What was your favorite picture book when you were a kid?
Now that you’re here learning Japanese from scratch, wouldn’t it be great if you had something like your favorite picture book that could help you with your Japanese?
You are reading: Japanese books for kids
Japanese 絵本 (えほん – picture book(s)) may be written for children, but they are fantastic study tools for beginner to lower-intermediate Japanese learners of all ages.
In this post, we’ll look at some of the benefits of using 絵本, how to use it to study, and five choice titles to help you get started.
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- Why use Japanese picture books to practice Japanese reading?
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- they are artistic, creative and entertaining.
- can improve your pronunciation and reading speed.
- they make sentences shorter and emphasize key content words.
- they are great for improving basic Japanese vocabulary.
- you will learn more about Japanese society and culture.
- ぐりとぐら (guri and gura)
- しろくまちゃんのほっとけーき (shirokuma-chan’s pancakes)
- だるま littlettleちゃんとてんぐき/li>
- かいけつゾロリシリーズ (the kaiketsu zorori series)
- 美しい数学シリーズ (the utsukushii suugaku series)
download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable pdf that you can take anywhere. click here for a copy. (download)
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why use japanese picture books to practice reading in japanese?
Before we get into the book recommendations, let’s talk a bit about the benefits of using Japanese picture books as study tools. there are some key skill areas that can be improved by reading these books, and you will need to identify them to focus on.
they are artistic, creative and entertaining.
It’s similar to watching Japanese anime shows and reading manga to study Japanese. 絵本 usually features かわいい (cute) characters, many of which are totally crazy! for example, a book I read with my daughter recently, ほっぺおばけ (ghosts on cheeks), is about ghosts eating on people’s cheeks. Because Japanese 絵本 are so light and fun, reading them feels less like “study” and more like educational leisure time, which is exactly what we want study to be like!
can improve your pronunciation and reading speed.
Because 絵本 are generally written for children who are just getting used to the Japanese language, they focus heavily on natural rhythm and intonation, as well as complicated child sounds such as ちゃ and っ.
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present shorter sentences and emphasize key content words.
The content words are 名詞 [めいし – nouns] and 動詞 [どうし – verbs]. this makes it easier to skim to get the main idea. skimming is a skill that will come in handy as your Japanese develops and you tackle things like 漫画 (まんが – comics) and the jlpt. use 絵本 as a way to hone this skill to advance! the only potential drawback is that 絵本 are usually written in ひらがな. If you’re looking to improve your reading speed while also reinforcing your basic recognition of 漢字 (かんじ), you may want to look elsewhere. this blog post is a great place to start your search for kanji learning resources
they are great for improving basic Japanese vocabulary.
絵本 uses common words and phrases that are essential for fluency in everyday Japanese. they are a great way to fill in any gaps you may have in your basic vocabulary.
You will learn more about Japanese society and culture.
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reading Japanese 絵本 will help you increase your cultural knowledge in many ways.絵本 often focus on the fundamentals of Japanese culture that their main readers, the children, need to know about. they can be legends, characters, places, or even aspects of society like 和 (わ – harmony, friendship). there are also picture book versions of classic Japanese stories – 昔話 (むかしばなし – folk tales). these stories are still read and loved by Japanese people of all generations. Getting to know them will help you bond even better with your Japanese friends or language exchange partners!
All of these benefits make Japanese 絵本 an excellent tool for your Japanese studies.
a simple method for learning japanese from 絵本
The first time, flick through the book. read it as quietly and quickly as you can. try to focus on the most important words in the sentences. If you come across words you don’t know, don’t stop looking for them! turn on and do your best to understand the main idea and some important details.
then read it again out loud. this helps you make sure you got the story right the first time. this is also very good for pronunciation practice. focus on getting your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation correct. pause only when appropriate. And don’t be afraid to review sentences or passages that were difficult to navigate with your language: repetition is essential to developing fluency! A good tip that has worked for me is to record myself reading the book, play it back a few times, take note of my pronunciation, and then try again.
then, make a note of any new words or phrases you’d like to remember. there may be many new vocabulary words for you depending on the difficulty of the book. it is not necessary to remember them all. just focus on the essentials, the ones you’re likely to use or see again in the near future. Record the words in a notebook or note-taking app on your phone and review them until you’ve internalized them. take it a step further by writing original sentences with your words and repeating them out loud.
Another wonderful thing about 絵本 is that they are relatively short. you can read them whenever you want. So after you’ve followed the steps above, come back to the book whenever you have a little time to kill with a little Japanese study. This is a great way to review the words and phrases you’ve learned and also build your confidence. keep in mind how much faster and smoother you can read the story compared to the first time. you’ll probably be surprised how much better you understand it!
5 classic picture books to boost your Japanese reading skills
If you want to explore the world of Japanese 絵本, 絵本ナビ/ehonnavi is the best place to start. 絵本ナビ is a Japan-based online picture book retailer with tens of thousands of 絵本 in its catalog. You can search for books by sales rating, review rating, and even by age group. they also have hundreds of complete books available online. users can do 試し読み (ためしよみ), or sample reading sessions, for free. you must create a free user account to access these sample books (registration only takes a minute) and you can read each sample book only once.
and if you like to learn Japanese with fun and authentic materials like these picture books, you’ll love fluentu.
Below are five Japanese 絵本 to get you started with your reading practice. All of the titles below have remained popular with Japanese people of all ages for many years. They are available at 絵本ナビ and other stores, and if you live in Japan or a big city, you can probably find them at your public library as well.
Now, to the books! Please note that each of these titles is aimed at a different age group and reading level.
ぐりとぐら (guri and gura)
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ぐり and ぐら are two mice who come across a huge egg on their journey. naturally, this gives them the idea of making a giant cake that will last a long, long time! First published in 1963, ぐりとぐら is possibly the best-known Japanese children’s picture book of all time. chances are good that any Japanese you know has read it, or at least heard of it. it has been translated into several languages and eventually became a complete series of 絵本.
しろくまちゃんのほっとけーき (shirokuma-chan’s pancakes)
if you like pancakes and adorable bears, then しろくまちゃんのほっとけーき should be right up your alley. the tale is a simple one: little shirokuma asks his mother to make pancakes for him and then she does!しろくまちゃんのほっとけーき is a great book for learning onomatopoeia. part of the book is devoted to the sounds of mother cooking the pancakes. lots of cool vocabulary is introduced!
だるまちゃんとてんぐちゃん (little daruma and little tengu)
Two traditional Japanese characters, the daruma and the tengu, become lovable and hilarious in this children’s classic. little daruma-chan is envious of tengu-chan’s possessions, such as her 扇子 (せんす-fan) and his 下駄 (げた-wooden clogs). daruma-chan’s father, trying to make him feel better, tries his best to find these things for his son, but he is not always successful.だるまちゃんとてんぐちゃんa successful series of books and has been published in English.
かいけつゾロリシリーズ (the kaiketsu zorori series)
Zorori is a fox and a wanted criminal whose sole ambition is to become the world’s greatest prankster. He travels from one place to another with this goal in mind, but his mischievous ways end up getting him and his friends into trouble more often than not. the かいけつゾロリ series, as of the publication of this blog plot, consists of more than 50 titles. That said, it’s hard to recommend just one. don’t worry though, any of them is a good place to start. Zorori books are full of humor as Zorori himself often speaks in crazy Japanese だじゃれ (puns).
美しい数学シリーズ (the utsukushii suugaku series)
Another famous series loved by both children and adults is the 美しい数学 (うつくしいすうがく) series. The books in this series are famous for their simple stories, gorgeous artwork, and their unique ability to subtly spark a love of numbers in those who read them—even the most math-averse! These are excellent books for developing your vocabulary and skills with the Japanese number system. Among the titles in this series, 壺の中(つぼのなか – English title: Anno’s Mysterious Multiplier Vial) is particularly appreciated for its incredible visuals.
download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable pdf that you can take anywhere. click here for a copy. (download)
See Also: Top 15 Best Behavioral Finance Books [Updated 2022]
