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car_car22's review against another edition
This is about a boy who is telling the story of how his grandpa left Japan to go to the New World. It was a three week journey and when he got there he saw fields, factories, mountains and rivers. He met so many new people all from different decent. His favorite place thought was California. Later he went back to Japan to marry his childhood sweetheart and they both came back to California where they had a baby girl and raised her there. When their daughter grew up they went back to Japan to see where he grew up and to show his daughter but she didn't belong there. When the boy was born he loved visiting his grandfather and hearing about California. That was when the war began in 1939, they returned to where his childhood had been, and he longed to visit California. When he grew up he moved to California he loved it but he longed to be home. It doesn't matter which country he was in he always missed the other one, and now is when he really understood his grandfather.
This story was non-fiction also and was a young boys recollection of his grandfather's life. He moved from Japan to California and for most of his life he went back and forth until the war. I am guessing that this war was World War 2 and the specific event that destroyed his village must have been wither the bombing of Hiroshima or Nagasaki when the villages were completely destroyed. We can get a sense of the time line of when all of his grandfathers traveling was taking place and what other historical events were going on at that time. We were also able to see the effects of the bombing on the survivors spirits.
This story was non-fiction also and was a young boys recollection of his grandfather's life. He moved from Japan to California and for most of his life he went back and forth until the war. I am guessing that this war was World War 2 and the specific event that destroyed his village must have been wither the bombing of Hiroshima or Nagasaki when the villages were completely destroyed. We can get a sense of the time line of when all of his grandfathers traveling was taking place and what other historical events were going on at that time. We were also able to see the effects of the bombing on the survivors spirits.
abigailbat's review against another edition
Based on Allen Say's family history, this picture book is a masterpiece and a classic. In gorgeous paintings, it tells the story of Say's grandfather who left Japan to explore the world and settled in California. When he got homesick for Japan, he moved his family back there. Like most of his work, this book explores the struggles and delights of living in two countries and across cultures. Poignant and introspective and just beautiful.
beccaandthegingercat's review against another edition
Love this quote: "Funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other."
libraryrobin's review against another edition
4.0
Fine story of an immigrant that loves both his homeland and new country. Beautiful portrait illustrations.
katymul's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
4.5
You don't often see picturebooks whose images are framed like old-fashioned photographs, almost stiff, but the way Say has worked his family members into historical-style portraits and into compositions that mirror famous paintings is a subtle language running underneath the slow, reflective, thoughtful story and all of the artwork is beautiful.
emiged's review against another edition
3.0
Beautifully illustrated , Grandfather's Journey tells of the love the author's grandfather and eventually the author felt for both Japan, the land of their birth, and California, their sometime adopted home. The grandfather is caught between two cultures and two worlds torn apart by World War II, and is never able to return to California. The grandson eventually visits California to see if it is as wonderful as his grandfather's descriptions and falls in love with it. However, "the funny things is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other." The book ends with a simple, sweet statement: "I think I know my grandfather now. I miss him very much."
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
lizhoff's review against another edition
5.0
A very, very sweet story about the life of immigrants. The grandfathers story is general and short, appropriate for my 1-3 grade class and instead of focusing on specific events, highlights the feelings of people who leave their home and the effects immigration has on families. I love this book.