A good retelling of a traditional folk tale that is complete with moral. Brush line and colour pictures are perfect for this tale.

A Japanese widow's son refuses to work and sleeps the days away until he comes up with a plan to marry the merchant's daughter. The widow fools her son with her own plans and he is forced to work for the merchant in addition to marrying his daughter. This is a wonderfully illustrated book with a very powerful message about the way to stay happy. It also shows the cleverness and power of a poor widow to make a wonderful life for herself and her son. I really enjoyed reading about the widow's trick. She is a strong character in the book and I loved the art.

A classic Japanese fable of a boy who tricks a rich merchant into marrying him to his daughter, but the boy's mother has other plans. A quaint tale that doesn't really pack much punch, as it's very straightforward and simple. The art is good, especially the faces. ( )