Jiro-San spends most of his time sitting on the beach listening to the wind and waiting. He later reveals that he makes friends with all the sea animals or when the sea turtles make their way on shore.

This book is based on a true story about a boy named Taro, who spots an old man, named Jiro-San sitting on the beach. The old man tells Taro that his friends, the Japanese Sea Turtles are ready to come lay their eggs on the beach, so Taro and his sister help Jiro-San prepare the beach for them. I would read this to a 3rd grade classroom (8-9 years old). I found this book at the Pierce College library in the ECE department.

There are many hidden facts about the turtles in this book that can help the students determine the importance of the book. The book talks about friendship are good details for the students to pull out.

This is a story that starts out one way and goes in another direction. It is a good book to help the children think and the ending isn't nearly as expected as one may think. What starts out as one man cleaning the beach turns into three unlikely friends making sure that all the baby turtles make it into the water. I would read this book with first grade. It has a lot of details but it is also short to keep them engaged for a developmental appropriate age.