My First Book of Japanese Words: An ABC Rhyming Book of Japanese Language and Culture

by Michelle Haney Brown, Aya Padron (Illustrator)

My First Book of Japanese Words is a beautifully illustrated book that introduces young children to Japanese language and culture through everyday words.

The words profiled in this book are all commonly used in the Japanese language and are both informative and fun for English-speaking children to learn. The goals of My First Book of Japanese Words are to familiarize children with the sounds and structure of Japanese speech, to introduce core elements of Japanese culture, to illustrate the ways in which languages differ in their treatment of everyday sounds and to show how, through cultural importation, a single word can be shared between languages.

Both teachers and parents will welcome the book's cultural and linguistic notes and appreciate how the book is organized in a familiar ABC structure. Each word is presented in Kanji (when applicable), Kana, and Romanized form (Romaji).

With the help of this book, we hope more children (and adults) will soon be a part of the 125 million people worldwide that speak Japanese!

32 pages, Hardcover

Published August 29, 2017

Reviews

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Japanese Kittens Say Nyah

So, what else is different in Japan? This is a delightful full-color hardback children's picture book. Built in the format of the English alphabet, each page gives a Japanese word that begins with each English letter. Japanese has no sound for the letters L, Q, V, and W, so those are represented with the Japanese equivalent of the same English word. So, while I is for inu, the Japanese word for dog; the sound for L is not used in Japan, so the word lion is raion in Japanese.

The sounds for all the Japanese words are available free online to be sure your child gets the sounds. This book is available from Tuttle, a Vermont company with offices in Japan and Singapore, which specializes in books about and from Asia. Most of the words on each page are English, so it makes the perfect introduction for children of all ages. The illustrations are lovely and the text topics which children will identify with.

They will even learn some things about Japan; like that while cats meow here in America, in Japan they are thought to say nyah. They will also discover the Tanuki... a furry raccoon dog found in Japan. This is an excellent childhood book for children who are curious about the world around them, and beyond their own doorsteps. What better way to teach children an appreciation for different cultures than to expose them early to different ways of speaking the same human thoughts common to all of us?!

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have liked pronunciations for each word on each page but it’s a great introductory book for kids.

[SaraCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the way this was done. There’s a pattern and rhyme scheme that Brown follows, which I think will make it easier for kids. I think by going by the letters in the English alphabet, that also helps give kids something familiar while they learn something new. I really liked how she integrated some Japanese words into the rhymes - besides the main word being taught in that page. And then gave the definition in a side note.

[Bléu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Some of it doesn't even rhyme, and even if it does it sounds so mixed up. Yet the illustrations are amazingly drawn. Most of the Japanese words are known to me but some are completely new so... overall it's good, I guess.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked up a few books to supplement my Japanese language class. I appreciated how the book presents words in romanized, kanji, and hiragana. However, some of the rhymes were odd and I feel as though better words could have been chosen.

[mairead! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beyond beautiful art — thinking about buying a copy.