Songs, games, rhymes, and fingerplays, with instructions and background notes for each selection; also includes background on Japanese music and history.

Games, songs, rhymes, riddles, and even food-treats, with instructions and background notes for each selection; also includes background on Malay, Chinese and Tamil-Indian music and history.

**2012 Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award Winner!** A cultural adventure for kids, All About Japan offers a journey to a new place—and ways to bring it to life! Dive into stories, play some games from Japan, learn some Japanese songs. Two friends, a boy from the country and a girl from the city, take us on a tour of their beloved land through their eyes. They introduce us to their homes, families, favorite places, school life, holidays and more! Celebrate the cherry blossom festival Learn traditional Japanese songs and poems Make easy recipes like mochi (New Year's sweet rice cakes) and okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza or pancakes) Create origami frogs, samurai helmets and more! Beyond the fun and fascinating facts, you'll also learn about the spirit that makes Japan one-of-a-kind. This is a multicultural children's book for families to treasure together.

Games, songs, rhymes, riddles, and fingerplays, with instructions and background notes for each selection; also includes background on Chinese music and history.

Children's songs, singing games, and rhymes, with instructions and background notes for each selection; also includes background on Indian music and history.

Join one little boy and his family for two ballgames—on opposite sides of the world! You may know that baseball is the Great American Pastime, but did you know that it is also a beloved sport in Japan? Come along with one little boy and his grandfathers, one in America and one in Japan, as he learns about baseball and its rich, varying cultural traditions. This debut picture book from Aaron Meshon is a home run—don’t be surprised if the vivid illustrations and energetic text leave you shouting, “LET’S PLAY YAKYU!”

Alexander and his older sister Lulu visit Japan and discover many fascinating things including fish markets, outdoor baths, futons, and a frog who writes haiku.

Featuring choice selections from the core anthologies The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature: From Restoration to Occupation, 1868–1945, and The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature: From 1945 to the Present, this collection offers a concise yet remarkably rich introduction to the fiction, poetry, drama, and essays of Japan's modern encounter with the West. Spanning a period of exceptional invention and transition, this volume is not only a critical companion to courses on Japanese literary and intellectual development but also an essential reference for scholarship on Japanese history, culture, and interactions with the East and West. The first half covers the three major styles of literary expression that informed Japanese writing and performance in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: classical Japanese fiction and drama, Chinese poetry, and Western literary representation and cultural critique. Their juxtaposition brilliantly captures the social, intellectual, and political challenges shaping Japan during this period, particularly the rise of nationalism, the complex interaction between traditional and modern forces, and the encroachment of Western ideas and writing. The second half conveys the changes that have transformed Japan since the end of the Pacific War, such as the heady transition from poverty to prosperity, the friction between conflicting ideologies and political beliefs, and the growing influence of popular culture on the country's artistic and intellectual traditions. Featuring sensitive translations of works by Nagai Kafu, Natsume Soseki, Oe Kenzaburo, Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio, and many others, this anthology relates an essential portrait of Japan's dynamic modernization.

Japanese Festivals, known as Matsuri, are integral part of Japanese culture. Learn celebrations and seasons through 22 traditional and contemporary melodies and songs. Each song is written in Kana (Hiragana and Katakana), the romanization of Japanese, and the English translation. Includes pronunciation guide, English-Japanese glossary, and instructional and cultural notes. For all ages. Paperback book. 8.5"x 11". 32 pp. Songs include: 1. Haru ga Kita (Spring Has Come) 2. Ureshii Hinamatsuri (Happy Doll Festival) 3. Koinobori (Flying Carp) 4. Hanabi (Fireworks) 5. Kiku no Hana (Chrysanthemums) 6. Tako no Uta (Kite Song) 7. Jankenpon (Rock, Paper, Scissors) 8. Oshoogatsu (New Year's Day) 9. Usagi (Rabbit) 10. Oyako Donbori (Chicken and Egg in a Bowl) 11. Hitori, Futari (One Person, Two People) 12. Shabondama (Soap Bubbles) 13. Kata Tataki (Shoulder Patting) 14. Muramatsuri (Village Festival) 15. Onaka no Heru Uta (I'm Hungry Song) 16. Seikurabe (Who's Taller?) 17. Asa wa Doko Kara (Where does the Morning Come from?) 18. Momiji (Maple Leaf) 19. Furusato(Home) 20. Makkana Ohana no Tonakaisan (Red-Nosed Reindeer) 21. Shiawasenara Te o Tatakoo (If You're Happy, ...) 22. Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

Parents who come from different language backgrounds often hope that their children will be able to speak the languages of both their parents. In families where this is the goal, the 'one parent-one language' approach (Ronjat, 1913) is widely used. The 'one parent-one language' approach is relatively effective in promoting active bilingualism among young children in a society where there is little support for the minority language. However, there is a general perception that maintenance of the minority language into middle childhood and beyond is difficult as during this period children's contacts with the outside world expand and the input in the majority language increases. This book examines the sociolinguistic environment and the nature of parental input for children from Japanese-Australian families, who have been exposed to Japanese and English through the 'one parent-one language' approach in Australia. The research on which the book is based identifies factors which account for successful and unsuccessful cases of Japanese language maintenance of children from those families. The major part of this study involves discourse analysis of the conversations between four Japanese mothers and their primary school aged children based on audio-recordings over a period of 21 months. This qualitative approach is complemented by a quantitative study interviewing 25 Japanese mothers about their children's language experience.