Mrs. White's Little Learners

Diverse perspectives

Genre: Fiction

Suki's Kimono

Written by Cheri Uegki

Illistrated by Steohanie Jorisch

Published by Kids Can Press, Limited, 2005

31 pages

This book is about a little girl who is excited to wear her Kimono on the first day of school.  She received this Kimono from her Grandmother and the first time she wore it they went to a street festival.  They witnessed all sorts of activities and different foods. Suki and her Grandmother also engaged in a dance while they were at the festival.  Suki's sisters made fun of her for wanting to wear her Kimono on the first day of school instead of a cute outfit like they were wearing.  When she arrived at school she was very proud of her Kimono and ignored anyone who had anything negative to say about it. When she was in class the teacher asked all the students to share what they did this summer and tell the class something about themselves.  Suki was so excited to share.  When she began to share some students were making fun of her but she ignored them.  She went on to tell them about her experience then she shared the dance she had learned with them.  At first the kids were laughing but she just kept on dancing.  By the end of her dance the class was silent.  Afterward all the students were quiet and she thought she had done something wrong.  They all began to cheer for her. On the walk home she listened to her sisters talk about how upset they were that noone noticed their cool new outfits.  She just grinned knowing that her outfit was noticed and made an impression on her class.

Grade K-4th

This book would be good to teach about something they do in the Japanese culture.  A Kimono is a type of dress native to their culture.  You could talk about cultures and how we all have different things associated with our culture. You could also talk to them about not being afraid of wearing something that might be a little different that they are proud of. 

The illustrations are wonderful and detailed.  The colors are bright.  When they are at the parade the illustrator did a great job capturing every detail.