Satomi Ichikawa

“My Father’s Shop” tells the story of Mustafa, a young boy, son to a shop owner in Morocco; one day Mustafa finds a rug in the shop and discovers a large hole in the center—his father tells him he can keep the rug since he loves it so much. Mustafa runs through the marketplace with the rug over his head, drawing attention from a rooster and in turn, the tourists in the market. As the rooster and Mustafa run through the streets, Mustafa hears the tourists refer to the rooster in their show more own respective languages; Mustafa hears Japanese, English, Spanish and more. As he runs back to the shop, the tourists follow, bringing business to his father. The plot is very simple and to the point, however the importance of Mustafa’s cultural lesson and exposure to different kinds of people in a make-shift melting pot is very valuable. The book is meant for very early readers, and it is a great introduction to multicultural literature, for its message and the influential illustrations. The illustrations are done in beautiful watercolor and appropriate the mood of the story. The big idea of the story is to promote a curiosity and open mindedness for languages and cultures that differ from your own. show less

A little girl named Nora visits her grandmother. The room she stays in has a trunk full of toys that play with her in the night. Nora admires the stars in the sky so the toys bring them down for her to play with. But the sky looks sad and dark without its stars, so she puts them back (before Grandmother wakes up and finds out she’s still awake and playing)

This was one of my favorite books as a kid, for obvious reasons, which I’ve now passed down to my niece.. The watercolor (I think?) show more art is so beautiful and brings back so many memories. The story is simple but very imaginative and a little bit mischievous. I’m glad I got to reread it as an adult. show less

This book was very enjoyable to read. The little boy and his father were very well developed and the reader felt connected to both of them. The illustrations used in this book gave the reader insight into the world and environment that the boy was running around. It was very interesting to see the different languages used by the tourists, and having the different languages included in the book was an interesting feature. I think the main idea of this book is the importance of family, and show more also the importance of helping out family when you get the chance. show less

This book was adorable, my favorite aspects were the illustrations. The author and illustrator, Satomi Ichikawa, did a great job connecting the pictures and words. This book entails an important message about diversity and hard work. I think the story line was great, the idea of a small boy having to learn foreign phrases before receiving a reward (the damaged rug) is such a relatable concept to children and adults.