Multicultural Children's Book

Kamishibai Man
Written and Illustrated by Allen Say
Houghton Mifflin Company Boston
ISBN13: 978-0-618-47954-2

"Come gather around me, little ones, your kamishibai man in here again!" CLACK, CLACK!

Long ago, in Japan in the 1930's Kamishibai is said to be a part of a long tradition of storytelling. Children will love to learn about this inspirational tradition that happened in another country. This wonderful story is about an older couple who did not have any kids of their own. They would call each other Jiichan for Grandpa, and Baachan for Grandma. Jiiachan decides to take a bicycle trip back to the city to tell his stories to children once again. But some time has passed and things look quite different now. Cities have gotten bigger that the noise has gotten louder. He packs his wooden box that hold sweets for the children who listen to his stories. His wife Baachan makes them homemade for him. With his wooden blocks he clacks them together and yells, "Come gather around me, little ones, your kamishibai man is her again!" The children gather and listen to his stories that he eagerly tells. The children listen and then get treats after the story is told.

As time goes on, technology starts to blossom and television starts to emerge. The tale of how a older man deals with time going by and traditions coming to an end is a sad tale but also an inspiration to hear about. This book deals with a wonderful tradition that has such history. Kamishibai is known as the poor man's theatre and started to emerge in the 1930's. When Japan was experiencing financial hardship, the kamishibai theatre brought entertainment to people who had nothing going on in their lives. These theatre's could be transformed into any type of area like bomb shelters and devastated neighborhoods.

Children will learn not only a little history, but how traditions hold such importance in our lives.