REVIEW: “Words to Make a Friend A Story in Japanese and English”
Words to Make a Friend A Story in Japanese and English
Publisher: Random House Studio
Originally published: November 9, 2021
Words by Donna Jo Napoli & Illustrated by Naoko Stoop
Reading age : 4–8 years, Grade level : Preschool — 3, 40 Pages
Words to Make a Friend A Story in Japanese and English was sold by its publisher as “A clever and innovative bilingual English/Japanese picture book about a Japanese girl and an American girl who prove you don’t need to speak the same language to understand each other.” I read through this picture book and I am happy to agree and add it to my own library to share with the younger readers in my family.
This forty page picture book opens to a snowy day and a new family moving in! Two moms and two little girls soundlessly greet each other off on the side of a page while men move furniture into a house with cardboard box sitting outside on the steps and by the moving truck. With the setting established, young readers can see who is who here and how our two main characters meet and get the chance to play outside together, only after dressing warmly with help from the moms.
Throughout the book, the creative team of Napoli and Stoop use simple greetings, words and phrases in short word bubbles to move along the story of two new friends enjoying the day together. This approach meets younger readers where they are at and a simple “Hello” and “Konnichiwa” jump starts their day of fun in the snow. The two girls announce to the world that they are going to play, make a snowman and point out wildlife in the trees. Author Napoli makes a surprising and really fun, pop cultural reference for that grownups and little ones will both love towards the end of the girls’ outdoor fun.
Stoop’s artwork in Words to Make a Friend A Story in Japanese and English strikes me as whimsical and easy on the eyes (and oh so incredibly cute!)–perfect for a children’s book. I like the texture of the snow and snow creatures that the girls create outdoors and the placements of color throughout the book like the bird they discover in the tree’s partially hidden.
I also really appreciate how the two friends are never washed out in the snow thanks to the bright colors of their clothes, their happy expressions and body language. I also really, really adore all the small details scattered throughout the book like the snow on the bottoms of their snow boots, the patterns on the teacups brought to the girls once they come in from the snow and finally their fun paper creations they make once indoor and cozy.
Words to Make a Friend A Story in Japanese and English is an easy to read book for younger readers that presents a story in two different languages. It is also a book that shows us that beginnings: of friendships, learning new languages and learning to live in new places or with someone new, doesn’t always have to be scary or complicated. This is a powerful lesson to hold in our hearts as recent world events and attitudes against immigrants and refugees and marginalized people as a whole continue to showcase great divides in society and laws and legislature across countries, unfortunately.
I believe the author and artist notes at the end of the book provide wholesome insight on the creative team’s experiences with being different and finding the common ground and making friends. Words to Make a Friend A Story in Japanese and English reminds me that despite language and cultural barriers, people are more alike than they know and we have more common ground if we take a chance on others.
Overall, Words to Make a Friend A Story in Japanese and English is a wholesome read that children and adults can pick up and read to one another to bring home the lesson making friends is always a worthwhile endeavor in today’s world. I’d recommend this picture book for those who are looking for a newer addition to their libraries at home or school for younger readers interested not just in languages but also little adventurers ready for new discoveries and adventures.
Donna Jo Napoli is both a linguist and a writer of children’s and young adult fiction. Some of her work includes Treasury of Greek Mythology, Stones in Water, Treasury of Norse Mythology, and Daughter of Venice. She has five children and eight grandchildren. She dreams of moving to the woods and becoming a naturalist. She loves to garden, bake bread, dance, and make pottery. See more of her here!
Naoko Stoop’s love of drawing began when she was a young child growing up in Japan. Naoko now lives and paints in Brooklyn, New York. She uses found materials including plywood and brown paper bags as her canvas. Naoko has shown her work in a variety of galleries and stores in New York and hopes that, through her artwork, she hopes to inspire the child within everyone. See more of her here!
Carrie McClain is a lifelong lover of children’s lit (Expect to see more kid lit book reviews, soon!) and also a Californian native who navigates the world as writer, editor, and media scholar who firmly believes that we can and we should critique the media we consume. She once aided Cindi Mayweather in avoiding capture. See more of her on Twitter (X) and other places she can be found online.
