Tsunami!

written by Kimiko Kajikawa

illustrated by Ed Young

©2009. New York, New York. Philomel Books.
NC620L

Picture Book. Diverse Protagonist.

When Ojiisan, a wise, old man in the town who is well-respected and humble. When he realizes that there is going to be a tsunami, he sacrifices something of great importance to the people, in order to save them. 

I would give this book a 31/32. This book takes place in Japan and tells the story of how a man saved his village from a tsunami. The illustrations in this book are creative and intriguing collages, however, I wonder if some of the images are stereotypical of Japanese people. However, the protagonist is a wise rice farmer in Japan, making this a great book to have if your looking to add some books with diversity to your home or classroom. The story line is engaging and the social message is one of helping those in your community, a positive message for every school to teach. This book is culturally relevant because natural disasters like tsunamis could happen at any time and it is important to teach students (of an appropriate age of course) about topics such as this. I would recommend this book for 2 through 5 grade.

Social Justice Issue: environment