My boyfriend and I went to the Eric Carle Museum during our July vacation and they had a full wall feature mural of this book. I was immediately drawn to the idea of the collaboration between the author/artists and the artwork. I've read my share of manga so am familiar with the difference in reading direction. I really like that they were providing a work to children that embraces both cultures.

Sadly, this book is no longer in print but I was able to purchase a used copy online. ( )

The book starts with a dog who runs into a cat and the dog tells the cat he’s going to see his friend. The cat asks the dog if the cat can join, the dog replies, “Yes, come along, My friend is your friend.” While on their journey the cat and dog stop to talk to a chicken, goat, rabbit, and a boy. Together they all walk and become friends even though they are all different. The first half of the book is in English and the second half of the book is in Japanese. The two languages meet in the middle when all the characters become friends. This book is great to teach children about multiculturalism and differences, the plot is simple. ( )

Just like in his many other books, you can tell by the illustrations that this is an Eric Carle book. The pages are a little different because he has written this book with another author, but his craft remains the same. Another one of Carle's crafts is to use animals that talk. They also ask questions and repetition to get the reader to sort of read a long with it.

This story is a about a dog going to see his friend. Along the way he runs into many of his other friends the join the journey with him. While singing and dancing the sounds of each animal are repeated. ( )

A dog is going to see his friend when he runs into a cat. The cat asks where he is going and tells her to see his friend and that his friend is a good singer. The cat replays says I am a good singer can I come. They both head off and run into other animals like a sheep, rabbit and chicken they all can sing and dance too and want to go with the dog to meet his friend. They meet the dogs friend who is a little boy and his friend a little girl. They all make music together and dance around while they all become new friends. ( )

This book tells the story of several animals following each other to go and meet their new shared friend. When the animals reach their friend it is a young american boy. The boy then meets up with his friend who is a young girl from Tokyo. The friends and animals then sing a song in both English and Japanese. The story then continues in reverse, saying goodbye to all of the animals in Japanese. This book is described to be a “story of friendship in two languages” and indeed it is. I think most children would have trouble understanding the language concepts behind this book. However I feel it is a very creative and different way for a children's book to be written. It could be used as an introduction into studying some Japanese cultures and customs within the classroom. ( )