"My First Japanese Kanji Book" is an inventive and unique introduction to kanji for children. Written by the mother-daughter team of Eriko and Anna Sato, this lovely book introduces 109 kanji characters to children with poems and illustrations. It includes all the Japanese Government specified first grade level kanji characters and a sprinkling of simple second to sixth grade characters. The kanji are introduced in the context of 36 colorful paintings and poems by 14-year-old Anna Sato, herself a kanji learner. Each of the poems is presented in both Japanese and English, and all kanji are accompanied by furigana (small hiragana letters), stroke-order diagrams, sample vocabulary and boxes for writing practice. A charming and educational volume, "My First Japanese Kanji Book" can be used as a self-study text, a supplementary material in Japanese language schools or a gift book for family or friends.

Author Biography

Anna Sato is a ninth grader who loves languages, creative writing, art and music. She participated in Japanese and Chinese weekend programs at the State University of New York at Stony Brook when she was an elementary school student. Eriko Sato, Ph.D. is the founding director of the Pre-College Japanese Program at Stony Brook University and the author of Japanese for Dummies and Contemporary Japanese: An Introductory Textbook for College Students.