An American sailor courts a young Japanese woman and each tries, in secret, to learn the other's way of eating.
read full description
reviews
Jun 29, 2010
Kathryn
rated it: 
This is a wonderful story to show that the way people EAT food is so much a part of their culture. The little girl in the story has a Japanese mom and an American dad and she explains that sometimes they eat with chopsticks and sometimes with knives and forks. She goes on to explain about how her parents met and that they were always too nervous to go out to dinner together because he couldn't eat with chopsticks and she couldn't use a knife and fork so they weren't sure which restaurant they
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 28, 2010
Ch_ebonysmith
rated it: 
A young girl tells the story of how her parents learned to eat. One may be puzzled by the title. It is actually a very interesting story about how her American dad, a sailor, and Japanese mother, a student, met in Japan. While stationed in Yokohama, her parents met and would walk in the park together and talked, but never did he invite her to dinner. He was afraid to eat in front of her because he did not know how to eat with chopsticks. He was not the only one who had doubts about his eating.
More...
May 14, 2011
Kelly
rated it: 
Allen Say is often my go-to guy for high quality children's literature relating Japanese and Japanese-American stories in a rich, personal way that avoids tokenizing folks or cultural differences and instead highlights human stories in a Japanese or Japanese-American context. His illustrations of Friedman's text are lovely and are what my students' most strongly connected with.
Many of my students connected with the story -- identifying aspects of their family life that are grounded di More...
Many of my students connected with the story -- identifying aspects of their family life that are grounded di More...
Jul 26, 2010
Dolly
rated it:
I've read this book before, but I cannot remember when; likely before I started keeping track on Goodreads. It's a sweet tale, one of cultural differences and a willingness to learn something new, braving looking foolish, all in the name of love. Our girls really liked this book and although we are not a multicultural family, they can relate to the young girl in the story as we also eat some meals with chopsticks and others with a fork and knife. And having spent four years living in Japan, w
More...
Apr 04, 2011
Hye
rated it:
I thought this book was pretty good. It talks about a girl who is half white and half Japanese. The story starts from how her mother and father met and how they got married. The dad was worried about eating with chopsticks and mom was worried about eating with knife and fork. They both practice and finally get to eat together and get married. The little girl can use both chopsticks and fork. It nicely portrays how two person from different culture and still love each other. It was very sweet and
More...
Feb 11, 2011
Emma
rated it:
How my Parents Learned to Eat is a hilarious, unbelievable, crazy story of a misunderstanding. Some would call it a literal disaster. Two people in love, a Japanese woman, and an American man. What's wrong with this picture? Both are afraid to ask the other to dinner because they don't know how to eat each others way! The woman has to learn how to eat with a knife and fork, and the man has to eat with chopsticks. Told in the best way possible, here it is, How my Parents Learned to Eat.
Apr 04, 2009
Snorkle
rated it: 
I liked the premise of this story, but I didn't think the actual storytelling of it was as interesting. It was a little wordy for a child's picture book, I don't know if it would hold their attention. The story had a couple parts that I thought were a little unrealistic, but they didn't damper the plot much. I probably wouldn't recommend this book, only because it just didn't do anything for me.
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009/03... More...
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009/03... More...
Apr 28, 2010
Mallori
rated it:
Summary: This book is about a little girl who has an American father and a Japanese mother. They met while her father was overseas as an American sailor. Throughout the book, the two individuals learn how to eat according to a different culture.
Reading Level: ages 7-9
Genre: Picture Book
Uses: Guided Reading, Independent Reading, Read-Aloud, Shared Reading
Social Issues: This is a great book to introduce children to diverse families. Children need to More...
Reading Level: ages 7-9
Genre: Picture Book
Uses: Guided Reading, Independent Reading, Read-Aloud, Shared Reading
Social Issues: This is a great book to introduce children to diverse families. Children need to More...
Nov 22, 2011
gina
rated it:
I was a little disappointed in the shallowness of this childrens book. Really, they were afraid to get married because they didn't know how to use chopsticks/forks. Um. Okay, I don't have kids, but I know lots of kids and having been one myself... I can honestly say I'd never want to read something so stupid to my kid. I really prefer children's books that are honest and don't dumb down or teach shallowness to kids. Good god.
Nov 09, 2010
Richard
rated it:
I think this book is really interesting because I was amazed to see how hard they were trying to impress each other by trying to learn to eat like one another ,to get ready for their first dinner date. I thought it was shameful for them to go out for so long and not been to dinner with each other. It was pretty funny to see how they tried to learn to eat like each other to save themselves from embarrassment.
Nov 09, 2010
The book How My Parents Learned To Eat By Ina R. Friedman has two main characters name john a american sailor and aiko a japanese school girl. they both liked each other but john was afraid to invite aiko for dinner because he didn't know how to eat with chopsticks and aiko was wondering why john didn't ask her to dinner but then she realized she didn't know how to eat with knives and forks
Jun 07, 2009
Lesley
rated it:
This is an endearing story of how an American sailor and a Japanese schoolgirl learn to eat with the other's utensils. I enjoyed hearing how both of them, behind the other's back, sought advice so that they could share a meal together and make the other feel more comfortable. I enjoyed the illustrations too, and have become a fan of Allen Say's work.
Sep 07, 2010
Deanna
rated it:
I remember seeing this book on The Reading Rainbow when I was a child! It is a wonderful story of how two very different cultures eat. I think the story could have left more room for the readers to approach the book critically. For instance, why do they use chopsticks...why do they use knives and forks...what is the origin of these tools, etc.
May 18, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
I could read this story over and over. It's wonderfully romantic. As usual, Allen Say's illustrations are perfect.
Our library system catalogs this title as juvenile fiction rather than as a picture book. It's definitely long and probably more interesting/suitable for older readers.
Our library system catalogs this title as juvenile fiction rather than as a picture book. It's definitely long and probably more interesting/suitable for older readers.
Feb 10, 2011
Courtney
rated it:
This book is great for talking to students about different cultures. When I started reading this book i found that someone had read this book to me when I was little. I really enjoyed the illustrations in this story and how they brought the words to life.
May 11, 2009
Molly
rated it:
I have used this for years for mutlicultural projects. Nice story about love and a willingness to learn something new for them. Kinda like I am learning about superheros and lloyd is learning about pez. AGes 4+
Jan 12, 2010
Lidra
rated it:
This book is good for children, the story is told by a little girls who is telling of when and how her parents met and how they got through their culture differences with how their culture eats food.
Apr 11, 2011
Alana
rated it:
I liked that this book was told from a child's perspective. This would be great to include in any classroom library, and effective in acknowledging the diversity of different families.
Apr 07, 2011
Shuntia
rated it:
This is a delightful book that tells the story of how two people met. I would read this book to students who families are different (interracial, single parent, etc).
Nov 09, 2010
Sinigdhab
rated it:
it teaches that don't give up when you are learning something. It also shows that you need to have braveness,hope and strength to accomplish something.
Nov 09, 2010
Charlene
rated it:
This book is a really neat book because it tells you about how to people from different word's meet and can not eat like each other
Jan 29, 2011
Angie
rated it:
Funny look into how people are unsure of each other at the beginning of a relationship. Good illustrations.
Nov 09, 2010
Krishen
rated it:
I didn't enjoy reading this book with my book club because I found the book very boring and predictable.
Aug 25, 2010
Mekia
rated it:
An american sailor and Japanese girl try to find out each other's way of eating.
Feb 24, 2009
Susan
rated it:
I found this in my library today and HAD to eat it, I mean read it. I loved it!
