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Temple Alley Summer
Winner of the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award
A July/August 2021 Kids’ Indie Next Pick
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Winner of a 2022 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award
From renowned Japanese children's author Sachiko Kashiwaba, Temple Alley Summer is a fantastical and mysterious adventure filled with the living dead, magical pearls, and a suspiciously nosy black cat named Kiriko featuring beautiful illustrations from Miho Satake.
Kazu knows something odd is going on when he sees a young girl in a white dress sneak out of his house in the middle of the night--was he dreaming? Did he see a ghost? Things get even stranger when he shows up to school the next day to see the very same figure sitting in his classroom. No one else thinks it's weird, and, even though Kazu doesn't remember ever seeing her before, they all seem convinced that the ghost-girl Akari has been their friend for years!
When Kazu's summer project to learn about Kimyo Temple draws the meddling attention of his mysterious neighbor Ms. Minakami and his secretive new classmate Akari, Kazu soon learns that not everything is as it seems in his hometown. Kazu discovers that Kyoto Temple is linked to a long forgotten legend about bringing the dead to life, which could explain Akari's sudden appearance--is she a zombie or a ghost? Kazu and Akari join forces to find and protect the source of the temple's power. An unfinished story in a magazine from Akari's youth might just hold the key to keeping Akari in the world of the living, and it's up to them to find the story's ending and solve the mystery as the adults around them conspire to stop them from finding the truth.
A July/August 2021 Kids’ Indie Next Pick
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Winner of a 2022 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award
From renowned Japanese children's author Sachiko Kashiwaba, Temple Alley Summer is a fantastical and mysterious adventure filled with the living dead, magical pearls, and a suspiciously nosy black cat named Kiriko featuring beautiful illustrations from Miho Satake.
Kazu knows something odd is going on when he sees a young girl in a white dress sneak out of his house in the middle of the night--was he dreaming? Did he see a ghost? Things get even stranger when he shows up to school the next day to see the very same figure sitting in his classroom. No one else thinks it's weird, and, even though Kazu doesn't remember ever seeing her before, they all seem convinced that the ghost-girl Akari has been their friend for years!
When Kazu's summer project to learn about Kimyo Temple draws the meddling attention of his mysterious neighbor Ms. Minakami and his secretive new classmate Akari, Kazu soon learns that not everything is as it seems in his hometown. Kazu discovers that Kyoto Temple is linked to a long forgotten legend about bringing the dead to life, which could explain Akari's sudden appearance--is she a zombie or a ghost? Kazu and Akari join forces to find and protect the source of the temple's power. An unfinished story in a magazine from Akari's youth might just hold the key to keeping Akari in the world of the living, and it's up to them to find the story's ending and solve the mystery as the adults around them conspire to stop them from finding the truth.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published August 9, 2011
About the author
Sachiko Kashiwaba
19 books30 followersSachiko Kashiwaba (1953–) is a native of Iwate Prefecture, where she was born in the coastal city of Miyako. She studied at Tohoku Pharmaceutical University in Sendai, and while still in college made her debut as a children's writer by winning the 1974 Kodansha Award for New Writers of Children's Literature with The Marvelous Village Veiled in Mist (tr. 1987), which inspired the Studio Ghibli animated film Spirited Away. She quickly established herself as a leading children's author, with work ranging from novel-length fantasies to nursery tales. Her stories portray other worlds—fantasy worlds—that are direct extensions of the real world. By venturing into those other realities, her characters discover things about themselves that allow them to return to their place in this world with a new outlook. Her many other awards include the JAWC New Talent Award for The Marvelous Village Veiled in Mist; the 2007 Sankei Children's Book Award Grand Prize for Botan-san no fushigi na mainichi (The Marvelous Days of Mrs. Peony); and the 2010 Shogakukan Children's Publication Culture Award for Tsuzuki no toshokan (The Rest of the Story Library). Her other works include Buremen basu (Bremen Bus), Dodo-cho no komazukai (The Dodo Bird's Gofer), and NHK-TV's educational puppet drama Bakeruno shogakko hyudoro-gumi (Hyudoro Class, Monster School).
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March 24, 2024
خیلی از کتاب‌هایی که این مدت می‌خونم رو کور انتخاب می‌کنم. سال‌هاست عادت کرده بودم تو کتابفروشی یا توی گردش‌هام توی کتابخونه‌های آنلاین امتیاز و ریویوهای تک‌تک کتاب‌هایی که چشمم رو می‌گیرند رو چک می‌کنم. بقیه هم که از قبل توسط برنامه مطالعاتی انتخاب شدند. برای همین انگار اون فاکتور شگفتی و ندونستن توی کتاب خوندن برام کم شده بود
این کتاب رو از روی جلد و توضیحش انتخاب کردم. بدون اینکه حتی بدونم برای چه سنیه ( بیشتر مناسب نوجوان‌هاست) و امتیازش چقدره. در نهایت تبدیل به کشف جالبی از ادبیات ژاپن شد. داستان پسری که می‌بینه دختری با لباس سفید یک شب از خونه‌‌شون خارج میشه و فردا توی مدرسه همه اون دختر رو می‌شناسند جز خودش. همه میگن که سال‌هاست دختر همکلاسیشونه اما "کازو" مطمئنه که دختر یک روحه. کازو کم‌کم متوجه میشه که خونه و محله‌ش تاریخ عجیبی داره و به معبدی معروفه که مرده‌ها رو زنده می‌کنه
داستان اصلی خیلی جالب و متفاوت بود. مشکل کتاب توی کتاب بود که تقریباً هیچوقت مورد علاقه‌ی من نیست. اینکه کاراکتری کتابی رو باز کنه و داستانش وارد کتاب بشه. اینجا حداقل نصف کتاب داستان دوم بود که اصلاً دوسش نداشتم و داستان اصلی هم ربط خاصی نداشت. اما حداقل تیکه‌ی اولش بعد مدت‌ها طعم یک داستان جدید داشت
کتاب رو می‌تونید از اینجا دانلود کنید
Maede's Books
۱۴۰۳/۱/۵
این کتاب رو از روی جلد و توضیحش انتخاب کردم. بدون اینکه حتی بدونم برای چه سنیه ( بیشتر مناسب نوجوان‌هاست) و امتیازش چقدره. در نهایت تبدیل به کشف جالبی از ادبیات ژاپن شد. داستان پسری که می‌بینه دختری با لباس سفید یک شب از خونه‌‌شون خارج میشه و فردا توی مدرسه همه اون دختر رو می‌شناسند جز خودش. همه میگن که سال‌هاست دختر همکلاسیشونه اما "کازو" مطمئنه که دختر یک روحه. کازو کم‌کم متوجه میشه که خونه و محله‌ش تاریخ عجیبی داره و به معبدی معروفه که مرده‌ها رو زنده می‌کنه
داستان اصلی خیلی جالب و متفاوت بود. مشکل کتاب توی کتاب بود که تقریباً هیچوقت مورد علاقه‌ی من نیست. اینکه کاراکتری کتابی رو باز کنه و داستانش وارد کتاب بشه. اینجا حداقل نصف کتاب داستان دوم بود که اصلاً دوسش نداشتم و داستان اصلی هم ربط خاصی نداشت. اما حداقل تیکه‌ی اولش بعد مدت‌ها طعم یک داستان جدید داشت
کتاب رو می‌تونید از اینجا دانلود کنید
Maede's Books
۱۴۰۳/۱/۵
December 10, 2021
temple alley summer…hah, make that temple wow-y summer.
June 7, 2024
Sachiko Kashiwaba verbindet in ihrem Roman „Sommer in der Tempelgasse“ den Alltag mit surrealen Geschehnissen, Mythen und Mystery, Elemente englischer Schauerliteratur mit jenem humorvollen Horror, der die japanische Vortragskunst „Rakugo“ prägt.
Der Grundschüler Kazu sieht ein Geistermädchen im schneeweißen Kimono aus den Schiebetüren seines Hauses entschwinden – seine Straße hieß früher „Kimyōtempelgasse“, wobei der Tempelname „Kimyō“ so viel wie „zurückkehrende Leben“ bedeutet. Am nächsten Tag sitzt es im Klassenzimmer, doch alle Klassenkameraden wundern sich über Kazus Verwunderung, denn besagte Akari sei schon immer da gewesen.
In dieser Abenteuergeschichte fragt man sich, ob Akari eine „Wiederauferstandene“ ist und warum sie aus Kazus Haus kam. Von seinem Onkel erfährt Kazu, dass es sich beim Kimyōtempel um die Statue eines zwischen den Gassenbewohnern zirkulierenden „wandernden Buddhas“ handelte. Durch ihre Anrufung konnte man für die Rückkehr verstorbener Angehöriger beten. Doch als Kazu im Hausaltar nach der Buddhastatue sucht, ist sie verschwunden: Würde sie vom Dieb verbrannt, wäre Akaris wiedergewonnenes Leben – vierzig Jahre zuvor war sie an einer unheilbaren Erkrankung gestorben – in Gefahr.
Ein unvollendeter Fortsetzungsroman, stellt einen Schlüssel zur Wahrung der Quelle der Tempelkraft und zum Weiterleben Akaris dar, den sie als rare Erinnerung an ihr Vorleben vor 40 Jahren in einer Mädchenzeitschrift las. Es beginnt eine metaphorische Suche nach dem Ende der Geschichte, Akari und Kazu brechen auf. Sie machen Minakami, die Autorin des Romans ausfindig und Kazu bittet sie, ihn zu Ende zu schreiben, damit Akari im Diesseits bleiben
Kashiwaba führt Erzählstränge der Binnengeschichte mit der Rahmenerzählung zusammen. Hier findet auch eine Integration eines vom Diesseits integrierten Geistwesen statt. So ist das Buch im Buch ein Lob der Solidarität zwischen den Generationen und der den Tod überwindenden Freundschaft. In einer rasanten übersinnlichen Schlussvolte verschwindet das Mädchen erneut, um, nunmehr diesseitserfahren, in Kanada aufzuwachsen und eines Tages eine „sichtbare“ Familie zu gründen.
„Sommer in der Tempelgasse“ ist eine wundervolle Erzählung über Toleranz und Transzendenz und über das Glück auch und gerade in seiner Vergänglichkeit. Es ist ein Lehrstück in Sachen Resilienz, Aufbegehren und der Selbstermächtigung der Kinder.
Zu guter letzt ist Kashiwabas Roman eine Parabel über das Zeitfenster unserer Existenz, Empathie und Überlebenswillen, Sichtbarkeit und Unsichtbarkeit, gute und schlechte Geister und den Wert zweiter Chancen.
Der Grundschüler Kazu sieht ein Geistermädchen im schneeweißen Kimono aus den Schiebetüren seines Hauses entschwinden – seine Straße hieß früher „Kimyōtempelgasse“, wobei der Tempelname „Kimyō“ so viel wie „zurückkehrende Leben“ bedeutet. Am nächsten Tag sitzt es im Klassenzimmer, doch alle Klassenkameraden wundern sich über Kazus Verwunderung, denn besagte Akari sei schon immer da gewesen.
In dieser Abenteuergeschichte fragt man sich, ob Akari eine „Wiederauferstandene“ ist und warum sie aus Kazus Haus kam. Von seinem Onkel erfährt Kazu, dass es sich beim Kimyōtempel um die Statue eines zwischen den Gassenbewohnern zirkulierenden „wandernden Buddhas“ handelte. Durch ihre Anrufung konnte man für die Rückkehr verstorbener Angehöriger beten. Doch als Kazu im Hausaltar nach der Buddhastatue sucht, ist sie verschwunden: Würde sie vom Dieb verbrannt, wäre Akaris wiedergewonnenes Leben – vierzig Jahre zuvor war sie an einer unheilbaren Erkrankung gestorben – in Gefahr.
Ein unvollendeter Fortsetzungsroman, stellt einen Schlüssel zur Wahrung der Quelle der Tempelkraft und zum Weiterleben Akaris dar, den sie als rare Erinnerung an ihr Vorleben vor 40 Jahren in einer Mädchenzeitschrift las. Es beginnt eine metaphorische Suche nach dem Ende der Geschichte, Akari und Kazu brechen auf. Sie machen Minakami, die Autorin des Romans ausfindig und Kazu bittet sie, ihn zu Ende zu schreiben, damit Akari im Diesseits bleiben
Kashiwaba führt Erzählstränge der Binnengeschichte mit der Rahmenerzählung zusammen. Hier findet auch eine Integration eines vom Diesseits integrierten Geistwesen statt. So ist das Buch im Buch ein Lob der Solidarität zwischen den Generationen und der den Tod überwindenden Freundschaft. In einer rasanten übersinnlichen Schlussvolte verschwindet das Mädchen erneut, um, nunmehr diesseitserfahren, in Kanada aufzuwachsen und eines Tages eine „sichtbare“ Familie zu gründen.
„Sommer in der Tempelgasse“ ist eine wundervolle Erzählung über Toleranz und Transzendenz und über das Glück auch und gerade in seiner Vergänglichkeit. Es ist ein Lehrstück in Sachen Resilienz, Aufbegehren und der Selbstermächtigung der Kinder.
Zu guter letzt ist Kashiwabas Roman eine Parabel über das Zeitfenster unserer Existenz, Empathie und Überlebenswillen, Sichtbarkeit und Unsichtbarkeit, gute und schlechte Geister und den Wert zweiter Chancen.
January 8, 2023
I discovered 'Temple Alley Summer' by Sachiko Kashiwaba by accident. The cover was enchanting, and I thought it was a manga book. After getting it and looking inside, I discovered that it was a regular book. I was mildly disappointed at the beginning, because of this, but as I continued reading, my disappointment melted away, because the book turned out to be what I had thought at the beginning – enchanting.
Kazu gets awake in the middle of the night and he sees a girl wearing a white dress coming out of one of the rooms in his house which has the family altar. She then opens the door and leaves his house. He has never seen her before. He thinks she is a ghost. The next day at school, he sees the same girl in his class. Everyone seems to know her except him. Kazu is puzzled with this mystery. Then when Kazu and his classmates are doing a project on their town, they discover that an old map shows a mysterious temple in his street. When Kazu tries to find out more, Kazu unwittingly ruffles a few feathers and some elders turn up at his house, trying to find out why he is doing this project. It looks like they are hiding a secret. Soon, a mysterious story from an old magazine turns up and before long, real events and fantasy and the mysterious story all start to merge together, while a mysterious lady with a black cat tries to stymie Kazu at every turn...
I loved 'Temple Alley Summer'. I read it in one breath. I know it is just the second book of the year, but I think it will end up as one of my favourites at the end of the year. The whole story is gripping and enchanting, the characters are charming, and the ending of the story is perfect. Sachiko Kashiwaba is one of the great writers of children's literature from Japan, and after reading this book, we know why. This is the first Sachiko Kashiwaba book to be translated into English, I think. The next one, 'The House of the Lost on the Cape', is coming out in September. I can't wait!
I always love discovering new Japanese food through Japanese stories. These were the two things I discovered through this book.
Manjū – "Manjū is a traditional Japanese confection. Of the many varieties of manjū, most have an outside made from flour, rice powder, kudzu, and buckwheat, and a filling of anko (red bean paste), usually made from boiled adzuki beans and sugar. Manjū is sometimes made with other fillings such as chestnut jam. In Hawaii, one can find Okinawan manjū that are made with a filling of purple sweet potato, butter, milk, sugar, and salt, but the most common filling is bean paste, of which the several varieties include koshian, tsubuan, and tsubushian."
Takoyaki – "Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus (tako), tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger (beni shoga), and green onion (negi). The balls are brushed with takoyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce) and mayonnaise, and then sprinkled with green laver (aonori) and shavings of dried bonito (katsuobushi)".
They both sound delicious 😊 I want to try them one day.
I'll leave you with one of my favourite passages from the book.
"Listen, Kazu. Everyone says that humans are equal, but we don’t all get the same chances in life. You know that, don’t you? You’re a big boy in fifth grade. Some people are born healthy, and others are born with illnesses and disabilities. There are beautiful people who get adored by everyone, and people of fine character who never get any credit due to their looks. Some children get good grades without studying, while others study like crazy for nothing. Plenty of things in this world are not fair and equal, Kazu. But one thing is the same for everyone, Kazu. Not only on the surface, but through and through. It affects the smart people, the rich people—no matter what they do, they cannot get more of it than their due. Do you know what I’m referring to? Time, Kazu. Time is the same for everyone. Men, women, young people, old people—everyone. A day is a day. An hour is an hour. Time is the one thing applied impartially to all humans, and to every living creature."
Have you read 'Temple Alley Summer'? What do you think about it?
Kazu gets awake in the middle of the night and he sees a girl wearing a white dress coming out of one of the rooms in his house which has the family altar. She then opens the door and leaves his house. He has never seen her before. He thinks she is a ghost. The next day at school, he sees the same girl in his class. Everyone seems to know her except him. Kazu is puzzled with this mystery. Then when Kazu and his classmates are doing a project on their town, they discover that an old map shows a mysterious temple in his street. When Kazu tries to find out more, Kazu unwittingly ruffles a few feathers and some elders turn up at his house, trying to find out why he is doing this project. It looks like they are hiding a secret. Soon, a mysterious story from an old magazine turns up and before long, real events and fantasy and the mysterious story all start to merge together, while a mysterious lady with a black cat tries to stymie Kazu at every turn...
I loved 'Temple Alley Summer'. I read it in one breath. I know it is just the second book of the year, but I think it will end up as one of my favourites at the end of the year. The whole story is gripping and enchanting, the characters are charming, and the ending of the story is perfect. Sachiko Kashiwaba is one of the great writers of children's literature from Japan, and after reading this book, we know why. This is the first Sachiko Kashiwaba book to be translated into English, I think. The next one, 'The House of the Lost on the Cape', is coming out in September. I can't wait!
I always love discovering new Japanese food through Japanese stories. These were the two things I discovered through this book.
Manjū – "Manjū is a traditional Japanese confection. Of the many varieties of manjū, most have an outside made from flour, rice powder, kudzu, and buckwheat, and a filling of anko (red bean paste), usually made from boiled adzuki beans and sugar. Manjū is sometimes made with other fillings such as chestnut jam. In Hawaii, one can find Okinawan manjū that are made with a filling of purple sweet potato, butter, milk, sugar, and salt, but the most common filling is bean paste, of which the several varieties include koshian, tsubuan, and tsubushian."
Takoyaki – "Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus (tako), tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger (beni shoga), and green onion (negi). The balls are brushed with takoyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce) and mayonnaise, and then sprinkled with green laver (aonori) and shavings of dried bonito (katsuobushi)".
They both sound delicious 😊 I want to try them one day.
I'll leave you with one of my favourite passages from the book.
"Listen, Kazu. Everyone says that humans are equal, but we don’t all get the same chances in life. You know that, don’t you? You’re a big boy in fifth grade. Some people are born healthy, and others are born with illnesses and disabilities. There are beautiful people who get adored by everyone, and people of fine character who never get any credit due to their looks. Some children get good grades without studying, while others study like crazy for nothing. Plenty of things in this world are not fair and equal, Kazu. But one thing is the same for everyone, Kazu. Not only on the surface, but through and through. It affects the smart people, the rich people—no matter what they do, they cannot get more of it than their due. Do you know what I’m referring to? Time, Kazu. Time is the same for everyone. Men, women, young people, old people—everyone. A day is a day. An hour is an hour. Time is the one thing applied impartially to all humans, and to every living creature."
Have you read 'Temple Alley Summer'? What do you think about it?
September 3, 2022
I don’t think there are a lot of translated children’s books out there, but what a great idea. I enjoyed this Japanese middle-grade ghost story, which also features a story-within-a-story. The young protagonist, Kazu, is sneakily peeing out his window to avoid the long walk to the bathroom late one night when he spots a young female ghost slipping out of his house. The next day, a new girl, Akari, who looks a lot like the ghost has appeared in his class. The translation is a little clunky, especially in the first part of the book, and I’m not sure how well the pacing would work for younger readers. But it was an interesting read, and I liked how imbued with Japanese culture the sections with Kazu and
Akari were, though the interior ghost story-within-a-story was more suspenseful. Also an incredibly gorgeous book physically, with a beautiful cover and illustrations.
Akari were, though the interior ghost story-within-a-story was more suspenseful. Also an incredibly gorgeous book physically, with a beautiful cover and illustrations.
January 27, 2024
The bread isnt plain anymore, they serve it with butter and jam. I like it.
February 16, 2021
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
I loved this story! The best thing about it was that it had such an interesting plot, like you could tell this wasn't a Western story, because the layout of the plot felt so different, and I can't even tell you how exactly. It felt very different, but so good.
It also had quite a lot of character! Old ladies who seem to know stuff about ghosts and the living dead, invisible mothers, prying cat guardians... It's tough being a schoolboy in a situation like this! Kazu, the protagonist, is just a simple school boy, but soon finds out he can see some weird stuff that others can't. He gets really worried about this and ends up getting involved in a whirlwind of events that have something to do with people coming back to life - or more like, one specific person.
What I loved most was how touching this story was. Kazu was a very "soft" boy character, and it was great - this kind of softness and kindness isn't common in Western stories. Kazu cared so much about someone else's welfare - tried so hard to save someone, cried when they were in danger. It was such warm and sincere behavior, it really touched my heart. A lot of this story is about compassion and letting someone have a second chance.
But of course, apart from that, this story is also great because it has that "slightly mystical" thing going on, and it even had a story within a story, and a good moral side of the plot that really shines through at the very end. It was a wonderful read!
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
I loved this story! The best thing about it was that it had such an interesting plot, like you could tell this wasn't a Western story, because the layout of the plot felt so different, and I can't even tell you how exactly. It felt very different, but so good.
It also had quite a lot of character! Old ladies who seem to know stuff about ghosts and the living dead, invisible mothers, prying cat guardians... It's tough being a schoolboy in a situation like this! Kazu, the protagonist, is just a simple school boy, but soon finds out he can see some weird stuff that others can't. He gets really worried about this and ends up getting involved in a whirlwind of events that have something to do with people coming back to life - or more like, one specific person.
What I loved most was how touching this story was. Kazu was a very "soft" boy character, and it was great - this kind of softness and kindness isn't common in Western stories. Kazu cared so much about someone else's welfare - tried so hard to save someone, cried when they were in danger. It was such warm and sincere behavior, it really touched my heart. A lot of this story is about compassion and letting someone have a second chance.
But of course, apart from that, this story is also great because it has that "slightly mystical" thing going on, and it even had a story within a story, and a good moral side of the plot that really shines through at the very end. It was a wonderful read!
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
August 28, 2023
Kazu discovers that his home was formerly a temple through which souls of the dead could return for a second chance at life. Is one of his classmates a ghost? Do older members of his neighborhood keep ancient secrets? What is the secret of "Daisy" and the unfinished story? I can envision a sequel where the secret is discovered and used once more. Lots of interesting tidbits about Japanese school and neighborhood life and some great descriptions of food.
This book for middle grade kids won the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award for "most outstanding" children's book translated into English.
Quirky and compulsively readable from the author of the book that became the film Spirited Away.
This book for middle grade kids won the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award for "most outstanding" children's book translated into English.
Quirky and compulsively readable from the author of the book that became the film Spirited Away.
May 19, 2023
Kazu is just finishing up the school year and he needs summer homework. Prompted by an old map his teacher shares with the class, Kazu decides to research his home that is rumored to be the place where a temple used to stand.
Kazu becomes even more convinced when a young girl, Akari, appears one night in his house. Is she a ghost? A zombie? He's not sure. He also learns the temple used to harbor a statuette that can make people come back to life when their family prays for it. If the statuette is destroyed, any person that has been conjured from a prayer will disappear. Akari may be a result of such a prayer.
When the statuette is stolen, it becomes Kazu's mission to find the statuette and save Akari from disappearing.
There is a story within the text also. There is a lot to describe and I'm not doing a great job of it. The story within the story is just as interesting as the story of Kazu and Akari. I love that. An enjoyable read with minimal illustrations.
Kazu becomes even more convinced when a young girl, Akari, appears one night in his house. Is she a ghost? A zombie? He's not sure. He also learns the temple used to harbor a statuette that can make people come back to life when their family prays for it. If the statuette is destroyed, any person that has been conjured from a prayer will disappear. Akari may be a result of such a prayer.
When the statuette is stolen, it becomes Kazu's mission to find the statuette and save Akari from disappearing.
There is a story within the text also. There is a lot to describe and I'm not doing a great job of it. The story within the story is just as interesting as the story of Kazu and Akari. I love that. An enjoyable read with minimal illustrations.
July 7, 2024
Duh membacanya dengan gembira dan menyenangkan. Tidak usah berpikir aneh-aneh. Bacaan ini memang cocok diambil ketika rasanya kepala begitu jenuh dan sesak oleh bacaan yang ndakik-ndakik. Butuh yang selow, yang seru, yang menantang. Persabahatan Kazu dan Akira yang sejatinya aneh dan ajaib pun terbaca sangat seru dan menggembirakan.
Bacalah! Bacalah!
Bacalah! Bacalah!
August 23, 2021
It's no surprise that Sachiko Kashiwaba is the author behind The Marvelous Village Veiled in Mist, the children's novel that inspired Hayao Miyazaki's film Spirited Away, because Temple Alley Summer touches on a lot of the same themes. The story, as all good children's books do, treats its readers like intelligent human beings, trusting that they can understand the moral dilemma that protagonist Kazu finds himself in: whether or not it is worth keeping around an artifact that, when prayed to, can bring back the dead.
The story opens when Kazu, up to go to the bathroom, sees a girl in a white burial kimono step out from the room where his family keeps their altar. The next day the girl is in his class, and he's the only one who finds it strange. Then a school project reveals that the street he lives on used to be known as "Kimyo Temple Alley" - and "kimyo" is written with the characters for "return" and "dead." It turns out that for centuries his family has had the charge of a small Buddha statuette that, when prayed to, can revive a lost loved one, with the caveat that they will be brought back in another family. Kazu quickly figures out that Akari is a girl who died at age ten in the 1970s, unwittingly returned to life when her mother came to pray for Kazu's deceased grandfather.
Ultimately Kazu finds himself pitted against neighborhood elders, who see the statuette as ripe for corruption. One of them steals it and Kazu becomes desperate to keep Akari alive, striving to convince his elderly neighbor and terrified that he won't be able to. Salvation, or at least salve for his spirit, comes from an unfinished serialized novel Akari was reading in a magazine before she died, and the combination of Kazu's determination, the inherent sadness of the situation, and the embedded narrative of the serialized story all come together beautifully.
The translation does feel like it talks down at times, and a few efforts to avoid having glosses backfire a bit, but it's worth ignoring that and reading this story. If it doesn't get an anime adaptation in the next few years, I will be surprised.
The story opens when Kazu, up to go to the bathroom, sees a girl in a white burial kimono step out from the room where his family keeps their altar. The next day the girl is in his class, and he's the only one who finds it strange. Then a school project reveals that the street he lives on used to be known as "Kimyo Temple Alley" - and "kimyo" is written with the characters for "return" and "dead." It turns out that for centuries his family has had the charge of a small Buddha statuette that, when prayed to, can revive a lost loved one, with the caveat that they will be brought back in another family. Kazu quickly figures out that Akari is a girl who died at age ten in the 1970s, unwittingly returned to life when her mother came to pray for Kazu's deceased grandfather.
Ultimately Kazu finds himself pitted against neighborhood elders, who see the statuette as ripe for corruption. One of them steals it and Kazu becomes desperate to keep Akari alive, striving to convince his elderly neighbor and terrified that he won't be able to. Salvation, or at least salve for his spirit, comes from an unfinished serialized novel Akari was reading in a magazine before she died, and the combination of Kazu's determination, the inherent sadness of the situation, and the embedded narrative of the serialized story all come together beautifully.
The translation does feel like it talks down at times, and a few efforts to avoid having glosses backfire a bit, but it's worth ignoring that and reading this story. If it doesn't get an anime adaptation in the next few years, I will be surprised.
August 24, 2021
This was a beautiful ghost story. Translated from Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa, I bought it after seeing it reviewed on a website. Kashiwaba has been a muse for director, Hayao Miyazaki and the themes and style of the book made that connection abundantly clear. Kashiwaba has a very clever way of seeing the world through the eyes of a child in the same way that Kate Di Camillo (and Miyazaki) does.
It would be silly to summarise the story as to do so would give too much away. Needless to say that this is a story with deep moral questions about life and justice and love and hope; all woven in a rich tapestry of a story. I was worried that the ending would come to too abrupt an ending but it absolutely did not.
It would be silly to summarise the story as to do so would give too much away. Needless to say that this is a story with deep moral questions about life and justice and love and hope; all woven in a rich tapestry of a story. I was worried that the ending would come to too abrupt an ending but it absolutely did not.
November 23, 2021
I absolutely adored this book. The supernatural elements alongside the normality of the rest of Kazu's life makes for a wonderful read, and the story-within-the-story (which has beautiful links to the moral questions that the narrative presents) is woven in with lovely detail. As a big fan of Studio Ghibli films, reading a novel from the author who inspired Spirited Away was fantastic, and it absolutely did not disappoint!
June 20, 2024
Buat kalian yg suka sama Studio Ghibli wajib banget baca ini, karena cerita ini jadi salah satu inspirasi Hayao Miyazaki dalam film Spirited Away. Vibes ceritanya pun sangat amat ghibli dan yg pastinya seru banget!
Menceritakan tentang sang karakter utama bernama Kazu seorang anak berumur 10 tahun yg mendapat tugas untuk libur musim panas dari gurunya. Tugasnya itu tentang meneliti sejarah tempat ia tinggal yg ternyata merupakan sebuah kuil, bernama Kimyo Temple Alley.
Ada legenda di desanya bahwa siapapun yg berdoa di kuil itu dan memikirkan seseorang yg telah meninggal maka orang yg meninggal tersebut akan hidup kembali. Ih kok jadi serem ya ceritanya? Nggak dong, disini memang akan membahas tentang keajaiban kuil tersebut dan perjuangan Kazu demi hidup dan mimpi Akari. Akari siapa tuh? Itu gadis yg dicover bukunya, itu Akari-chan.
Jika seseorang memiliki kesempatan untuk hidup kembali, lalu ingin melakukan hal yg belum pernah ia lakukan semasa hidupnya dahulu dan ingin menikmati hidup mengejar impiannya, akankah kita tega menghancurkan semuanya hanya karna mereka menyalahi takdir yg seharusnya mati? Karena mereka hanyalah roh?
Dalam buku ini jg akan menceritakan buku cerita lain yg sangat seru, dan bikin aku penasaran sampai endingnya. Pokoknya buku ini fix jadi comfort read aku!
Menceritakan tentang sang karakter utama bernama Kazu seorang anak berumur 10 tahun yg mendapat tugas untuk libur musim panas dari gurunya. Tugasnya itu tentang meneliti sejarah tempat ia tinggal yg ternyata merupakan sebuah kuil, bernama Kimyo Temple Alley.
Ada legenda di desanya bahwa siapapun yg berdoa di kuil itu dan memikirkan seseorang yg telah meninggal maka orang yg meninggal tersebut akan hidup kembali. Ih kok jadi serem ya ceritanya? Nggak dong, disini memang akan membahas tentang keajaiban kuil tersebut dan perjuangan Kazu demi hidup dan mimpi Akari. Akari siapa tuh? Itu gadis yg dicover bukunya, itu Akari-chan.
Jika seseorang memiliki kesempatan untuk hidup kembali, lalu ingin melakukan hal yg belum pernah ia lakukan semasa hidupnya dahulu dan ingin menikmati hidup mengejar impiannya, akankah kita tega menghancurkan semuanya hanya karna mereka menyalahi takdir yg seharusnya mati? Karena mereka hanyalah roh?
Dalam buku ini jg akan menceritakan buku cerita lain yg sangat seru, dan bikin aku penasaran sampai endingnya. Pokoknya buku ini fix jadi comfort read aku!
July 26, 2022
this wasn't what i expected at all but thats one of the reasons why i like it! It took me forever to read but thats only because my reading slump was harder to get over than expected.
it's a beautiful story and the plot is interesting. i have no other intelligent enough words other than "ghibli pls 🥺"
it's a beautiful story and the plot is interesting. i have no other intelligent enough words other than "ghibli pls 🥺"
May 28, 2024
This is a story about a boy who befriends a ghost girl given another chance at life, and the history of his family and the neighbourhood he lives in. The people Kazu meets as he pieces information together about the past are all experiencing some form of regret, including Akari, the girl who suddenly appears in his life.
Akari's big regret is never getting a chance to finish a story that was published in serial form when she lived, and Kazu ends up convincing his neighbour Ms. Minakami, who incidentally is opposed to the return of dead, to help him satisfy Akari's wish.
I liked this. Kazu is, once over his shock at Akari's nature, intrigued, and wanting to help her. I particularly enjoyed the in-story tale of the children forced by a witch to find a pearl.
The cover and inside illustrations were attractive and full of expression.
Despite the regret filling so much of the story, this was sweet.
Akari's big regret is never getting a chance to finish a story that was published in serial form when she lived, and Kazu ends up convincing his neighbour Ms. Minakami, who incidentally is opposed to the return of dead, to help him satisfy Akari's wish.
I liked this. Kazu is, once over his shock at Akari's nature, intrigued, and wanting to help her. I particularly enjoyed the in-story tale of the children forced by a witch to find a pearl.
The cover and inside illustrations were attractive and full of expression.
Despite the regret filling so much of the story, this was sweet.
April 27, 2022
I wanted this book to feel exactly as hushed and secretive as Miho Satake's marvelous cover: A young Japanese girl in a summer dress and a pink backpack floats slightly above a narrow stone street between two rows of buildings. The alley is lined with all the mundane clutter we push to the back of our lives and out of sight—old potted plants, pipes, gutters, crates, utility poles, HVAC units, trash cans, bicycles—and in the distance, just visible in the mist, light reflecting off water, the outline of a castle, and the suggestion of a witch on a broomstick.
It has some of that—Akari and her Invisible Mama, the history of Kimyō Temple Alley, the black cat that seems to know more than it's letting on—but for the most part it's a busy story filled with nosy neighbors and kids running around in the summer heat, and being, like, eleven. Unfortunately the translation is somewhat stilted and the prose has a lot of clichés that threw me out of the story because it wasn't stuff a kid would say.
The story within this story—the witch, the lake, the castle—has the lyrical feel of a fairy tale, which suggests the stiff nature of Kazuhiro's story was a deliberate style choice, but, if so, a weird one.
I enjoyed this, though, for its different perspective, its glimpse at small town life in Japan, its unique story, and Kazu, a sympathetic protagonist who's weirded out by what's happening to him, but instead of acting out of fear, he tries his best to fulfill his responsibilities and protect Akari and her secret.
Contains: plays into ableist tropes with a chronically ill character (in past); and in the story within the story: a parent sells his children because he can't provide for them; imprisonment; animal attack, animal harm/death (malicious giant otter).
It has some of that—Akari and her Invisible Mama, the history of Kimyō Temple Alley, the black cat that seems to know more than it's letting on—but for the most part it's a busy story filled with nosy neighbors and kids running around in the summer heat, and being, like, eleven. Unfortunately the translation is somewhat stilted and the prose has a lot of clichés that threw me out of the story because it wasn't stuff a kid would say.
The story within this story—the witch, the lake, the castle—has the lyrical feel of a fairy tale, which suggests the stiff nature of Kazuhiro's story was a deliberate style choice, but, if so, a weird one.
I enjoyed this, though, for its different perspective, its glimpse at small town life in Japan, its unique story, and Kazu, a sympathetic protagonist who's weirded out by what's happening to him, but instead of acting out of fear, he tries his best to fulfill his responsibilities and protect Akari and her secret.
Contains: plays into ableist tropes with a chronically ill character (in past); and in the story within the story: a parent sells his children because he can't provide for them; imprisonment; animal attack, animal harm/death (malicious giant otter).
April 26, 2023
I discovered this wonderful title while searching the ala.org website for books that have won the Mildred L. Batchelder Award (which is awarded to “the most outstanding of those books originating in a country other than the United States and in a language other than English and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States”). I checked out a hardcover copy from my local branch of the Chicago Public Library.
The story begins when our protagonist, Kazu, witnesses the “ghost” of a young girl emerge from his house one rainy night. After overcoming his own fear of the supernatural (he is a self-described “scaredy cat”) and anxiety (he fears he may be losing his mind), Kazu learns that his house - and the street he lives on - may have once been known as Kimyō Temple Alley. And the word Kimyō just so happens to mean “return-to-life”. Although unsure if he even believes the legends surrounding Kimyō Temple Alley, Kazu dedicates himself to helping out the ghost, Akari, in any way he can. Unfortunately, that’s about the synopsis I can offer as there is a bit of mystery and intrigue in the book as well. Is Akari really a ghost? Why are elders from Kazu’s village suddenly interested in speaking to the young boy? And what’s the deal with the black cat that follows Kazu everywhere he goes? All these questions and more await discovery in this delightfully entertaining tale.
If it isn’t clear from my summary, I absolutely loved this book. It’s a quirky supernatural tale about friendship that also touches on topics like religion, superstition, and belonging. While the characters are not as round and fleshed out as I would have liked, they are by no means flat or static. However, the changes they go through seem a bit rushed and even feel forced at times. However, author Sachiko Kashiwaba’s storytelling and world building more than make up for that minor gripe. Kashiwaba has developed a world that feels real to the reader, and the lore surrounding Kimyō Temple Alley helps draw the reader into the lives of the characters. Brilliantly included in the story of Kazu and Akari is another tale that runs parallel theirs in several ways. It’s certainly unlike anything I have ever read as the story within a story takes up about a third of the book and is spaced out over two distinct sections. But the secondary story, which is a fairytale-like narrative, is wonderfully constructed. In fact, I enjoyed the story within a story a bit more than the main story line!
One of the strongest aspects of Temple Alley Summer is how Kashiwaba explains various cultural elements to the reader so it might be more comprehensible for young American readers. For instance, on page 72, Kazu’s mother briefly explains to him that a ceremony called Oban is “the celebration of the ancestors.” This line is clearly meant for an audience born outside of Japan as Oban has been part of Japanese Buddhist culture for over 500 years. However, the simplicity of the line helps American readers understand what the characters are discussing while not interrupting the narrative flow. As chapter 5 in Children's Books in Children’s Hands states, “...[references] to [things] unknown to young children…may feel like too much new information at one time, but the introduction to new concepts through a quality picturebook can be a welcome introduction to things newly encountered” (p. 124). By including lines like the one about Oban, young readers will not feel overwhelmed by new information they read in international literature and will instead be able to comprehend new ideas or concepts.
This book would be an excellent exemplar text for teaching the traditional plot structure (Children’s Books in Children’s Hands, p. 34). Temple Alley Summer contains not one, but two distinct story lines, and each one follows the plot structure very well. One could even just focus on the shorter fairytale within the text to demonstrate to students how a plot unfolds in a narrative. As stated above, Kashiwaba’s narrative style is a wonder to read, and I think this is due to the fact his parallel narratives so closely adhere to the rules and structure of the traditional plot.
Although Temple Alley Summer does not tackle issues of social justice and inclusion, I think using the story in the classroom would help communicate to students the importance and value of other cultures. The book can act as a kind of “window” into religious and cultural practices that are unfamiliar to most American students. Temple Alley Summer even helps normalize spiritual practices and what might be judged as superstition by presenting these elements as perfectly normal and accepted by the characters. Said another way, the book may help destigmatize the non-Western religious and spiritual beliefs it depicts. Similarly, the book could act as a “mirror” of sorts for students that are Japanese, and even for students that practice Buddhism or celebrate Oban. While this story might not capture their culture or beliefs perfectly, it does offer those students a chance to connect with a book that features characters that have a similar heritage to their own.
The story begins when our protagonist, Kazu, witnesses the “ghost” of a young girl emerge from his house one rainy night. After overcoming his own fear of the supernatural (he is a self-described “scaredy cat”) and anxiety (he fears he may be losing his mind), Kazu learns that his house - and the street he lives on - may have once been known as Kimyō Temple Alley. And the word Kimyō just so happens to mean “return-to-life”. Although unsure if he even believes the legends surrounding Kimyō Temple Alley, Kazu dedicates himself to helping out the ghost, Akari, in any way he can. Unfortunately, that’s about the synopsis I can offer as there is a bit of mystery and intrigue in the book as well. Is Akari really a ghost? Why are elders from Kazu’s village suddenly interested in speaking to the young boy? And what’s the deal with the black cat that follows Kazu everywhere he goes? All these questions and more await discovery in this delightfully entertaining tale.
If it isn’t clear from my summary, I absolutely loved this book. It’s a quirky supernatural tale about friendship that also touches on topics like religion, superstition, and belonging. While the characters are not as round and fleshed out as I would have liked, they are by no means flat or static. However, the changes they go through seem a bit rushed and even feel forced at times. However, author Sachiko Kashiwaba’s storytelling and world building more than make up for that minor gripe. Kashiwaba has developed a world that feels real to the reader, and the lore surrounding Kimyō Temple Alley helps draw the reader into the lives of the characters. Brilliantly included in the story of Kazu and Akari is another tale that runs parallel theirs in several ways. It’s certainly unlike anything I have ever read as the story within a story takes up about a third of the book and is spaced out over two distinct sections. But the secondary story, which is a fairytale-like narrative, is wonderfully constructed. In fact, I enjoyed the story within a story a bit more than the main story line!
One of the strongest aspects of Temple Alley Summer is how Kashiwaba explains various cultural elements to the reader so it might be more comprehensible for young American readers. For instance, on page 72, Kazu’s mother briefly explains to him that a ceremony called Oban is “the celebration of the ancestors.” This line is clearly meant for an audience born outside of Japan as Oban has been part of Japanese Buddhist culture for over 500 years. However, the simplicity of the line helps American readers understand what the characters are discussing while not interrupting the narrative flow. As chapter 5 in Children's Books in Children’s Hands states, “...[references] to [things] unknown to young children…may feel like too much new information at one time, but the introduction to new concepts through a quality picturebook can be a welcome introduction to things newly encountered” (p. 124). By including lines like the one about Oban, young readers will not feel overwhelmed by new information they read in international literature and will instead be able to comprehend new ideas or concepts.
This book would be an excellent exemplar text for teaching the traditional plot structure (Children’s Books in Children’s Hands, p. 34). Temple Alley Summer contains not one, but two distinct story lines, and each one follows the plot structure very well. One could even just focus on the shorter fairytale within the text to demonstrate to students how a plot unfolds in a narrative. As stated above, Kashiwaba’s narrative style is a wonder to read, and I think this is due to the fact his parallel narratives so closely adhere to the rules and structure of the traditional plot.
Although Temple Alley Summer does not tackle issues of social justice and inclusion, I think using the story in the classroom would help communicate to students the importance and value of other cultures. The book can act as a kind of “window” into religious and cultural practices that are unfamiliar to most American students. Temple Alley Summer even helps normalize spiritual practices and what might be judged as superstition by presenting these elements as perfectly normal and accepted by the characters. Said another way, the book may help destigmatize the non-Western religious and spiritual beliefs it depicts. Similarly, the book could act as a “mirror” of sorts for students that are Japanese, and even for students that practice Buddhism or celebrate Oban. While this story might not capture their culture or beliefs perfectly, it does offer those students a chance to connect with a book that features characters that have a similar heritage to their own.
January 12, 2022
A complex and satisfying mystery story set in Masuda City, Japan, "Temple Alley Summer" is part ghost story, part folk tale.
Kazuhiro Sada lives at the site of an ancient temple. A long time ago, a small Buddha statue was shared among the houses on his street. People prayed to the statue to bring back those who had died, and their loved ones would return, but in a different family. Now Kazu believes it has happened again. As the only witness of Saori Andō’s return to life in the early morning hours, he is the only one in his community with no memory of Akari—Saori’s present identity. Everyone else believes that she has always lived in their town with her mother. When Kazu finds out about this, he sympathizes with Akari and wants to protect her in whatever way he can. In her former life, Akari was in the hospital with health problems.
Though she doesn’t remember the specifics of her former life, she knows that she wants to use her second chance to become a doctor. More immediately, she wants to track down a story she read in her previous life. Imagine how powerful that story must be for Akari to come back to life in order to finish reading it! And the story, which readers of "Temple Alley Summer" also get to read, is truly a fantastical tale in the style of a fairy tale.
I’d recommend this intriguing book translated from the Japanese to readers of "The Brothers Lionheart" by Astrid Lindgren and "The Lightning Queen" by Laura Resau.
Elizabeth L. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.
Kazuhiro Sada lives at the site of an ancient temple. A long time ago, a small Buddha statue was shared among the houses on his street. People prayed to the statue to bring back those who had died, and their loved ones would return, but in a different family. Now Kazu believes it has happened again. As the only witness of Saori Andō’s return to life in the early morning hours, he is the only one in his community with no memory of Akari—Saori’s present identity. Everyone else believes that she has always lived in their town with her mother. When Kazu finds out about this, he sympathizes with Akari and wants to protect her in whatever way he can. In her former life, Akari was in the hospital with health problems.
Though she doesn’t remember the specifics of her former life, she knows that she wants to use her second chance to become a doctor. More immediately, she wants to track down a story she read in her previous life. Imagine how powerful that story must be for Akari to come back to life in order to finish reading it! And the story, which readers of "Temple Alley Summer" also get to read, is truly a fantastical tale in the style of a fairy tale.
I’d recommend this intriguing book translated from the Japanese to readers of "The Brothers Lionheart" by Astrid Lindgren and "The Lightning Queen" by Laura Resau.
Elizabeth L. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.
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December 16, 2023This is such a refreshing summer read that takes readers through the backstreets, alleyways, school and festive temples of Japan. Some people pass away before they reach the apex of their life and before their dreams bear fruit. We see this tragedy when children pass away. What if there's a chance for them to come back and for their stories to finish? In the middle of the night, Kazu, a boy whose family are the legacy guardians of a temple and statue with rumored resurrectional powers, discovers a girl wearing cadaver's clothes passing through his doorstep. Then the next day, she becomes a student at his school! Everyone regards this as the height of normalcy, but should Kazu break this mystery and utter the words that can cause the retreat of this girl's unnatural existence? This book pops with the joy of childhood. Kazu and his friend are filled with delight and anticipation of simple pleasures, such as the taste of noodles, a trip to the sea, the end of school term.
February 6, 2022
This book is magic! I love it! It has Spirited Away vibes
Kazu is a 5th grader, one day he saw a girl in his house who he believed is a ghost but the next day the girl appeared at his school and everyone seems to know her well only Kazu has no memory of her. Kazu started to investigate about it and he came found out about the myth of Kimijyo Temple Alley, a secret religion who seems to be disappear, people believe if you pray to the statue it might bring the spirit of the loved one back to life but they’ll live in different family and has no recollection of their past family. Kazu try to protect the spirits who come back again.
Its not a horror story, it is kinda heartwarming and its just lovely!
Kazu is a 5th grader, one day he saw a girl in his house who he believed is a ghost but the next day the girl appeared at his school and everyone seems to know her well only Kazu has no memory of her. Kazu started to investigate about it and he came found out about the myth of Kimijyo Temple Alley, a secret religion who seems to be disappear, people believe if you pray to the statue it might bring the spirit of the loved one back to life but they’ll live in different family and has no recollection of their past family. Kazu try to protect the spirits who come back again.
Its not a horror story, it is kinda heartwarming and its just lovely!
October 14, 2022
Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba found on the Batchelder Award List on the Batchelder Award List on Dr. Quiroa’s Wakelet. This is the international book I chose to read for grades 6-12. I read this book in a traditional format. This book is a mystery about the main character, Kazu, who sees a ghost in his home and sets out to solve the mystery in his neighborhood in Japan. I enjoyed reading this fiction chapter book because I was hooked right from the start with the mysterious ghost in the middle of the night. The impressive use of character thoughts helped the reader delve deeper into who this inquisitive, curious character is. This book was also very relatable to me, even as an adult reader. Living in Chicago, I am often woken up and scared of strange noises as well. From a teacher point of view, I really enjoyed reading the parts of the book that describe Japanese schools. For example, the book mentions multigrade activity time, where students in grades 1 through 6 break into the neighborhood association groups instead of their grades. As a teacher, I found it so intriguing that students would have time to interact based on where they live. The book mentions that this helps younger students learn how to succeed in school and develop respect. I imagine this alternate type of student to student interaction would be interesting to students in America to read about as well. Eventually, Kazu realizes that the ghost is a girl who died from a terminal illness and her spirit has come back to have a second chance at life. This is a story of friendship, as Kazu shows endless kindness to Akari as he so desperately wants to help her live a full life even if this means going against elders in his community who do not believe the spirit should have a second chance. For students, this book is the perfect blend of mystery with added benefits of Japanese culture and traditions. Finally, the illustrations in this book support comprehension and help the reader feel as though they are immersed in Japanese culture. Page 134’s illustration shows so much about the characters’ emotions in a simple black and white sketch and page 161 shows a detailed image of a dragon fountain with vendors surrounding it. Readers will walk away from Temple Alley Summer pondering life, death, and the meaning of friendship. This book can be used in middle school and high school classrooms to teach themes and use evidence from the text to support the theme. This text definitely aligns to chapter 6 of our textbook, which describes international texts, as even though this text is written for a Japanese audience, the themes are universal to any reader.
May 28, 2023
i picked this one up since one of the reviews i've read claimed the story has studio ghibli vibes. but ended up disappointed and i couldn't care less about any of the characters. literally flipping through the entire daisy magazines parts.
and i do hope that there would be more details about the kimyo temple alley though.
and i do hope that there would be more details about the kimyo temple alley though.
March 20, 2022
3.75*
This was such a pleasant surprise! I liked the writing and the fantasy/supernatural themes, but thought that the ending was a bit rushed and lost my attention a bit.
This was such a pleasant surprise! I liked the writing and the fantasy/supernatural themes, but thought that the ending was a bit rushed and lost my attention a bit.
July 17, 2024
4.5 stars. I can definitely see why this author's works were inspiration for Studio Ghibli films. I very much enjoyed reading this and hope to find more translations of her books in the future.
June 7, 2023
I read this book simultaneously with the original Japanese version. The translation was very a direct translation especially for a book. As a native English speaker just reading the English translation I would have some issues with some of the translation. I also felt there were some plot holes and/ or letdowns. It had the potential to be building a very interesting story but would soon, too soon for me, release that tension. Saying that, the story itself can be interesting for both adults and children. I really liked the internal story and wished that would have been developed even more! Although it wasn’t my favorite book I do think it’s a nice book with which to do a paired bilingual reading.
Update: We read this again in a (Japanese) book club. It was interesting for me to read it two years later as my reading and comprehension of Japanese had improved. Unfortunately, with this improvement, I realized more and more things I didn't like much about the book. Therefore, I have adjusted my rating. I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately it just fell short for me in a lot of ways.
Update: We read this again in a (Japanese) book club. It was interesting for me to read it two years later as my reading and comprehension of Japanese had improved. Unfortunately, with this improvement, I realized more and more things I didn't like much about the book. Therefore, I have adjusted my rating. I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately it just fell short for me in a lot of ways.
September 2, 2021
By the masterful Japanese author Sachiko Kashiwaba, this is an an unputdownable novel of a ghost student Akari who appears in Kazu's sixth grade class in a smallish town in Japan where everyone knows everyone. The appearance of Akari leads to a race to solve a mystery that leads to a fantasy story-within-a-story. Wisely and humorously translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa, this is a middle grade title that contains so many puzzles and clues that you'll want to start reading again as soon as you finish.
August 27, 2024
Duh-duh lagi-lagi dibuat kagum sama terjemahannya Penerbit Baca yang selalu asyik buat dibaca dan anti kaku. Dari awal sampai akhir cerita, aku menikmati 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗶 yang disuguhi di buku ini. Pemilihan kata untuk terjemahannya okay banget, aku bisa memproyeksikan dengan baik bagaimana latar suasana, latar tempat, dan latar waktu yang ada di dalam cerita bahkan kesan magis dan misteriusnya cerita ini tersampaikan dengan baik melalui narasinya yang hasil terjemahan ini guys! 🤩 mantap deh pokoknya!!
Buat 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁nya menarik dan kerasa misterius, tentang Kazu yang mendadak ketemu sama gadis yang dia simpulkan sebagai hantu dan gak sampai di sana, Kazu baru mengetahui bahwa gang rumahnya bernama gang Kuil Kimyo yang artinya menyiratkan bahwa orang mati bisa hidup kembali dan karena penasaran, Kazupun menjadikan Gang Kuil Kimyo sebagai bahan penelitian proyek musim panasnya. Siapa sangka dalam mengerjakan proyek itu ternyata banyak teka-teki yang harus Kazu pecahkan termasuk berurusan dengan nenek nyentrik dan kucing hitamnya yang berusaha menghalangi Kazu untuk meneliti persoalan Kuil Kimyo. Menarik bukan?
Pastinya yang namanya cerita misteri bakalan ada jawaban yang penuh kejutan dan aku dibuat gak berhenti nganga tiap Kazu nemuin jawaban dari rasa penasarannya, asli gak ada habisnya kejutannya bahkan sampai mendekati endingpun🤯🫵🏻 puas banget sih sama plot ceritanya!!
Oiya aku juga rasa plotnya itu vibes-nya Ghibli banget karena salah satu karya penulis ini menginspirasi pembuatan film Ghibli!! 😍👍🏻 Selain plotnya yang okay, 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗿nya juga menarik dan 100% alur maju ya cuma ada beberapa kali diceritain tentang masa lalu gitu. Alurnya bener-bener fast pace, di setiap bagian konflik bakalan kerasa tensionnya terutama ketika Kazu berhadapan dengan nenek nyentrik itu karena bener-bener dibuat kesel sama si nenek🥲👊🏻 terus juga alurnya yang gak bertele-tele ini bikin aku gak bisa stop baca alias mau lanjut terus karena dibuat kepo abis sama ceritanya! 🤩 cuma mungkin aku ngerasa bingung pas di bagian cerita majalah bersambung muncul, cerita "Bulan Ada di Kiri" ini awalnya kurang bisa aku tangkap maknanya jadi agak pusing dikit di setiap bab yang bahas cerita ini walaupun pada akhirnya aku nangkap maksud ceritanya, nah cerita Bulan Ada di Kiri ini jadi point plus buku ini guys soalnya berasa ada 2 cerita dalam 1 buku gitu! 🤩 Tapi walau aku tangkap maksud cerita Bulan Ada di Kiri, tetep aja di deket ending agak dibuat bertanya-tanya gitu karena penyelesaian konfliknya terlalu sat set menurutku jadi masih ada beberapa pertanyaan di benakku cuma ya secara garis besar, selesai sih permasalahannya tapi kurang detail aja menurutku🤷🏻♀️
Untuk tokoh dan 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻nya, aku pribadi suka sih sama karakter Kazu yang jadi tokoh utama dan penutur cerita alias cerita ini diceritain lewat POV Kazu jadi aku sebagai pembaca paham sama pola pikir dia bahkan perasaan dia. Awalnya aku kira Kazu bakalan cari masalah setelah tau soal Akari tapi siapa sangka malahan dia bisa berteman sama Akari dan momen mereka itu heartwarming bahkan ada yang bikin aku sedih karena tokoh Akari ini hidupnya gak mudah, kasihan aku sama dia 🥹 terus selain mereka berdua, ada nenek nyentrik bernama Minami yang cukup bikin emosi tapi sebenernya nenek ini tuh...(baca aja deh, gamau spoiler biar seru xixixi)🤫 intinya aku suka sama tokoh-tokohnya!
Untuk 𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻 yang aku dapat mostly tentang hidup dimana kita hidup itu cuma sekali jadi lakuin hal-hal yang kita mau, ambil setiap kesempatan baik yang ditawarkan pada kita dan intinya, hiduplah tanpa ada penyesalan di akhir hidup✨️ soalnya once you gone, you can't comeback again aka gal bisa minta hidup lagi kalo hidup kita udah endgame! 👊🏻
Overall, it's a great book and worth to read! 🤩 aku highly recommended buku ini buat penyuka fantasy-mystery yang ringan terus juga suka film-film Ghibli! 👍🏻
Buat 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁nya menarik dan kerasa misterius, tentang Kazu yang mendadak ketemu sama gadis yang dia simpulkan sebagai hantu dan gak sampai di sana, Kazu baru mengetahui bahwa gang rumahnya bernama gang Kuil Kimyo yang artinya menyiratkan bahwa orang mati bisa hidup kembali dan karena penasaran, Kazupun menjadikan Gang Kuil Kimyo sebagai bahan penelitian proyek musim panasnya. Siapa sangka dalam mengerjakan proyek itu ternyata banyak teka-teki yang harus Kazu pecahkan termasuk berurusan dengan nenek nyentrik dan kucing hitamnya yang berusaha menghalangi Kazu untuk meneliti persoalan Kuil Kimyo. Menarik bukan?
Pastinya yang namanya cerita misteri bakalan ada jawaban yang penuh kejutan dan aku dibuat gak berhenti nganga tiap Kazu nemuin jawaban dari rasa penasarannya, asli gak ada habisnya kejutannya bahkan sampai mendekati endingpun🤯🫵🏻 puas banget sih sama plot ceritanya!!
Oiya aku juga rasa plotnya itu vibes-nya Ghibli banget karena salah satu karya penulis ini menginspirasi pembuatan film Ghibli!! 😍👍🏻 Selain plotnya yang okay, 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗿nya juga menarik dan 100% alur maju ya cuma ada beberapa kali diceritain tentang masa lalu gitu. Alurnya bener-bener fast pace, di setiap bagian konflik bakalan kerasa tensionnya terutama ketika Kazu berhadapan dengan nenek nyentrik itu karena bener-bener dibuat kesel sama si nenek🥲👊🏻 terus juga alurnya yang gak bertele-tele ini bikin aku gak bisa stop baca alias mau lanjut terus karena dibuat kepo abis sama ceritanya! 🤩 cuma mungkin aku ngerasa bingung pas di bagian cerita majalah bersambung muncul, cerita "Bulan Ada di Kiri" ini awalnya kurang bisa aku tangkap maknanya jadi agak pusing dikit di setiap bab yang bahas cerita ini walaupun pada akhirnya aku nangkap maksud ceritanya, nah cerita Bulan Ada di Kiri ini jadi point plus buku ini guys soalnya berasa ada 2 cerita dalam 1 buku gitu! 🤩 Tapi walau aku tangkap maksud cerita Bulan Ada di Kiri, tetep aja di deket ending agak dibuat bertanya-tanya gitu karena penyelesaian konfliknya terlalu sat set menurutku jadi masih ada beberapa pertanyaan di benakku cuma ya secara garis besar, selesai sih permasalahannya tapi kurang detail aja menurutku🤷🏻♀️
Untuk tokoh dan 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻nya, aku pribadi suka sih sama karakter Kazu yang jadi tokoh utama dan penutur cerita alias cerita ini diceritain lewat POV Kazu jadi aku sebagai pembaca paham sama pola pikir dia bahkan perasaan dia. Awalnya aku kira Kazu bakalan cari masalah setelah tau soal Akari tapi siapa sangka malahan dia bisa berteman sama Akari dan momen mereka itu heartwarming bahkan ada yang bikin aku sedih karena tokoh Akari ini hidupnya gak mudah, kasihan aku sama dia 🥹 terus selain mereka berdua, ada nenek nyentrik bernama Minami yang cukup bikin emosi tapi sebenernya nenek ini tuh...(baca aja deh, gamau spoiler biar seru xixixi)🤫 intinya aku suka sama tokoh-tokohnya!
Untuk 𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻 yang aku dapat mostly tentang hidup dimana kita hidup itu cuma sekali jadi lakuin hal-hal yang kita mau, ambil setiap kesempatan baik yang ditawarkan pada kita dan intinya, hiduplah tanpa ada penyesalan di akhir hidup✨️ soalnya once you gone, you can't comeback again aka gal bisa minta hidup lagi kalo hidup kita udah endgame! 👊🏻
Overall, it's a great book and worth to read! 🤩 aku highly recommended buku ini buat penyuka fantasy-mystery yang ringan terus juga suka film-film Ghibli! 👍🏻
January 31, 2024
Temple Alley Summer begins with the main character Kazuhiro waking up before 4am and instantly regretting the five watermelon slices he ate the night before in an effort to spite his older sister. Now, he’s paying the price with a strong urge to pee, but he doesn’t want to have to walk through his big house, down to the first floor and then to the add-on bathroom in the courtyard, so Kazu decides to pee out the window of his room; while doing so, he glimpses a figure cloaked in a white kimono stepping out of the sliding patio door coming out of his house and the family’s alter room! Kazu is convinced that he saw a ghost, but then he sees the very same girl sitting in his class the next day and has no recollection of her being a classmate. Despite the doubts of his family and classmates at school who are adamant that the ghost girl, name Akari, has been a classmate since kindergarten and that she lives on the same street as him, Kazu stands by his conviction. Even weirder things transpire. He follows Akari to her house and realizes that although he can hear her mom speaking, she is invisible only to him. He learns from an old map at school that his street used to be called Kimyo Temple Alley and the two Japanese characters for Kimyo are “come back” and “life” and Kazu decides to make his summer project this year focus on researching the history of his neighborhood with the goal of uncovering Akari’s true identity and the reveal the mystery behind Kimyo temple.
I found this book through the website of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (https://www.nctasia.org/awards/), which I strongly recommend for anyone looking to find high-quality literature from the region. I found the website useful and comprehensive because it contains front cover icons for books that not only were the award winners, but those that received “honorable mention” and “of note” designations. Users can click on the icon to read a synopsis, find out about the setting (e.g. set in Japan), view keywords and/genre, and learn what other awards a book title has received. Additionally, the website lists the books in three different categories: children’s literature, young adult – middle school literature, young adult – high school literature – a feature which made it easier for me to find a book to meet the older reader book requirement of the trade book assignment. Another benefit of this website is that it is easy to navigate with the ability to search by award year or by age group. Temple Alley Summer was deemed an “honorable mention” for the 2021 Freeman Award, which honors East And Southeast Asian titles for children and young adults. This book is also the Winner of the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award, a July/August 2021 Kids’ Indie Next Pick, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
This book was compelling; I didn’t want to put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy, the supernatural and mystery. Is Akari a ghost or a zombie? Is her Invisible Mama, as Kazu calls her, a witch? Are other townspeople descendants of the reborn? The book is full of subtle hints and innuendo, but keeps you guessing. Akari’s and other characters’ strange existence brings Kazu (and readers) to question If it were possible to return to life, would you take it? It forces readers to grapple with questions like what does it mean to have a second chance at life? and Would it be fair to come back or be reborn? and to examine whether our prayers are selfless and for the benefit of someone else or others, or if prayer is selfish. The book has some sparse illustrations and when I picked up the book, I noticed that there were two sections of darkened pages and initially, before even opening it, I thought it was because these pages would have more illustrations or borders along the edges. However, when I got to these pages, it became clear that it was a story-within-a-story, and I was so enthralled in Kazu’s investigative quest and the fate of characters like Akari, that I admit was terribly annoyed with having to step back from the main plot line and read another story which at first seemed unrelated and because of its setting in a different time period, seemed to contain historical events that happened in Japan. This was my conjecture, but as I kept reading, I became just as captivated in the story-within-the-story and author Sachiko Kashiwaba’s talent at weaving together these two stories became apparent. This book has left me mesmerized and yearning to live alongside the characters in the book. For now, I would settle for Kashiwaba to turn it into a series, and I will definitely be looking for and/or waiting for him to publish other books!
I found this book through the website of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (https://www.nctasia.org/awards/), which I strongly recommend for anyone looking to find high-quality literature from the region. I found the website useful and comprehensive because it contains front cover icons for books that not only were the award winners, but those that received “honorable mention” and “of note” designations. Users can click on the icon to read a synopsis, find out about the setting (e.g. set in Japan), view keywords and/genre, and learn what other awards a book title has received. Additionally, the website lists the books in three different categories: children’s literature, young adult – middle school literature, young adult – high school literature – a feature which made it easier for me to find a book to meet the older reader book requirement of the trade book assignment. Another benefit of this website is that it is easy to navigate with the ability to search by award year or by age group. Temple Alley Summer was deemed an “honorable mention” for the 2021 Freeman Award, which honors East And Southeast Asian titles for children and young adults. This book is also the Winner of the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award, a July/August 2021 Kids’ Indie Next Pick, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
This book was compelling; I didn’t want to put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy, the supernatural and mystery. Is Akari a ghost or a zombie? Is her Invisible Mama, as Kazu calls her, a witch? Are other townspeople descendants of the reborn? The book is full of subtle hints and innuendo, but keeps you guessing. Akari’s and other characters’ strange existence brings Kazu (and readers) to question If it were possible to return to life, would you take it? It forces readers to grapple with questions like what does it mean to have a second chance at life? and Would it be fair to come back or be reborn? and to examine whether our prayers are selfless and for the benefit of someone else or others, or if prayer is selfish. The book has some sparse illustrations and when I picked up the book, I noticed that there were two sections of darkened pages and initially, before even opening it, I thought it was because these pages would have more illustrations or borders along the edges. However, when I got to these pages, it became clear that it was a story-within-a-story, and I was so enthralled in Kazu’s investigative quest and the fate of characters like Akari, that I admit was terribly annoyed with having to step back from the main plot line and read another story which at first seemed unrelated and because of its setting in a different time period, seemed to contain historical events that happened in Japan. This was my conjecture, but as I kept reading, I became just as captivated in the story-within-the-story and author Sachiko Kashiwaba’s talent at weaving together these two stories became apparent. This book has left me mesmerized and yearning to live alongside the characters in the book. For now, I would settle for Kashiwaba to turn it into a series, and I will definitely be looking for and/or waiting for him to publish other books!
October 10, 2023
The book Temple Alley Summer was written by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Miho Satake, and translated from Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa. It was published in 2021 and was the 2022 Bachelder Award winner. I listened to this book as an audiobook on Hoopla. Listening to it on Hoopla was great because some of the names of the people and places were hard for me to pronounce and keep track of, so to be able to listen to someone pronounce them correctly was a big advantage. The only downside is that the book does have some drawings so to not be able to see them while listening to the book takes away from the full experience. This is why I also checked the book out from the library so I could look at some of the illustrations.
Temple Alley Summer focuses on a boy, Kazu, growing up in Japan the summer after fifth grade. One night Kazu sees the ghost of a girl outside of his window, but no one believes him. Kazu swears the ghost he saw is his classmate, Akari, a girl who has come back from the dead. However, everyone else in the class seems to remember her as a normal girl. Kazu does some digging and discovers the truth about his neighborhood’s past. He finds out that his house holds a special statue that, when people pray to it, can bring people back from the dead. When the statue is stolen Kazu must find it in order to allow Akari to have a second chance at life.
This book is a chapter book and the only illustrations it has are black and white outline sketches every few pages. However, they provide support for students to help them better understand and visualize the story, especially if this is one of the first chapter books they have read. One strong literary element is the characterization. The book is written from a first person perspective of the main character Kazu. The author really gets into Kazu’s head and lets us know everything he is thinking and feeling in elaborate detail. We also get a good feeling for other characters through their words and actions, as described by the author. One weaker literary element was the plot of the story. This book actually contains a story within a story which made it harder to follow. Kazu and Akari are reading the story in this magazine that Akari enjoyed in her first life and the author goes on to actually include the story they are reading in the middle of the book. Luckily, the magazine story has its own separate chapters, but it still made it tricky to have two completely different plot lines to follow simultaneously.
Being that this is an international book it is diverse in that it is written by someone outside of this country and a story set in a different country. This book is set in Japan and all of the characters are Japanese so the book describes many details around Japanese culture. For example, characters always take off their shoes before entering a house or one of the characters talks about eating fried noodles at the festival. The book talks a good deal about Japanese and Buddhist history as well.
I think this book would be good for ages 8-12 or about grades 4-6. This is a good book for students that like fantasy and ghost stories. Though it is not scary, it does deal with the topic of ghosts and people coming back from the dead. This would also be good for students that like to read books set in Japan since it has elements of Japanese culture and anime intertwined. It can be confusing because it does have a simultaneous plot line for some of the book so I think younger or less proficient readers may need support keeping the story organized so they understand it.
One way I could use this book in the classroom is for making predictions. This book has many plot twists and unexpected events that happen. I think it would make it a good choice for predictions because students could have multiple opportunities to stop and predict what will happen next based on what they know so far. For older students, this book could be read in a book club as each chapter leaves room for much discussion over new information learned and what they think will happen next.
Temple Alley Summer focuses on a boy, Kazu, growing up in Japan the summer after fifth grade. One night Kazu sees the ghost of a girl outside of his window, but no one believes him. Kazu swears the ghost he saw is his classmate, Akari, a girl who has come back from the dead. However, everyone else in the class seems to remember her as a normal girl. Kazu does some digging and discovers the truth about his neighborhood’s past. He finds out that his house holds a special statue that, when people pray to it, can bring people back from the dead. When the statue is stolen Kazu must find it in order to allow Akari to have a second chance at life.
This book is a chapter book and the only illustrations it has are black and white outline sketches every few pages. However, they provide support for students to help them better understand and visualize the story, especially if this is one of the first chapter books they have read. One strong literary element is the characterization. The book is written from a first person perspective of the main character Kazu. The author really gets into Kazu’s head and lets us know everything he is thinking and feeling in elaborate detail. We also get a good feeling for other characters through their words and actions, as described by the author. One weaker literary element was the plot of the story. This book actually contains a story within a story which made it harder to follow. Kazu and Akari are reading the story in this magazine that Akari enjoyed in her first life and the author goes on to actually include the story they are reading in the middle of the book. Luckily, the magazine story has its own separate chapters, but it still made it tricky to have two completely different plot lines to follow simultaneously.
Being that this is an international book it is diverse in that it is written by someone outside of this country and a story set in a different country. This book is set in Japan and all of the characters are Japanese so the book describes many details around Japanese culture. For example, characters always take off their shoes before entering a house or one of the characters talks about eating fried noodles at the festival. The book talks a good deal about Japanese and Buddhist history as well.
I think this book would be good for ages 8-12 or about grades 4-6. This is a good book for students that like fantasy and ghost stories. Though it is not scary, it does deal with the topic of ghosts and people coming back from the dead. This would also be good for students that like to read books set in Japan since it has elements of Japanese culture and anime intertwined. It can be confusing because it does have a simultaneous plot line for some of the book so I think younger or less proficient readers may need support keeping the story organized so they understand it.
One way I could use this book in the classroom is for making predictions. This book has many plot twists and unexpected events that happen. I think it would make it a good choice for predictions because students could have multiple opportunities to stop and predict what will happen next based on what they know so far. For older students, this book could be read in a book club as each chapter leaves room for much discussion over new information learned and what they think will happen next.
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