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Singing Shijimi Clams
Take one older, not-so-wicked-anymore witch, add a slightly grumpy cat, and one large bucket of singing shijimi clams, and what you do NOT end up with, (no matter how hungry you are), is miso soup with clams. What you DO end up with is plain miso soup. What you end up with is a quiet, delicately illustrated tale of another country. What you end up with is a friendship that needs determination, ingenuity, and kindness - but no translation.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 6, 2025
An elderly witch and her cat companion find themselves reluctant to kill and eat the clams they bring home for soup in this Japanese picture book from author/illustrator Naomi Kojima. After all, the little creatures can speak—and sing, it later transpires—which makes it difficult to harm them. Eventually they decide to return their cute little captives to the sea, but realize they don't have the money for the fare. It is while busking to raise the funds that the musical talents of these mollusks is revealed. When the plan eventually succeeds, and the clams are set free, what will the witch and her cat do then...?
Originally published in Japan as うたうしじみ ("Utau Shijimi"), Singing Shijimi Clams is a book that I discovered through my perpetual hunt for new or new-to-me witchy picture books—a pet project of mine. I was not familiar with Naomi Kojima's work before seeking it out, but I will certainly now track more of it down! I found the story engaging and sweet, and the black-and-white line drawing illustrations appealing, in a subtle, understated way. Unsurprisingly, given my fondness for cats, I appreciated the witch's feline companion, who ends up being as kindhearted as she is. Recommended to picture book audiences looking for witchy stories with a somewhat quirky sensibility—it has singing clams!—or for Japanese tales in translation.
Originally published in Japan as うたうしじみ ("Utau Shijimi"), Singing Shijimi Clams is a book that I discovered through my perpetual hunt for new or new-to-me witchy picture books—a pet project of mine. I was not familiar with Naomi Kojima's work before seeking it out, but I will certainly now track more of it down! I found the story engaging and sweet, and the black-and-white line drawing illustrations appealing, in a subtle, understated way. Unsurprisingly, given my fondness for cats, I appreciated the witch's feline companion, who ends up being as kindhearted as she is. Recommended to picture book audiences looking for witchy stories with a somewhat quirky sensibility—it has singing clams!—or for Japanese tales in translation.
January 3, 2008
A retired witch faces the omnivore's dilemna.
September 7, 2021
This book appeared on my porch recently. I am a very fortunate lady. This happens to me quite often. I have no idea who dropped it off, but I love this story, and I cannot wait to share it.
The story begins, "Once upon a time, there lived a witch." Immediately all children's minds begin to conjure an old, ugly, green, big-nosed, wart-ridden, mean lady. Because that's how books go, it then goes on to say that, "When she was younger she was a mean and feisty witch...but now...her sparks were gone, and she was simply miserable." And we're curious! What!? What on Earth, then, is going to be the point of this story?
So, we read on. The witch goes to the store and buys some clams. She plans on making some miso and clam soup for her supper. She prepares the broth and gets ready to put the clams in but can't bear to wake the sleeping shijimi.
The next night, her cat- who had been annoyed with her for not cooking them the night before, also had trouble sticking them in the pot of boiling miso.
That evening, while the witch and the cat slept, the clams awoke, making sounds "like lots of tiny popping bubbles" that called the household's attention. The clams were upset they had been taken from their homes. The witch, despite all her poverty and her grumpiness, offered to take them home.
The group of them work together, busking the clams beautiful singing voices, to collect enough money to get the witch, the cat, and the bowl of shijimi clams back to the beach. This was no small feat, and the determination they approach the problem with is commendable (and maybe a little laughable.) When they have enough money at long last, the crew get on the train and travel with heavy hearts knowing the time to say goodbye is nigh.
However, once they arrive, the clams beg the witch and her cat to stay and live with them on the beach, and they do!
The delicate, sparse language and simplicity of the drawings in this book lend themselves to its message- that a thing does not need to be loud, big, colorful, or demanding to be heard and appreciated. That all things living may have desires and hope. And while a person has the power to squash or destroy, they also have the power to support and fortify another's existence.
As I mentioned, the illustrations are simple. Black and white line drawings. But within those simple drawings, we see tiny changes in the facial expressions of the characters. The witch's mouth turns from tight pursed lips to relaxed, toothy smiles. The clams who began sleeping grew eyebrows giving them a joyous and excited air. Even the cat started to smile!
As a lifelong vegetarian, I absolutely understood the witch's discomfort with cooking the clams. This position is not one you find very often in stories, especially for children. Most of the books that discuss eating animals assume the food pyramid as the leg on which they stand. Or at least in the US. Perhaps it is more common in stories written in Japan (as this one was.)
The story begins, "Once upon a time, there lived a witch." Immediately all children's minds begin to conjure an old, ugly, green, big-nosed, wart-ridden, mean lady. Because that's how books go, it then goes on to say that, "When she was younger she was a mean and feisty witch...but now...her sparks were gone, and she was simply miserable." And we're curious! What!? What on Earth, then, is going to be the point of this story?
So, we read on. The witch goes to the store and buys some clams. She plans on making some miso and clam soup for her supper. She prepares the broth and gets ready to put the clams in but can't bear to wake the sleeping shijimi.
The next night, her cat- who had been annoyed with her for not cooking them the night before, also had trouble sticking them in the pot of boiling miso.
That evening, while the witch and the cat slept, the clams awoke, making sounds "like lots of tiny popping bubbles" that called the household's attention. The clams were upset they had been taken from their homes. The witch, despite all her poverty and her grumpiness, offered to take them home.
The group of them work together, busking the clams beautiful singing voices, to collect enough money to get the witch, the cat, and the bowl of shijimi clams back to the beach. This was no small feat, and the determination they approach the problem with is commendable (and maybe a little laughable.) When they have enough money at long last, the crew get on the train and travel with heavy hearts knowing the time to say goodbye is nigh.
However, once they arrive, the clams beg the witch and her cat to stay and live with them on the beach, and they do!
The delicate, sparse language and simplicity of the drawings in this book lend themselves to its message- that a thing does not need to be loud, big, colorful, or demanding to be heard and appreciated. That all things living may have desires and hope. And while a person has the power to squash or destroy, they also have the power to support and fortify another's existence.
As I mentioned, the illustrations are simple. Black and white line drawings. But within those simple drawings, we see tiny changes in the facial expressions of the characters. The witch's mouth turns from tight pursed lips to relaxed, toothy smiles. The clams who began sleeping grew eyebrows giving them a joyous and excited air. Even the cat started to smile!
As a lifelong vegetarian, I absolutely understood the witch's discomfort with cooking the clams. This position is not one you find very often in stories, especially for children. Most of the books that discuss eating animals assume the food pyramid as the leg on which they stand. Or at least in the US. Perhaps it is more common in stories written in Japan (as this one was.)
July 20, 2013
In my capacity as an underling/library grunt, I run across too many books that scream, "READ ME! NOW!" Some of these are adult books, but many of them are also children's stories. Which category of reading material has the most enticing covers? No, not food magazines... although they are a reasonable contender. No--kids' books!
That is how this little volume sucked me in. The illustrations are not big, bright, and showy, but merely black on white line drawings. Delightful, quirky, evocative line drawings....
Because of the small pictures and longer-than-usual text, this one is probably not suitable for public Story Time readings. It is, however, a perfect little story to read to one or two children at a time. The tale of the much-mellowed old witch, her "grumpy" cat, and a bowl full of happy clams--yes, this is the one time you'll meet the proverbial happy clam--is piquant but sweet, and includes a little surprise twist at the end that should please nearly every young reader.
Thank you to the library patron who returned this little gem on my shift!
That is how this little volume sucked me in. The illustrations are not big, bright, and showy, but merely black on white line drawings. Delightful, quirky, evocative line drawings....
Because of the small pictures and longer-than-usual text, this one is probably not suitable for public Story Time readings. It is, however, a perfect little story to read to one or two children at a time. The tale of the much-mellowed old witch, her "grumpy" cat, and a bowl full of happy clams--yes, this is the one time you'll meet the proverbial happy clam--is piquant but sweet, and includes a little surprise twist at the end that should please nearly every young reader.
Thank you to the library patron who returned this little gem on my shift!
July 4, 2011
What a strange little story! I think Natalie summed it up very succinctly with her review, but I will put my (slightly) more verbose thoughts here as well. An old witch finds herself unable to kill clams for her supper, as does her cat. Our oldest is already on the brink of becoming a vegetarian, and I wouldn't be surprised if this turns her off of eating meat, at least for awhile. Even I found myself feeling sorry for the poor little clams, as delicious as they might be. In any case, this was a fun little story, with entertaining and expressive illustrations and we enjoyed reading it together.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews