Natsumi!

I am a preschool teacher and I love this book (so do the children!). It is relatable and promotes healthy emotional situations. Young children really love realistic stories (more than fantasy type stories in my experience) and this one is perfect. The way it is written is developmentally appropriate for Pre-K and Kinder. I used to live in Tokyo for many years and I can say the Japanese cultural elements are spot on. My Japanese co-teacher also had no issues with it. Try this in your classroom or home to expose your child to another culture, or introduce their Japanese heritage, while meeting a very relatable, fun little girl, Natsumi!

What a sweet story to add to our percussion unit!

This is a wonderful story and well illustrated. My little one loves it and always asks to read Natsumi! at bed time. It’s a special book because it’s one of the only Japanese child books in English my family has found in the US. We cannot say enough good things. I hope others enjoy it as much as we have, and take a chance on it.

Cute story about being happy with who you are! I bought this for my two year old daughter. I feel it’s important that children know it’s okay to be different from others, that’s what makes us special.

It’s a cute story about being yourself and marching to the beat of your own drum. I felt it lacked a bit in the storyline, and it didn’t keep my 3.5 year old interested. The illustrations are lovely. We received this in our Amazon Book Box that is curated for 2-4 year olds, but I think it’s best suited for the next age group.

Adorable story of encouragement. Well told with an uplifting ending that admittedly had me a bit choked up. Beautiful, colorful, inviting illustrations perfectly compliment the story. There is also a sprinkling of humor throughout, that will definitely have young kids giggling. Follow along with Natsumi and her T-Rex, if you can find him. Wonderful story featuring generations of family, community and cultural traditions.

This book has such cute illustrations, realistic feelings, and a wonderful message about the value of kids and their interests.

At first, my six year old daughter was noisy and energetic and I had no idea what to do to get her to conform to society's expectations. After reading this book, I realized that it is not it was not my daughter who had to conform to what society wanted. Society had to conform to HER. We need more Natsumis in the word. More importantly, we need more people like her grandfather who understand her and allow for opportunities for girls like Natsumi to harness their energy in positive and productive ways.