Tell Me a Story, Please

Yuka, a first grader, loves when her mom reads to her. But since the birth of her younger brother, mom is too busy to read to Yuka. One day, while Yuka is alone in the forest reading a book out loud, a squirrel, a rabbit, a fox, a raccoon, and more animals come to listen to Yuka's story. They enjoy it very much and ask her to tell them more stories. As she chooses and reads stories to the animals, Yuka is inspired by the world of reading aloud, and gets ideas for creating a story for her forest friends. Then one day, after a piano lesson, Yuka sees several businessmen in the forest and feels uneasy . . . In the third book from the beloved The Forest Friends series, the stage is set in a small forest in a town, and features a different family from the previous books. Kyoko Hara's text and Kazue Takahashi's warm illustrations depict Yuka as she learns not only the pleasure of listening to a story, but also the pleasure of reading a story. The animals' expressions are adorable as they listen, and the plot also includes stories from Japanese folklore: Momotaro, and a German fairytale, Town Musicians of Bremen, and others. Be ready for children to ask “please, tell me a story!”

Kazue Takahashi made her debut as a picture-book author with acclaimed Kuma-Kuma Chan, The Little Bear in 2001. Her picture books include Risu denwa (The Squirrel Telephone System) and Ne, ohanashi kikasete (Read Me a Story, story with Kyoko Hara). Takahashi’s illustrations embody kawaii—the quality of being cute and adorable, which is prominent in Japanese popular culture. Kyoko Hara was born in Tokyo and graduated from Wako University with a degree in art. In 1978 she won the Kodansha Children’s Literature Prize in the KFS Contest. Among her many titles are Haru ni aeta yo (We Met Spring) and Kuma no Bear to chiisana Tatan (Kuma the Bear and Tiny Tatan) series. When she was a child, she wanted to become a fashion designer and did not like writing at all.