Reading Level: 8+

"Eight-year-old Japanese-American Jasmine Toguchi is tired of having to follow in the footsteps of her older sister, Sophie, who gets to do everything first.

The extended Toguchi family gathers each year to celebrate New Year’s Day. Some, like mean cousin Eddie and his family, just have to drive down from San Francisco. But beloved Obaachan flies all the way from Hiroshima, Japan. Sophie and Eddie, being the older cousins, are excited about the roles they will play this year, namely to help out with the preparations for mochi, a sweet and sticky rice dessert that traditionally is pounded by the men of the family and shaped by the women. This strikes Jasmine as unfair, so she sets out to prove to her family that she is strong enough to join in the task herself. She takes it upon herself to strengthen her muscles with weight lifting (with the baby cousins!) and hanging by her arms, but nothing seems to work. It’s a thin plotline with little tension, but to populate it, Florence paints a lovely picture of a warm, extended family whose members truly care about one another and take each other seriously. Black-and-white sketches, liberally sprinkled through 13 short, easy-to-read chapters, help make the story understandable for the newest readers. Children looking for a window into a Japanese-American family and its New Year’s customs will surely find one here. Book 2, Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth, publishes simultaneously and perhaps will more fully develop its plot now that this effort has introduced the characters. A recipe for mochi is included.

New readers thirsty for series fiction will look forward to more stories about Jasmine and her family. (Fiction. 5-9)" www.kirkusreviews.com

Nice early chapter book about being frustrated at the limits of what age you are at, and about important Japanese American family traditions. ( )

Inside look at an eight year old girl on Japanese New year

As a family prepares to celebrate Japanese New Year, Jasmine so wants to join the women and make mochi with them. Short of that, she devises a plan (that requires some muscles) and does get involved with the over ten relatives for a short time, but not with the women and girls. Ten is the magic age! Before that, Jasmine must babysit the little kids. Told from
Jasmine’s viewpoint, children will relate to wanting to be older and do special work. Delightful story. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 2-5

Plot Summary: Jasmine wants more than anything to help her family make mochi for the New Year. It's a two day process and her grandma comes in from Japan to help make the special treat and celebrate the new year. Her older sister is finally able to help now that she's 10. At 8, Jasmine knows she is ready and waiting two more years with the younger cousins is NOT an option. After much planning, she figures out how she wants to do it. Not working with the girls on rolling the mochi, but working with the boys on pounding the rice. She just needs to build up her arm muscles and convince her family to let her. Will she succeed?

Setting: US

Characters:
has a bully cousin

Recurring Themes: family, New Year, traditions, gender roles, strength, bully

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Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: quick, medium-low amount of action
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