Japan has a long history of weird and supernatural literature, but it has been introduced into English only haphazardly until now. The first volume of a 3-volume anthology covering over two centuries of kaiki literature, including both short stories and manga, from Ueda Akinari's Ugetsu Monogatari of 1776 to Kyogoku Natsuhiko's modern interpretations of popular tales. Selected and with commentary by Higashi Masao, a recognized researcher and author in the field, the series systemizes and introduces the scope of the field and helps establish it as a genre of its own. This first volume presents a variety of work focusing on pre-modern Japan, and includes one manga.

“The vivid, brilliant illustrations bring this simple pourquoi tale to life in a highly engaging way,” from the author of Sun and Moon Sisters (School Library Journal). Cloud Princess lives high in the sky, together with Miss Sun and Miss Moon, but she wants to discover what life on Earth is like. So one day she drifts down to Earth and sees the cars and the flowers and the people that live there. Unfortunately, sinking down to Earth sparks a curious change in her—she begins to turn into water! She dashes back to her home in the sky, but loved Earth so much that she visits every Spring—and brings the rain along with her. “Le’s illustrations are absolutely stunning, filled with vibrant colors and movement as the Cloud Princess explores. The title character is ethereal yet relatable. Her cloud-hair is delightfully voluminous; her face expresses her initial loneliness and then her curiosity and wonder. The plot has the gentle simplicity characteristic of folktales. The book provides an excellent springboard for discussion about storytelling and how cultures through the ages have used stories to explain their observations of the natural world.” —School Library Journal “All the sweet expressions and softly variegated colors throughout create delicate visual harmonies. There’s lots of eye candy in individual scenes.” —Kirkus Reviews

A delightful picture book about a wonderfully wet walk. Simple text and colourful illustrations introduce the science of rain to very young children. This is a highly illustrated ebook that can only be read on the Kindle Fire or other tablet.

"Spring is full of new life- young animals are born and new plants grow. People look forward to warmer days to come. See how the weather in spring changes!"--Back cover.

Born in 1908, Niccolo Tucci is the author of six books (three in Italian, three in English). He first became known in America for his articles and stories published in various leading periodicals--among them Partisan Review, Harper's, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker. The Rain Came Last is the first collection of Tucci's English-language stories to be published. Mary McCarthy remarks in her introduction that the material Tucci delineates lies "somewhere between excruciated memory and 'happy' invention." He writes of his childhood and adolescence in the remote Tuscany countryside where his family lived, dislocated from its grand and opulent past. Later, in a different dislocation, Tucci's stories spring from his urbane and bohemian adult years in Manhattan, to which he emigrated in the 1930s. Very few other writers for whom English was not a native language have adopted and adapted it in so masterly and personal a fashion--Conrad and Nabokov among the rare exceptions. "He is," comments Mary McCarthy, "an international man, a very unusual thing, and it is that perhaps that has put and kept him in a class by himself."

Spring is in the air! Bear, Bird, and Mouse are all excited that winter snows are melting away, but their friend Rabbit is not. There are too many things about winter that Rabbit adores, and spring just seems to spell trouble. His friends offer an abundance of reasons to love spring and the changing seasons, but will Rabbit listen? Daniel Kirk has written a lively and humorous tale with the gentle message that change can be fun.

New York Times bestselling author Todd Parr captures the beauty of Spring with his signature blend of kid-friendly art and text in this sweet book about the wonders of a season. Birds are singing and everyone is sneezing because Spring is here! The Spring Book captures a variety of moments that encompasses this season. From rolling down hills or dancing in the rain, to celebrating mothers and honoring heroes everywhere, Todd Parr shows readers with simplicity and universal accessibility the delights of Spring.

First published in 1776, the nine gothic tales in this collection are Japan's finest and most celebrated examples of the literature of the occult. They subtly merge the world of reason with the realm of the uncanny and exemplify the period's fascination with the strange and the grotesque. They were also the inspiration for Mizoguchi Kenji's brilliant 1953 film Ugetsu. The title Ugetsu monogatari (literally "rain-moon tales") alludes to the belief that mysterious beings appear on cloudy, rainy nights and in mornings with a lingering moon. In "Shiramine," the vengeful ghost of the former emperor Sutoku reassumes the role of king; in "The Chrysanthemum Vow," a faithful revenant fulfills a promise; "The Kibitsu Cauldron" tells a tale of spirit possession; and in "The Carp of My Dreams," a man straddles the boundaries between human and animal and between the waking world and the world of dreams. The remaining stories feature demons, fiends, goblins, strange dreams, and other manifestations beyond all logic and common sense. The eerie beauty of this masterpiece owes to Akinari's masterful combination of words and phrases from Japanese classics with creatures from Chinese and Japanese fiction and lore. Along with The Tale of Genji and The Tales of the Heike, Tales of Moonlight and Rain has become a timeless work of great significance. This new translation, by a noted translator and scholar, skillfully maintains the allure and complexity of Akinari's original prose.

Spring is sloppy, so raindroppy! So begins this celebration of the season.