Erika-San

Starred review from November 24, 2008
With luminous watercolors and economical text, Caldecott Medalist Say (Grandfather's Journey
) tells of an American girl whose ingenuous hopes of reaching “old Japan” are finally realized. The narrative starts off highly truncated: a single page is devoted to Erika's childhood fascination with a serene print of a Japanese teahouse in her grandmother's house; the next compresses “middle school and... high school and all the way through college,” after which she heads to Japan to teach. The pace changes, becoming almost folkloric as Say presents the country through Erika's eyes. Unable to remember her Japanese, she sees Tokyo as “a hundred cities all crammed together” and knows that she will not find “her” house there. After moving to and rejecting a second location (it's picture-pretty, but too noisy), she lands in the right spot. Say sprinkles Japanese words and definitions smoothly into the story as Erika surprises a male colleague (and readers) with the thoroughness with which she pursues her dream. Although the plot may prove slow going for many in the target audience, aficionados of Say's tranquil work will find both the message and the delivery deeply satisfying. Ages 5–8.

December 1, 2008
Gr 3-5-Say's exquisite paintings provide backdrop for a charming fairy tale with a contemporary, feminist twist. Here, it is a girl (read "princess") whose quest to find her heart's desire is at the core of the story. As a child, Erika becomes entranced with a painting on her grandmother's wall, depicting a small rustic house in Japan. Determined to find it, she prepares (in true fairy-tale fashion) for her journey, learning about the country and studying the language. Following college, she begins her search, and accepts a teaching assignment in Japan. Once there, it takes the proverbial three challenges before she finds success. Tokyo is too large, another (unnamed) city is too noisy, but in the third placea small rural island communityErika finds the house of her dreams, a welcoming class of children, and a "prince" named Aki to share her life. The house in the painting, she discovers, is a teahouse, where one day, kimono-clad, she happily performs a formal tea ceremony for Aki. Say's soft-colored paintings, detailed but not busy, contain just the right amount of nuance to build the story. He nicely contrasts the busyness of the cities with the verdant landscapes of the country, casting a happy-ever-after glow to the tale. More romantic and idealistic than many of Say's stories, "Erika-San" will find readers beyond the usual picture-book crowd."Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2008
Grades 2-5 As a child, Erika spots a picture in her grandmothers house of a cottage in Japan. The serene image sparks a fascination with Japanese culture and language, which Erika studies throughout school. After college, she takes a teaching job in Tokyo but finds the city overwhelming. Where is old Japan? she asks. Even the next, smaller city she tries feels too crowded. At last, she finds a job at a school on a remote island, where she discovers a teahouse just like the cottage in her grandmothers picture, begins taking traditional tea-ceremony lessons, and practices with a fellow teacher, whom she later marries. The intended audience for this quiet, beautifully illustrated story is unclear. Many themesErikas search for old Japan; the subtle chain of incidents that lead to lovemay appeal most to older readers, perhaps even adults. Children with a strong curiosity about another culture, though, will recognize Erikas unwavering interest, and many readers will welcome the varied views of Japan, from city to town to tiny village, reflected in Says exquisitely rendered watercolors.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
An American girl dreams of living in Japan, a goal she achieves as an adult when she takes a teaching job there. Tokyo's too crowded; a remote island proves just the setting she's looking for. While this tale of a dream attained has dubious child appeal, Say's storytelling and illustrations of rural Japan are as absorbing as ever.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2009
An American girl dreams of living in a lovely thatch-roofed cottage in Japan, a dream she achieves as an adult. On the first spread the young girl stares at a framed picture of a small house with lighted windows surrounded by trees, mountains, and water -- an old print from Japan, her grandmother says. So begins Erika's fascination with all things Japanese. Fast forward, and college graduate Erika takes a teaching job in Japan, but Tokyo is too crowded and modern; a smaller town still isn't quiet enough. Third time's the charm, though, and a remote island with mountains and woods proves just the setting she's looking for. Bike-riding every weekend with fellow teacher Akira, she spies the house of her dreams; Aki explains that it's not a private home, but a teahouse. Erika surprises Aki by taking tea ceremony classes, and the last page shows the thatch-roofed farmhouse where the two settle after marrying: "And there Erika-san stayed, home at last." Readers will have to accept the grown Erika's naivete about both Tokyo and teahouses, but this small suspension of disbelief dovetails nicely with the otherwise realistic book's smattering of folk and fairy-tale elements: the grandmother, the cottage in the woods, the faraway land; the couple's near-identical names; Erika's three attempts to find the perfect locale. While this tale of a dream attained has dubious child appeal, Say's storytelling and art are as absorbing as ever; the illustrations of rural Japan will have adults yearning for their own remote farmhouse.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)