Book Cover
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Book Summary
The book, Grandfather's Journey, is written in the first person point of view on the author's grandfather. Grandfather left home, Japan, for the New World and explored many places in the New World and fell in love with California. He went home and married a lady then took her with him to San Francisco to start a family where they had a daughter. Then the man became homesick and eventually moved back to the little village of his childhood in Japan. The little village wasn't enough for the daughter so the man moved the family to a big city. Time went by and the daughter grew and got married in the city, soon the author was born. The man planned on visiting San Francisco again because he missed it terribly. But then World War II happened and the man's home was destroyed. He had to return to the village that wasn't enough for his daughter's childhood. He kept thinking about California but never had a chance to visit it again before he died. The little boy heard so much about California from his grandfather, once he was old enough, he paid a visit himself and made it home too. He also had a daughter. He finally felt what his grandfather felt. After all these years of listening to his grandfather about Japan and California, he finally had a way to make a connection with his grandfather.
Reference
Say, A. (1993). Grandfather's journey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Librarian's Corner
The author study that I conducted while in college was on Allen Say. That was in the same decade as the publishing of this book. This book is a great resource for understanding the Japanese culture as it is so different than the American culture in many aspects. Generally American parents are very involved in their children's lives and so are the grandparents, and Asian parents and grandparents are not as involved. American parents' loves are more on the side that evolve around their children when it is the opposite in the Asian cultures.I think reading this book can help readers appreciate many things that they might not be paying attention to, like our family and this beautiful land that we live on. This book also points out "liking the new, abandoning the old" with the Grandfather moving to California and not thinking much about where he grew up until his daughter was a little grown. There are many things in life we rarely think about until we have to part with them or after we no longer possess them. Growing up in an Chinese family I can definitely relate to the message in Grandfather's Journey, especially when I am having my own family in the states and my parents aren't. Even though there aren't too many words on a page in this book, I think the structure of the sentences and the choices of words are powerful, as least it leaves me thinking about many things after reading the book. I think this book is more suitable for upper elementary students.
Reviews
From Kirkus ReviewsThe funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other," observes Say near the end of this poignant account of three generations of his family's moves between Japan and the US. Say's grandfather came here as a young man, married, and lived in San Francisco until his daughter was "nearly grown" before returning to Japan; his treasured plan to visit the US once again was delayed, forever as it turned out, by WW II. Say's American-born mother married in Japan (cf. Tree of Cranes, 1991), while he, born in Yokohama, came here at 16. In lucid, graceful language, he chronicles these passages, reflecting his love of both countries--plus the expatriate's ever-present longing for home--in both simple text and exquisitely composed watercolors: scenes of his grandfather discovering his new country and returning with new appreciation to the old, and pensive portraits recalling family photos, including two evoking the war and its aftermath. Lovely, quiet--with a tenderness and warmth new to this fine illustrator's work. 1993, Houghton Mifflin, $15.95. Starred Review. © 1993 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Reviews. (1993). [ Review of the book Grandfather's journey, by Allen Say.].Kirkus Reviews.
From Publishers WeeklySay transcends the achievements of his Tree of Cranes and A River Dream with this breathtaking picture book, at once a very personal tribute to his grandfather and a distillation of universally shared emotions. Elegantly honed text accompanies large, formally composed paintings to convey Say's family history; the sepia tones and delicately faded colors of the art suggest a much-cherished and carefully preserved family album. A portrait of Say's grandfather opens the book, showing him in traditional Japanese dress, ``a young man when he left his home in Japan and went to see the world.'' Crossing the Pacific on a steamship, he arrives in North America and explores the land by train, by riverboat and on foot. One especially arresting, light-washed painting presents Grandfather in shirtsleeves, vest and tie, holding his suit jacket under his arm as he gazes over a prairie: ``The endless farm fields reminded him of the ocean he had crossed.'' Grandfather discovers that ``the more he traveled, the more he longed to see new places,'' but he nevertheless returns home to marry his childhood sweetheart. He brings her to California, where their daughter is born, but her youth reminds him inexorably of his own, and when she is nearly grown, he takes the family back to Japan. The restlessness endures: the daughter cannot be at home in a Japanese village; he himself cannot forget California. Although war shatters Grandfather's hopes to revisit his second land, years later Say repeats the journey: ``I came to love the land my grandfather had loved, and I stayed on and on until I had a daughter of my own.'' The internal struggle of his grandfather also continues within Say, who writes that he, too, misses the places of his childhood and periodically returns to them. The tranquility of the art and the powerfully controlled prose underscore the profundity of Say's themes, investing the final line with an abiding, aching pathos: ``The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other.'' Ages 4-8. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly. (n.d.). [Review on Grandfather's journey, by Allen Say].Publishers Weekly.
Values to the Library
Elementary School Library
Since we are an International Baccalareate school, any book that raises global awareness needs to be considered. Allen Say's Grandfather's Journey is actually shelved in the IB collection in the "empathy" section. This book can be read aloud by the librarian or recommended to classroom teachers for read-aloud for the Multi-culture Month or Grandparents Appreciation Day. Students can write about what they will miss if they move away to another continent. This book can be used in both language arts and social studies. The students can study the different landforms in the different regions of the America and make suggestions on where Grandfather had traveled to. For a math activity, the students can estimate the distance between Japan and San Francisco using a map and a map scale. The students then can discuss different ways of travel using the average speed of the different transportation to figure out how long it takes for someone to travel from Japan to San Francisco or vise versa using different mediums.
Reference
Say, A. (1993). Grandfather's journey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Librarian's Corner
The author study that I conducted while in college was on Allen Say. That was in the same decade as the publishing of this book. This book is a great resource for understanding the Japanese culture as it is so different than the American culture in many aspects. Generally American parents are very involved in their children's lives and so are the grandparents, and Asian parents and grandparents are not as involved. American parents' loves are more on the side that evolve around their children when it is the opposite in the Asian cultures.I think reading this book can help readers appreciate many things that they might not be paying attention to, like our family and this beautiful land that we live on. This book also points out "liking the new, abandoning the old" with the Grandfather moving to California and not thinking much about where he grew up until his daughter was a little grown. There are many things in life we rarely think about until we have to part with them or after we no longer possess them. Growing up in an Chinese family I can definitely relate to the message in Grandfather's Journey, especially when I am having my own family in the states and my parents aren't. Even though there aren't too many words on a page in this book, I think the structure of the sentences and the choices of words are powerful, as least it leaves me thinking about many things after reading the book. I think this book is more suitable for upper elementary students.
Reviews
From Kirkus ReviewsThe funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other," observes Say near the end of this poignant account of three generations of his family's moves between Japan and the US. Say's grandfather came here as a young man, married, and lived in San Francisco until his daughter was "nearly grown" before returning to Japan; his treasured plan to visit the US once again was delayed, forever as it turned out, by WW II. Say's American-born mother married in Japan (cf. Tree of Cranes, 1991), while he, born in Yokohama, came here at 16. In lucid, graceful language, he chronicles these passages, reflecting his love of both countries--plus the expatriate's ever-present longing for home--in both simple text and exquisitely composed watercolors: scenes of his grandfather discovering his new country and returning with new appreciation to the old, and pensive portraits recalling family photos, including two evoking the war and its aftermath. Lovely, quiet--with a tenderness and warmth new to this fine illustrator's work. 1993, Houghton Mifflin, $15.95. Starred Review. © 1993 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Reviews. (1993). [ Review of the book Grandfather's journey, by Allen Say.].Kirkus Reviews.
From Publishers WeeklySay transcends the achievements of his Tree of Cranes and A River Dream with this breathtaking picture book, at once a very personal tribute to his grandfather and a distillation of universally shared emotions. Elegantly honed text accompanies large, formally composed paintings to convey Say's family history; the sepia tones and delicately faded colors of the art suggest a much-cherished and carefully preserved family album. A portrait of Say's grandfather opens the book, showing him in traditional Japanese dress, ``a young man when he left his home in Japan and went to see the world.'' Crossing the Pacific on a steamship, he arrives in North America and explores the land by train, by riverboat and on foot. One especially arresting, light-washed painting presents Grandfather in shirtsleeves, vest and tie, holding his suit jacket under his arm as he gazes over a prairie: ``The endless farm fields reminded him of the ocean he had crossed.'' Grandfather discovers that ``the more he traveled, the more he longed to see new places,'' but he nevertheless returns home to marry his childhood sweetheart. He brings her to California, where their daughter is born, but her youth reminds him inexorably of his own, and when she is nearly grown, he takes the family back to Japan. The restlessness endures: the daughter cannot be at home in a Japanese village; he himself cannot forget California. Although war shatters Grandfather's hopes to revisit his second land, years later Say repeats the journey: ``I came to love the land my grandfather had loved, and I stayed on and on until I had a daughter of my own.'' The internal struggle of his grandfather also continues within Say, who writes that he, too, misses the places of his childhood and periodically returns to them. The tranquility of the art and the powerfully controlled prose underscore the profundity of Say's themes, investing the final line with an abiding, aching pathos: ``The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other.'' Ages 4-8. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly. (n.d.). [Review on Grandfather's journey, by Allen Say].Publishers Weekly.
Values to the Library
Elementary School Library
Since we are an International Baccalareate school, any book that raises global awareness needs to be considered. Allen Say's Grandfather's Journey is actually shelved in the IB collection in the "empathy" section. This book can be read aloud by the librarian or recommended to classroom teachers for read-aloud for the Multi-culture Month or Grandparents Appreciation Day. Students can write about what they will miss if they move away to another continent. This book can be used in both language arts and social studies. The students can study the different landforms in the different regions of the America and make suggestions on where Grandfather had traveled to. For a math activity, the students can estimate the distance between Japan and San Francisco using a map and a map scale. The students then can discuss different ways of travel using the average speed of the different transportation to figure out how long it takes for someone to travel from Japan to San Francisco or vise versa using different mediums.
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