The One About U - Umbrella

A Caldecott Honor book.  So you know it's a good one.  A classic.  

A sweet tale of a little Japanese girl who receives an umbrella for her 3rd birthday and longs to use it, even though it is the middle of summer.  Eventually it rains and she proudly carries her umbrella with her.  Taro Yashima has written, and illustrated, a cute little tale that captures a child's perspective on life perfectly.  

I've used this book when we learn about weather (rain obviously) as well as whenever we have any multicultural studies as it does include Japanese characters for some words.  It's a simple tale.  Nothing adventurous or wild.  However, I think that its simplicity is exactly what makes  the book so wonderful.

Are you familiar with this book?  If so, what do you enjoy about it?  How have you used it?  If you have not been exposed to it, I suggest you give it a try.  It's different than most stories written now, it's over 50 years old, but that just makes it all the more interesting.  The fact that it is something different.  Simple.  

Thanks for hopping by!