Basho and the River Stones is a folktale that is dedicated to Basho who was the most famous Poet in Japan and creator of Haiku Poems. This story about trickery, forgiveness and how when you do good, good comes back to you. This is a great story to read when teaching about Japan, Poems (Haiku) and kindness and forgiveness. This would be great for 4-5th graders. ( )

The great poet Basho is tricked by a magical fox who transforms itself into a wandering priest in order to win the poet's delicious cherries. But things aren't always what they seem, and there's even more trickery than magic afoot!

Good story but incredibly too long for storytime. Fox outfoxes a poet, tricking him into signing a contract, promising all of his cherries. But then fox learns the error of his ways, he learns to appreciate the beauty in simple things. Chinese folktale. ( )

This story is a modern take on ancient Japanese folklore, and is a tribute to Basho, Japan’s most famous poet and the creator of the Haiku poem. In the story, Basho lives in the forest, where he shares the fruit of a cherry tree with the magical foxes that live nearby. One fox tries to trick him out of his share of cherries by magically turning stones into gold coins, but his trick backfires when Basho finds more worth and inspiration in the stones themselves than when he thought they were coins. As shame overwhelms the fox, he must find a way to make it right with the wise poet. The theme here is about finding beauty in the natural world, without getting caught up in material wealth, and there are elements of Japanese culture throughout the book. ( )

I read this book to second grade to connect with their classroom learning on haikus and Japanese culture. The children enjoy the trickery in the story and identifying the haikus incorporated into the text. Illustrations are detailed and richly colorful. Several Japanese words are woven into the story and the author's note provides biographical information on the Japanese poet, Basho. ( )