I guess of all the countries I’ve travelled, Japan would be one of the hardest I’ve experienced to access the local book culture. ‘Cos while there are plenty of bookshops, my lack of familiarity with the Japanese language made it very difficult for me to get a sense of the ‘vibe’ of publishing there.
Nevertheless, as part of my general impression about how well kids are looked after in public spaces in Japan, I got a sense of the high priority kids’ books are given. Several places we visited surprised me by including a library of kids’ books, often housed in funky bookshelves.

One day, for example, we found ourselves in a fairly ‘down-market’ (for Japan) suburban shopping centre. (We were looking for a cheap stroller…) On the top floor was a food court and a sort of games parlour, which had as part of it a preschooler play centre. It cost about 800 yen ($8) to get in, which gave your toddler about half an hour of free play and three rides. Anyway… as part of this fairly run-of-the-mill games-parlour/play-centre thing, there was a gorgeous set of shelves, packed full of beautiful, pristine picture books.

Who woulda thunk it? In the context of all that consumerism and hub-bub, it was so nice to think of a space where parents and kids could pick up a book and read together. Pretty jolly nice kids’ bookshelves too!

And Rowan? Yeah, he had a ball…

Kidzania, subject of my previous post, also had some great children’s bookshelves and other storage in their kindergarten.

But probably my favourite example of a place that gives kids’ books their rightful priority was the Kyoto International Manga Museum. This is a new museum, which is a major centre for the study and appreciation of manga (Japanese comics). The Kyoto International Manga Museum is housed in a converted elementary school, and retains a lot of the charm of the old building and grounds. Approximately 300,000 manga volumes are held in the museum, and can be freely read by visitors, which means the halls and grounds are scattered with people intently reading. (It also has manga drawing demonstrations and exhibition of the history and culture of manga creators. There was even a workshop where kids could learn how to animate a short story using 3D objects.)

And for younger visitors, there is a dedicated children’s library. At the door of the library, there is a sign which reads:
“Children younger than elementary school with their parents only.”
I just love the way this is phrased. How important does it make a child feel? And I don’t think I’ve ever felt more welcome and accepted for the sole reason of having a small child in my days as a mum!
The room opened to a welcoming space of clean design. Tall square-shaped bookshelves contained hundreds and hundreds of picture books, many of them favourites of ours at WeHeartBooks: Olivia, Hungry Caterpillar, Happy Lion, and lots more. Cleverly conceived surfaces – including a sloped reading pit, steps, couches and a large cubby house space – allowed a variety of inviting spaces for children to read. And lots of kids and their parents relaxing and enjoying books together. Just the way you want a kids’ library to be.

Thanks to the Kyoto International Manga Museum for the interior shot of the children’s library.

Kidzania was one of the gobsmacking highlights of our time in Tokyo.

Kidzania is essentially a miniature city of make believe, where kids pretend to be adults for the day, choosing their jobs and take part in the world of commerce. On arrival you enter a streetscape of miniature buildings and vehicles (scaled to two-thirds the size of the real world equivalent), where kids can earn and spend ‘Kidzos’, and learn to be whatever they dream of: businessmen, builders, firemen, cooks, doctors, postmen.

What’s more, each of the 80 activites are dedicated adult-free zones.

It’s not always easy to remember what life was like as an eight- or ten-year-old but I reckon this would have pretty much been a form of heaven for me.

Putting on the uniform required for your dream job, and learning how to work on a radio station, run a police investigation, work on a building site, hire a car, be a travel agent or hairdresser or fashion model are just some of the activities on offer to kids at this amazing theme park. And for the bookworms there was even a publishing house!

With the involvement of major brands like Coca Cola (at the bottling plant), Johnson & Johnson (at the hospital) and Mitsubishi (at the caryard), the creators of this unique theme park have ensured an incredible attention to detail and level of quality.

Something about to overt sponsorship and the stereotyping of some of the roles in this world did make me a little bit uneasy, but nevertheless, I know I would have loved this make-believe world as a kid and I can’t help but think that it teaches some valuable lessons about careers, independence and finances.

Unfortunately going to Kidzania was a form of torture for Rowan. A bit too young to really participate, he had numerous tantrums revolving around a need to drive the fire engine. He did go for two rides on the Kidzania bus (while his Japanese cohorts learnt to be bus tour guides and politely convinced him that he shouldn’t be driving). Eventually we located the Kidzania kindergarten. Here, he was shown a train set and he was sold. Meanwhile, eager Japanese kids learnt to be his kindergarten teachers.

You can imagine the noise of hundreds of exited primary school kids in a confined space, even if it is 6000 square metres, but we nevertheless spent several hours in this amazing world for kids. And when it got too much, there was the ‘Parent Zone’ with free internet and coffee and newspapers…

I would have said ‘Only in Japan’ but Kidzania was a concept born in Mexico. Japan was the first country to adopt it outside Mexico, but other versions have opened or are planned in Indonesia and Dubai. A good article on the concept can be found here.

Kidzania is located in the also fairly gobsmacking Lalaport shopping centre at Toyosu. I didn’t realise it at the time, but have since learnt Lalaport is one of Tokyo’s biggest shopping malls, which makes it a good destination for a rainy day (which it was). While there, I stumbled upon a beautiful craft store called Mano Creare (and bought some treasures which I will have to reveal in a few weeks once my parcel arrives via surface mail…), a branch of the famous ‘Creative Life Store’, Tokyu Hands (a DIY department store with an amazing variety of the normal and bizarre for everyday life) and a branch of the beautiful cooking school, ABC Cooking Studio.

Another reason for it being a good day trip for kids (and big kids) is the mode of transport you can use to get there. From Toyosu you can take the Yurikomome line, which is an elevated and fully-automated type of train. Because the system is operated solely by computers, you can sit right up the front, which meant Rowan could pretend to ‘drive’ the train. (After his frustrations at Kidzania, this was a just reward…) Being elevated, the route also affords views across the bay to the city and past some amazing architecture. A ride on Yurikomome is well worth it as an activity in itself, and was one of my ‘Why-don’t-they-mention-this-in-the-Lonely-Planet?!’ moments!

Is it obvious how much I loved Tokyo?

For our upcoming trip overseas, I’ve been preparing my goodie bag of distractions for Rowan on the plane. Rowan does have some experience of flying, as his grandparents live interstate. And perhaps more significantly, I do now have some experience of flying as a mum. Suffice to say, I’ve got a lot better at it over time. These tips on books for travelling with kids are gleaned from our own travels and advice from well-travelled friends…

Books are excellent for travelling because compared to other forms of distraction, they generally have no small parts, and are not messy. (With the best of intentions I took a tub of playdough on one plane flight - big mistake.) With some parent interaction, a good book can be strung out for an extended period of time, especially for the period when the seatbelt sign is on… I’ve found it’s a good idea to take a mix of old favourites and new books Rowan has never seen before. Hiding one of Rowan’s favourite books for a period before we leave also works well.

Here is a list of a few of the types of books we will be taking on this holiday…

1) Small books

A few small books are light and take up minimal space; they also provide variety and it’s not a disaster if you lose one. Golden Books, the Thomas Library books (at $3.95 a pop) and Mr Men books all fit in this category.

2) Busy books

When I say busy books I mean ones with lots of detail and things to look for on every page. A hit for us has been the Thomas’ Really Useful Word Book. This durable large format board book is also great value at $16.95. Each spread pictures Thomas in a different part of Sodor, and shows lots of different objects and animals - at the farm, at the station, at the seaside. Lots of things to find in every picture and there is a bit of a narrative too throughout the book. Unfortunately it is fairly heavy, which may rule it out for this trip…

Also highly recommended are the Richard Scarry books. Haven’t tried these with Rowan yet, but I suspect they would do the job perfectly.

3) Books with stickers

Stickers are another great distraction for travelling. A while ago I picked up this great pad of stickers called ‘Vehicle Movement’ for the grand total of $2.25 from the Queenscliff Newsagency. Of course I’ve never seen them in a newsagent since, and I now wish I’d bought several of them… This one pad of stickers has taken us on several flights already and we’ve shared them with grateful fellow parents on the plane.

This time we will be trying one of Ladybird’s series of books with reusable stickers - we have Let’s get dressed. In this one the two sheets of stickers of clothes and accessories can be used to dress four children inside. Even if Rowan doesn’t like this one, I think I’ll have some fun!

I also found the Play Scene On The Construction Site which despite my best efforts, Rowan spotted and he has already had a tantrum over it. A board folds out and an assortment of diggers, tip trucks, workmen, witches hats and other goodies can be placed on the scene. There are lots more in this series, which you can view here at Mudpuppy. (Click on Sticker Set Play Scenes.)

But there is one more book with great current appeal for Rowan, which really took me by surprise. It is IDEAL for the plane. It’s called Point It, and I found it at Metropolis Books. A passport-sized book, it is a kind of visual dictionary, designed so you can show a picture of something you are trying to communicate to someone who doesn’t speak your language. It has retro 70s photos and illustrations of 1200 items, covering the topics of food, accommodation, transport and shopping. (The transport section guarantees the Rowan appeal…) I initially bought it for a bit of fun. But the more I look at it the more I think it will be useful, and the toddler appeal is a fabulous bonus!!!

I found myself emailing a friend the other day, and the subject line of the email was ‘Potty matters’.

What has life come to? I’m writing an email about potties??! So while I’m at it, what the heck, I’m going to write a post about toilet training children’s books.

There are lots of toilet training books for parents, of course, and most toddler parenting books have at least a chapter on toilet training, but what I’m interested in at the moment is children’s books about the potty, to get Rowan thinking about it. Peer-pressure of the positive variety is a wonderful thing in toddlers, I’m finding. And reading about appealing characters who are starting to use the potty seemed like a good part of the preparation for toilet training.

Once I started researching this topic further, I discovered just how many books there are, not to mention the contraversies! Getting the balance between showing enough detail, making it fun, and encouraging success without making the experience stressful and therefore off-putting…. Gee!

And so following my research I too now feel qualified to enter the fray. Why, oh why, do so many potty books picture the use of a potty as a hat? Isn’t this the last thing you want to show a toddler who hasn’t thought of it yet…? And how can you write a potty book without ever showing someone actually sitting on the thing? Many of the books out there are just too coy about the mechanics…

I have to say that the selection of books on the subject of toilet training do not inspire me as much as most of the other books I have reviewed on this site. But nevertheless, these books seem to me to strike the right balance, and they represent my top 5 books to encourage toilet training… We will be reading these books over the next few months. Any further suggestions gratefully received!

1. I Want My Potty (Tony Ross)

Tony Ross has written a great little series of ‘issues-based’ books for toddlers based on the character of the little princess. His illustrations are very witty, and I love the fact that mum and dad, the king and queen, wear normal clothes and do normal things around the house. In this book, the little princess decides that ‘Nappies are YUUECH!’ This is the type of peer pressure I’m looking for! Tony is a very prolific author/illustrator and apparently this book is his personal favourite. I like it too.

2 . Who’s in the Loo? (Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds)

There’s a very long queue for this loo, and we are taken on a zoological rollercoaster as we imagine which animal is taking so long in the loo. ‘A wandering wombat who wanted a widdle? A waddling penguin too frozen to piddle?’ No practicalities, mechanics or toddler issues in this one, but lots of fun, and I could imagine it might be a handy reference when you are stuck in a public toilet queue…

3. Time to Pee! (Mo Willems)

Written by the author of the popular Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Mo is refreshingly uncoy about showing pictures of the toilet, undies around the ankles and toilet paper. It covers lots of the practicalities without seeming heavy-handed. I love the toilet-covered endpapers!

4. A Potty for Me! (Karen Katz)

Australian and other non-US readers will probably need to substitute some of the terminology in this one (lots of references to ‘diapers’ and ‘peeing’). The form of rhyming text in this one is not my favourite style, but this book does canvass many of the real-life issues, and the bright colours and flaps are appealing. It’s pitched at a young audience - so it’s a good one for the under-twos.

5. Everyone Poops! (Taro Gomi)

This book, and the others mentioned by Lou in her previous post, are a good way to bring some fun into the toilet training caper. The humour will appeal to kids as soon as they start to find excretion hilarious… So much too look forward to…

My dear friend, Anne-Laure, reminded me of this book in a comment she left for us during our launch competition. Her twin boys, at two-and-a-half, are loving this book, and now Rowan is too. Most nights he is calling out for ‘Truck’ even before he is in his pyjamas…

Duck in the Truck comes from the very talented Jez Alborough, author of our previously reviewed, Hug!. Duck’s truck gets stuck in the muck, so Frog, Sheep and Goat all lend a hand. With the muck and mud involved, you can imagine the mess, but somehow Duck avoids a sticky end.

The combination of a few different vehicles, some mud and expressive animal characters make it a hit for Rowan. And the rhyming text makes it fun to read aloud. There’s nothing worse than a book that tries to rhyme but doesn’t quite hit the mark, but this one is spot-on.

Here is Rowan and his dad, and Rowan’s great mate, Jake, when we babysat him the other night. By the look of Rowan’s ‘Shhhh!’, I’d say they are reading Doggies by Sandra Boynton. Reading three, four or more books is a much-anticipated part of Rowan’s bedtime routine and a lovely time for a cuddle.

Doggies is great for dog-loving babies and toddlers. It’s a counting book with a difference; a fantastic read-aloud, as the reader gets to perform a rendition of barks of all kinds… Rowan loves it.

Check out Lou’s previous post for her Top 5 Going to Bed books, including another Sandra Boynton title…

Rowan’s current favourite book is Hug! by Jez Alborough.

Hug! tells the story of a little gorilla called Bobo, who notices other animals in his jungle having hugs. He starts to feel sad because he realises he doesn’t have anyone to hug.

The story uses minimal words – on most pages, there is just one word, ‘hug’, used by different speakers and with different types of emotion. Rowan really responds to this concept and also to the illustrations. He really empathises with little Bobo, and mirrors all the emotions of Bobo on his own face. No matter how many times we read it, he always has a huge smile on his face when Bobo and Mummy are reunited!

One of the joys in my life at the moment is watching Rowan engrossed in a book. Here he is outside on the weekend. I think the book is upside down but that doesn’t really matter, hey?

Much as I try to avoid stereotypical ‘boy’ books, my sister, Clare, convinced me that the Child’s Play edition of Down by the Station (Classic Books With Holes) was worth a second glance as we perused the shelves of Borders one day.

I’m glad she did, as it is a favourite of Rowan’s and introduced me to a great series of books based on rhymes and songs.

We’ve since seen lots of the others in the series through our weekly classes with our fantastic music teacher, Rebecca. Rebecca always incorporates a rhyming or sung story into her classes, as well as giving the children some quiet time when they can read board books on their own.

We have since bought Over in the Meadow and Down in the Jungle, and there are lots more titles in this ‘Books with Holes’ series. There’s lots for Rowan to look at and grow with. At the moment he still loves sticking his fingers through the increasing number of holes in the pages, and there are sound effects and attractive colourful pages to keep him entertained. I have my eye on There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly and The Farmer in the Dell next…

Is it just me or do Mothers Day and Fathers Day seem to be ripe for a battleground of parental proportions? I’m still not sure how far to go with the commercialism of these days. And when you have a child too young to ‘get it’, it’s hard to resist entering into a competition about who buys better presents on their behalf. Or, like I said, maybe it’s just me…

Anyway, for Brad’s second Father’s Day, I decided to buy a couple of books with some fatherly significance. My favourite was this one, Conn and Hal Iggulden’s The Dangerous Book for Boys.

The book contains a range of different sections, including useful trivia and factual explanations about everything from the Seven Wonders of the World to Cloud Formations. But I reckon the best bits are the things to make and do, like tripwires, codes and ciphers, and making a go-cart. Check out this cute trailer for the US edition. The Australian edition has Australian history and botany/zoology sections and explanations of Australian sports.

Despite the appearance of their names, Conn and Hal are two British brothers. Conn is a bit of a history nut, and has written several historical novels. He says of his own dad, “My father flew in Bomber Command in WWII, then taught maths and science. Perhaps crucially, he also loved poetry and cracking good tales. My father loved working with wood and equations, but he also recited ‘Vitai Lampada’ with a gleam in his eye and that matters, frankly.” Conn is writing a new book with another brother, David, called Dangerous Heroes, using the five extraordinary stories from the Dangerous Book for Boys as a starting point.

Rowan’s obviously a bit young for most of the information and activities in this book, but I’m a sucker for books with this look and feel. The timeless character of the its design and the good old-fashioned activities will hopefully last many years.

The obvious question is of course, what about the girls? Quicker than you can strike a conker, the publishers are onto it, with the publication of The Daring Book for Girls due in time for Christmas. In a lot of ways I don’t envy the two American authors of this spin-off. Let’s hope they manage to carry it off with all the spirit the girls deserve.