Umbrella

First sentence: Momo is the name of a little girl who was born in New York. The word Momo means "the peach" in Japan where her father and mother used to live. On her third birthday Momo was given two presents--red rubber boots and an umbrella! They pleased her so much that she even woke up that midnight to take another look at them.

Premise/plot: Momo received two gifts for her third birthday: red rubber boots and an umbrella. She loves, loves, loves her presents and she wants to use them right away! But of course it is not raining! Momo reluctantly waits and waits for the rain to come. One day it does!

Favorite quotes:

On the umbrella, raindrops made a wonderful music she never had heard before--
Bon polo
Bon polo
Ponpolo ponpolo
Ponpolo show more ponpolo
Bolo bolo ponpolo
Bolo bolo ponpolo
Boto boto ponpolo
Boto boto ponpolo

My thoughts: Whenever I'm asked what my favorite picture book from childhood is, I know exactly how to answer! Umbrella! I love, love, love the rhythm of it. The illustrations are amazing! I think I judge all other books by this one!

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10 show less

This is a story of remembrance, told with tenderness and love. It's about a little girl's relationship with her (underused) umbrella, which she cherishes. Full of the antics of the not so rational three year old, it's a cute and touching story, but not too cute, thanks to maybe the dark, somewhat coarse illustrations by [a:Taro Yashima|38771|Taro Yashima|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]. But if you happen to like his style, make sure to check out my favorite: [b:Crow Boy|1493163|Crow Boy|Taro Yashima|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349000510s/1493163.jpg|1993972]. It's sad, but impactful.

Umbrella is a story about a young girl named Momo. This story is about Momo's umbrella that she receives as a birthday present, and cannot wait to use. Momo is only three, and this book is written in her perspective when she is older. Momo talks about feeling impatient and excited about life. It is a humorous story about being young and wanting things to happen quickly. This is a great book to analyze, since there can be many ways for one to interpret this. This book would be great in a middle grades classroom, because it not only introduces Asian characters and culture, but can be used to create a lesson on analysis and perspective.

Story about a Japanese American girl living in New York who waits for a rainy day so she can use her umbrella. Not only is it the first day she gets to use the umbrella, it is also the first day she walks in the city without holding one of her parents' hand. Illustrations in this Caldecott honor recipient, while still nice and colorful, do not hold up well to today's standards. The author includes a few Japanese words and their translations for young readers.

The book entitled, “Umbrella” is about a little girl that receives an umbrella and a pair of rain boots for her birthday. Her name is Momo, and in Japanese it means “peach.” All she wanted was to take her umbrella out on a rainy day to show it off. However, that rainy day took a long time to come. When it finally came, she hurried and put her rain boots on. While she walked down the street she said to herself, “I must walk straight, like a grown-up-lady!” Not only was it the first day that she used her umbrella, but she also walked alone without the help of her parents. Considering that Momo was only three years old, it was a huge milestone to be able to do things without the help of her parents. To her, this marked the show more start of independence. The illustrations in this book was not my favorite; the little girl looked dark and gloomy. This was a happy story so I cannot understand why the author would chose to illustrate it this way. However, the other pictures portray the happiness in the story. The umbrella teaches a Japanese American child what it means to be independent. show less

This story could easily be told about any child. It's just a girl waiting and waiting to use her new umbrella, and then striving to be responsible (and grown-up!) when she does.

I love the details, how this was the first time she walked home without holding her parents' hands, how she had forgotten other things before, but not her umbrella now that she's growing up.

The art isn't my favorite, I'll admit, but I can live with it.

Umbrella is a cute story that children would enjoy hearing. I gave this book three stars because it can be hard to follow at times for young students because of the way it is written. However, the illustrations are very interesting and detailed, and the book will spark excellent conversations in the classroom.