A to Zen: A Book of Japanese Culture

by Ruth Wells, Yoshi

An illustrated alphabet book introduces children to Japan, identifying the key influences, ancient and modern, that are at the core of Japanese culture today.

Genres: Childrens, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Asia

28 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1992

Reviews

[Christine Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book with an interesting format, great illustrations and a variety of subjects which are all part of Japanese culture. It even shows you how to make an origami crane!

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A to Zen is an alphabet picture book for children about the culture of Japan. It is read back to front just like books are read in Japan.

[Rian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: This informational book about Japan is organized in ABC book format to highlight some of the essential elements of Japanese culture, both modern and traditional.

Response: When I pulled this book off the shelf, I was startled to find that the front looked like the back of a book; then I realized that the actual layout is part of the message. The book is not only about japan, but the experience of reading it is the experience of reading books in Japan, where our front is their back, and the text starts on the right-hand page instead of the left-hand page. While the book itself is written in 1992, and it doesn't contain any informational text features (beyond its ABC organization), it does carefully and thoroughly explain how the books layout and artwork are themselves conveying information about Japanese culture. I really enjoyed the experience of having to pick up and read the book from an entirely new perspective.

INFORMATION

[Kala · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book holds quite a bit of information, but I still felt it was rather bland in the way it was presented. However I did appreciate the Japanese style of the book (it is read from back to front, kanji is shown from top to bottom, and Japanese pronunciation is used rather than the American pronunciation of Japanese words).

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book for the alphabet collector and those who love all things Japanese. Reads from right to left, Unusual.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good until I got to W. I had to laugh at the Walkman reference. Everything was timeless until then, when you were reminded that the book is 24 years old.