Japanese Celebrations: Cherry Blossoms, Lanterns and Stars!

by Betty Reynolds

This multicultural children's book is full of Japanese holidays, culture, language and stories!

The people of Japan love to celebrate. In fact, they love it so much they have a day of celebration, whether it's a change in season, a religious observance, or just a special moment in life, every month of the year. Brimming with ancient traditions, exotic decorations, and delicious, seasonal foods, Japanese Celebrations will take you on a month-by-month tour of some of Japan's best-loved festivals.
Beautifully illustrated and full of fascinating facts about Japanese holidays and celebrations, this 48-page picture book offers a vivid picture of some of Japan's most festive events including New Year's, Children's Day, Cherry Blossom Season, Harvest Moon Viewing, Christmas in Japan and much more.

With simple but informative text and illustrations that explain the significance of the dress, decoration, food, gifts and activities associated with these events, Japanese Celebrations promises to delight and educate young readers and parents alike.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, Childrens, Holiday, Travel, Picture Books, Asia

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2006

Reviews

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

** Books 307 - 2016 **

3,2 of 5 stars!

This books help us to know more about every japanese celebration in a year. My favorite? Bon odori and also Hanami! XD

Thankyou Bookmate!

[Jasmine Na · Rating 4 out of 5]

Betty Reynolds wrote and illustrated "Japanese Celebrations: Cherry Blossom, Lanterns and Stars!". It is an informational non-fiction book about different celebrations that happen year around in Japan. It is a bilingual book that shares food, clothes, games, and traditions of the Japanese Culture. The author is not Japanese, however, the book is dedicated to her friends in Japan that shared the culture with her to create this book. This shows that the author does have factual information of the culture and it does not have any stereotypes because this is a non-fiction book. The culture is shown appropriately in a non bias way. The illustrations are detailed as well. The pictures follow along with the book and readers can tell that the author and illustrator took time to study the culture to create this book. Overall, I believe readers can learn a lot about Japanese celebrations and have a good start in to the Japanese culture with this book.

[Rachel Detzler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially picked up this book because the kiddos on the cover look pretty much exactly like what my brother and I looked like as children. The illustrations were very cute, showing various traditional foods and objects with the term for it in hiragana and romaji --but the hiragana and romaji did not always match up which I found odd. One part of the book even had the completely wrong hiragana over the romaji. I would really only recommend this book for the illustrations.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew there were a lot of holidays, but I only knew a few by name. My favorite is the baby's ceremonial first meal. When a baby is 100 days old, the family goes out for a meal and puts one grain of rice in the baby's mouth. :)

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw this cover, I couldn't help but laugh because it looked exactly like me and my brother when we were little.

I was born and raised in Japan, and this book made me feel very nostalgic for my childhood, and it gave me a very warm feeling.

In Japan, there are many seasonal events throughout the year.

This picture book focuses on Japanese holidays and explains the traditional costumes, food, gifts, and meanings of the events along with illustrations.

Although Japan became internationalized with the arrival of Western culture in the Meiji era (140 years ago) and a way of living has changed, the unique Japanese culture still remains.

Japanese are good at mixing foreign cultures and creating something completely new, while preserving Japan's unique traditions.

For example, Western-style toilets were updated with flush toilet seats, strawberry shortcake was replaced with sponge cake, and Napolitan spaghetti was created by the cafe.

The Japanese archipelago is made up of many ethnic groups from the continent and Southeast Asia, all of whom have become indigenous and created a culture unique to Japan.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow! This book delves into the holidays and celebrations throughout the year in Japanese culture: Children's Day, Doll Festival, New Year, Buddha's Birthday and many more!

This is a great resource for teaching kids and anyone who wants to learn more about Japanese culture, language, crafts, activities, and gives realistic and energetic views on these celebrations!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can recommend this book to anyone who is interested in our culture.This type of books can be out of date or full of misinterpretation,but this one is good!
I read this to my kids who are half Japanese but have few knowledge about Japanese culture.
Beautiful illustration and fun to read.

[RatedTSM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, but certainly not worth the price. All of this info could’ve been found online for free. Plus, she forgot some holidays like Constitution Day, or Japanese Thanksgiving among others.

[Taun · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little difficult to read via the tablet. Some interesting information on the culture, nothing too in depth.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can almost always find a festival or celebration in Japan:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/fe...

[Jose Juan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reader is introduced to different celebrations that happen throughout the year in the Japanese culture. Some of the traditional Japanese celebrations include; Buddha’s Baptism, the Doll Festival, and the Bean Throwing Ceremony. There are also activities in this book for children to join in on the celebration.
I have been to Japan 5 times. I have witness some of the celebrations that the book mentions like Kekkon-shiki (weddings). These weddings are very elegant and traditional. Matsuri are festivals that happen during the summer. People are very happy during this time of year. Tanabata was also a festival that I witness while I was visiting. This is the Star Festival that happens on July 7th. My favorite experience in Japan was visiting different temples through out the country. One thing that was not mention in this book is Mt. Fuji. I heard that it is one of the most important trips for a Japanese person to take in their life time.

The illustrations are colorful cartoon like and capture the Japanese culture well. Hiragana, which are basic Japanese symbols, are used through out the book.

[MAILA · Rating 4 out of 5]

salah satu keinginan Maila yang ingin dan wajib dilaksanakan: melihat festival kembang api di musim panas!

semoga bisa terkabul ya Allah :3

***

buku ini berisi tentang perayaan-perayaan yang ada di Jepang. Di deskripsikan dalam bentuk ilustrasi yang lucu-lucu dan bikin gemas banget. hampir semua perayaan yang disebutkan disini sudah saya ketahui semua karena sering muncul di cerita dalam komik maupun drama Jepang.

paling saya suka dan ingin saya alami langsung: festival kembang api di musim panas (hana bi), turnamen Sumo (hatsubasho), perayaan kedewasaan saat berusia 20 tahun (seijin no-hi), melihat bunga sakura! (hanami), dan tanabata.

AH JADI PENGEN KE JEPANG T_T

[Xiaohui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reynolds gives us a book tour of the best-loved Japanese traditional festivals and other happy events. Among all the beautiful and detailed illustrations, there are even instructions on how to make traditional paper dolls! As a big fan for Japanese traditions like Erika, I am dying to own this book!

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the order in which they are celebrated during the year, presents traditional Japanese holidays and festivals, introducing the foods, dress, gifts, decorations, and activities associated with each. www.hcpl.net

Well written book.

[sarafem · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about traditional Japanese celebrations.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a little too much explanatory text, plus the text was small. Since we know about Japan, we just discussed the illustrations. (The illustrations are wonderful.)

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn't seem like a terribly informative book.

[Brittany Schaefer]

I loved reading this book because i got to learn about the Japanese celebrations, and the illustrations were cool too.