Grandfather's+Journey

= Grandfather's Journey = Written and Illustrated by Allen Say Author Bio **Summary:** "Grandfather's Journey" is a short story told over a long span of time from the point of view of a Japanese grandchild. He explains his grandfather's journey to travel the world, starting from his home in Japan. He traveled across the Pacific Ocean for three weeks on a steamship until he finally reached North America. There, he saw many deserts, rocks and sculptures that amazed him and even made many friends along the way. Finally, the grandfather arrived in California, where he realized he wanted to stay. Before committing, he returned back to Japan to marry his childhood sweetheart and brought her back to California with him to settle down and start a family. Eventually they had a daughter and spent many wonderful years in the sun raising her. However, once she was nearly grown, the grandfather decided he wanted to return back to his homeland in Japan to visit all of his old friends. Instead of returning to the small village where he was from, they decided to move to a nearby city. Over time, his daughter got married and had a child. The grandfather told his grandson many stories about California and how he missed it very much. He planned a trip to visit one last time, but unfortunately a war began. Bombs were dropped, destroying the grandfather's house and entire city. They were then forced to return back to the village when the grandfather was a child, thus enabling him from making his last trip. More time passed and the grandchild grew up himself. He decided to go visit California from himself and ended up loving it there. After starting a family, he thought back at his own childhood and missed his old friends, mountains and rivers in Japan. He realized he had something very in common with his grandfather; the moment he is in one country, he longs for the other. **Review:** This children's book is great for introducing different cultures within our country. It is likely that many children within a classroom will have some relation to family that came long ways away to live in the United States. It is a great way to get them to understand the hardships and adjustments people went through in order for a chance at a better life. For many, the struggles of being bicultural are very hard to bare sometimes and it's good for children to understand this, for some of them may be in a similar situation or know someone else who is. Also, the pictures in this book are very detailed. On certain pages you can read the grandfather's facial expressions, which gives the story much more meaning. **Analysis of Literary Element:** The main theme in this story is of cross cultural experiences, to help readers understand why immigrants come to the United States. There is also a theme of intergenerational relationships and family history. The grandfather in this story was the first to leave his homeland and spent most of his life traveling and making new discoveries, but never forgot where he came from. Eventually, generations later, his grandson had similar experiences which gave them a connection because of their mutual feelings of longing to be in two countries at once. media type="youtube" key="n7Jy-VLvXms" width="420" height="315" align="center"

By: Amalia Calafiore