの子供の時の話です。子供の時、一休さんはとてもあたまがいい子供でした。一休さんは寺に住んでいました。お坊さんになりますから。さいしょうの話はみずあめにすいてでした。二番の話はとらとしょうぐんにすいてでした。そして、さいごの話は一番上のおぼうさんの友だちにすいてでした。とてもたのしくて、おもしろかったです。日本のれきしの人はとてもおもしろいと思います。レベル二の本ですが、あまりむずかしくないと思います。さいしょうのページはちょっとむずかしかったですが、話はやさしかったです。とてもいい本です。