Taro YashimaReseñas

A precious book that everyone can connect with, the impatience of a child, the sweet memory of a child taking another step toward independence.

Did it make me cry a little?

Perhaps.

Lovely story and illustrations about a small boy who is excluded by his classmates.

A lovely picture book about a boy who didn't connect with anyone over five years of school until a new teacher paid attention to who he'd been all along.

Crow Boy has the name of Chibi (Little One). No one in his class has reached out to him. He is different. He walks many miles to get to school. For six years he has walked, and he noticed is called when his class realizes they have bullied a boy who walks many miles, and he has a special talent. Over the years, he carefully listened to crows, noticing their many differences of their communications.

This is a story of a small boy who lives inside himself. He watches and listens, but finds it difficult to interact with others. Then, a wonderful, caring teacher introduced him to the class. He shared his special talent, and the students payed attention. He mimicked the voices of the crows from newly hatched, and the way they listen to their mother and father's voice. Crows cry when the village people are unhappy because of an accident. When others are happy, the crows are as well.

He was honored for perfect attendance throughout the entire six years of walking early in the morning through sunset. Now, no one called him Chibi, he was known as Crow Boy, and he was very happy that others liked him.

Written in 1955, this Caldecott award-winning book is a testimony to a teacher who made a difference. He spent many hours talking with Chibi, and became fascinated with his goodness, kindness and his connection with nature.

This book does not age well. For 1955 it is a great example of “own voices” but by today’s standards this book would be considered racist, ablest, and a host of other things. We do not even get to know Crow Boy’s name. Throughout the book he is called Chibi (Tiny one in Japanese), but no real name. He is the “other”. He is the silent kid in class who lives in his imagination. This book honestly makes me sad, especially as this was considered “progressive” for 1955. To me this is just, nope. It does not do well for today. For history, I get it, but I would not have this in my library today. #bannedBook

Umbrella is a story about a young girl named Momo. This story is about Momo's umbrella that she receives as a birthday present, and cannot wait to use. Momo is only three, and this book is written in her perspective when she is older. Momo talks about feeling impatient and excited about life. It is a humorous story about being young and wanting things to happen quickly. This is a great book to analyze, since there can be many ways for one to interpret this. This book would be great in a middle grades classroom, because it not only introduces Asian characters and culture, but can be used to create a lesson on analysis and perspective.

Soft, breezy illustrations have a calming effect on the reader. This is the story of a fisherman who was granted a trip to a magical world at the bottom of the sea, but he stayed too long. This book teaches that when good things happen, you must always remember where you came from.

This book is about a young boy who is not your average boy and faces some difficulties in school. The drawings in the book are quite unusual, but interesting to look at. This book can be used to discuss bullying in schools.

This book is about a young girl who is fascinated with her red rubber boots and umbrella. Wondering when she will get to wear them. At three years old, Momo got an umbrella and a pair of red boots for her birthday. She was very happy, and could barely wait to use them, especially the umbrella. But, that year, an Indian Summer was lingering over the city and no rain was in sight. Every day Momo looked for the rain but the rain still didn’t fall. Tired of waiting, she tried to use the umbrella because anyway. One day, the sun was bothering her eyes, but her mother told her to wait, for the rain will come one day. Another day, it was windy and Momo said that the umbrella would protect her eyes, but again, her mother asked her to be patient for the rain will come.

I would read this to my son.

This book would best fit 2nd grade and higher. Chilbi is a young boy who makes along journey to school everyday for the past 6 years. He had no friends and and was made fun of by the older boys. but one day he showed everyone at school all the sounds crows made from birth and throughout the day. he learned these callings by making the long journey everyday to school, when everyone found out what he did every day to and from school it brought tears to their eyes. He was later known by the town as Crow buy, which made him happy.

I really enjoyed the book, “Crow Boy”, because of the conflict resolution in the plot and the developed characters. The author wrote about a common issue in school, and it was easily relatable as a future educator. For example, he writes about a boy, Chibi, not fitting in well. The boy was constantly being teased, and he was portrayed as a loner. The boy’s school experience was negative, until his sixth-grade year. As the reader reads, it becomes clear that Chibi evolves as a character when his new teacher reaches out to him. The reader can see how one person can influence someone's life in a positive manner. His teacher’s kindness gave him the confidence to perform at the talent show. After his performance the students realize that Chibi does not have an easy life, and they began to be kind to him. The resolution of his teacher getting to know him gave the opportunity for other students to have empathy. Chibi’s character was developed and evolved by starting off as shy and a loner, but he becomes happy and well-liked by peers because of the positive relationship he built with his teacher. The big idea in this story is to be kind to everyone and anyone can have the power to impact someone’s life positively. The story will influence teachers and people to develop relationships with everyone.

This book wasn't one of my favorites. I do believe it does send a powerful message though. It is a great book to share with children about bullying. The main character Chibi is a young Japanese boy who is seen to be weird by his peers for being small and not very social. His peers would make fun of him or even just ignore his existence. It takes several years, actually his final year in grade school for someone to really notice his true value as a person. Mr. Isobe, Chibi's new teacher gave him a chance and was able to understand the child. After partaking in a talent show his peer's felt guilty for all the years they mistreated him. This story shows a underlying message to be accepting of all cultures and diversity. As a future teacher there will be many children from many backgrounds in my class. So it's important to be accepting of them all. We should teach our children to be accepting, get to know a person before you judge them. Chibi was this shy loner boy who flourished into a confident young man.

Story about a Japanese American girl living in New York who waits for a rainy day so she can use her umbrella. Not only is it the first day she gets to use the umbrella, it is also the first day she walks in the city without holding one of her parents' hand. Illustrations in this Caldecott honor recipient, while still nice and colorful, do not hold up well to today's standards. The author includes a few Japanese words and their translations for young readers.

In this book, Momo gets an umbrella and goes on an adventure with it. She got it on her 8th birthday and uses it on days where it rained and when it didn't. One of the things she enjoyed the most was the sound raindrops made when hitting the umbrella. Then she goes on to enjoy other tasks throughout her day like playing her xylophone.

Age: 3-8
Source: Pierce Library

momo gets an umbrella, uses it on days without rain. one day it rains and she used her umbrella. she makes music on her xylaphone using the sounds of the raindrops. she is older know and does not remember.

Ages: 3-5
Source: ECED classroom

An interesting story about a girl and her umbrella and how she wants to use it but she has to wait for the right weather. The little girl hears music from the raining retreats it at home with her own instrument. The girl ends up forgetting about the whole event both her parents remember to this day.

Ages:3-5
Source: Pierce college class room/ Angela for an example.

A story about a girl named Momo who gets an umbrella and wants to use it on days when it's not raining. The umbrella haunts her. Finally it rains and she gets to walk like a grown up lady and have a genuine umbrella experience. She makes music about the raindrop noises.

Many years later she has no recollection of this due to the ravages of time

Pompolo pompolo??

AGES: 3-5 or older
SOURCE: Angela's private collection

a book about a little girl and her day out and about. introduces different chinese information and cultures.
2 books

The book entitled, “Umbrella” is about a little girl that receives an umbrella and a pair of rain boots for her birthday. Her name is Momo, and in Japanese it means “peach.” All she wanted was to take her umbrella out on a rainy day to show it off. However, that rainy day took a long time to come. When it finally came, she hurried and put her rain boots on. While she walked down the street she said to herself, “I must walk straight, like a grown-up-lady!” Not only was it the first day that she used her umbrella, but she also walked alone without the help of her parents. Considering that Momo was only three years old, it was a huge milestone to be able to do things without the help of her parents. To her, this marked the start of independence. The illustrations in this book was not my favorite; the little girl looked dark and gloomy. This was a happy story so I cannot understand why the author would chose to illustrate it this way. However, the other pictures portray the happiness in the story. The umbrella teaches a Japanese American child what it means to be independent.

Umbrella is a cute story that children would enjoy hearing. I gave this book three stars because it can be hard to follow at times for young students because of the way it is written. However, the illustrations are very interesting and detailed, and the book will spark excellent conversations in the classroom.

Momo can't wait to use the red boots and umbrella she received on her birthday. All she needs now is a rainy day! Soft illustrations portray a thoughtful story about patience and growing independence.

Good theme of course, but it just didn't capture me at all, and I am not able to appreciate the artwork either. For example, if the theme supports the idea that everyone is special, why are all the other children anonymous blurs with missing features? And here's a discussion question - why did Chibi attend school all those years? He didn't learn anything academic - his talents relate to nature and creativity. I'm simply bemused.

Finally found a copy at WNC. I still can't bring myself to appreciate the style of the illustrations, but the story is just about perfect.

I certainly need my umbrella today! The wind must bother my eyes!"
"The wind might blow your umbrella away. Let's keep it for a rainy day."

'... raindrops were jumping all over, like the tiny people dancing.'

'Bon polo
bon polo
ponpolo ponpolo
ponpolo ponpolo
bolo bolo ponpolo
bolo bolo ponpolo
boto boto ponpolo
boto boto ponpolo'

'She did not forget her umbrella when her father came to take her home. She used to forget her mittens or her scarf so easily--but not her umbrella.'

"I must walk straight, like a grown-up lady!"

'Momo is a big girl now, and this is a story she does not remember at all. Does she remember or not, it was... the first day in her life that she walked alone, without holding either her mother's or her father's hand.'"

Momo receives a special gift for her birthday and cannot wait to use it, a pair of red boots and an umbrella. However, the rain did not come. Momo tries to convince her mother to let her use the umbrella because the sun and wind get in her eyes. Her mother declines. Finally, it rains and Momo is able to use the gifts. The rain hits the umbrella forming a musical onomatopoeia tune. This book is filled with Japanese symbols in the top left corner of the pages which is a delightful insight into the Japanese culture. The soft illustrations enhance the imagery and set a cheerful mood throughout the whole book.

A little girl is anxious about using her boots and umbrella she got for her birthday.

Ages 3-5