Please welcome Rumi Hara today with her list of books that inspired her graphic novel Nori. She is a Japanese cartoonist living in New York who’s been gaining acclaim in the comics community.
Nori by Rumi Hara
Nori is a spirited preschooler who lives in suburban Osaka in a multigenerational family. Her grandmother takes care of her when her parents are at work. Her grandmother also shares folklore that figures into their adventures. This graphic novel is a series of short stories. [middle grade graphic novel, ages 8 and up]
This reminds me of another graphic novel for kids involving Japanese culture, specifically ghosts!
Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter by Atelier Sento
I review 5 graphic novels in my Book Talk video here. I would describe this graphic novel as Pokemon game + Ghostbusters movie. My 13-year-old son rates 3/5. [graphic novel, ages 8 and up]
We are giving away a copy of Nori. To enter, please enter using the Rafflecopter at the bottom.
How about you? What graphic novels are you and/or your kids reading? What do you recommend? Thanks for sharing!
List of 5 Books that Inspired Nori
1. Iya Iya En（いやいやえん）by Rieko Nakagawa, illustrated by Yuriko Omura
The main character, Shigeru, hates being told what to do. He says “no” to everything his teacher at his preschool tells him. He doesn’t clean himself after playing in the mud, cuts school, and runs away from a field trip to explore a mysterious forest. I wanted to live like Shigeru when I was little. I still love his free spirit and it inspired me to imagine Nori going on spontaneous adventures that give her glimpses of magic that can happen in the everyday world. [graphic novel for ages 7 and up] Published by Fukuinkan Shoten (Tokyo) in 1962.
2. Akissi: Tales of Mischief series by Marguerite Abouet, illustrated by Mathiew Sapin
Akissi is a little girl growing up in Ivory Coast and she’s like an explosion of mischievous energy. She does lots of silly and exciting things like seeing a flying sheep, getting a fish stolen by a cat, and being eaten by mice at night. I wish Nori can meet Akissi and become best friends. [middle grade, ages 8 and up] Published by Flying Eye Books in 2018.
3. Cecil the Pet Glacier by Matthea Harvey, illustrated by Giselle Potter
All Ruby wants is to be “normal.” But when she goes on a vacation in Norway with her eccentric parents, a baby glacier named Cecil finds her and follows her back home. Seeing the relationship between Ruby and her un-normal pet Cecil develop is heartwarming. I wanted to draw Nori’s relationship with others in a way that evokes a similarly fuzzy feeling. [picture book, ages 4 and up] Published by Schwartz & Wade Books in 2012.
4. Patalliro! by Mineo Maya
This manga is so wonderfully weird and outrageous. Prince Patalliro of a fictitious island nation becomes the new king after the death of his father. His mother is sick, and it is up to him to protect his country and let it prosper. Only ten years old and overweight, Patalliro saves his country and beyond from many crises using his super-human athletic ability, spying skills, unexpected intelligence, humanity, and tough-like-a-cockroach attitude, which Nori inherits in some way. [young adult manga comic, ages 13 and up] First published in the Hana to Yume Comics magazine in Japan in 1978, first collection published in 1979 by Hakusensha (Tokyo). No English translation.
5. Panther by Brecht Evens
Animals can be terrifying and intriguing at the same time. They definitely are for Nori, but little Christine finds herself in a particularly treacherous situation when she is visited by Panther. I’m blown away by the beautiful colors and reminded of the horror stories I used to tell myself when I was a kid every time I read this book. [graphic novel for adults]
Nori by Rumi Hara middle grade graphic novel GIVEAWAY!
We are giving away a copy of Nori. To enter, please enter using the Rafflecopter below. We can only mail to U.S. and Canada addresses.
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p.s. Related posts:
Japanese American Books for Kids
Obon Spirit Boats & Obon Children’s Books
21 Wonderful Japanese Folk Tales
Japanese Internment Books for Kids
Learning About Japan Picture Books for Kids
For your young ninja, books to learn about Japan.
Connecting Science and Art: Hokusai’s The Great Wave
It’s amazing how a single piece of art can have a ripple effect, inspiring others all around the world and for many generations.
In Memory of Hiroshima Bombing Books and Crane Origami for Kids
Top 10: Japanese American Children’s Books (ages 2-16)
WWII Internment seems to dominate Japanese American books for kids. I agree that it is an important lesson in history — my own mother was forced to relocate but I also hunger for books that explore other facets of being Japanese American.
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This was my response to a reader request.
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I explore my own Japanese history in this post.
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These older books explore the Japanese American internment experience during WWII, a shameful chapter in America’s history.
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Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.
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My books:
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
I don’t really have one per se but the ones listed here sound very interesting. Thanks.
I have always loved Taro Gomi’s work as well as Mitsumasa Anno which my older children read. My oldest child also read fantasy books by Noriko Ogiwara, but I’m not sure they are still available.
I can’t think of one right now but this is a great selection of books and I’m adding this graphic novel to my daughter’s list!
I really loved Mariko Tamaki’s graphic Skim.
I liked the Magical Fish and the Golden Slippers- a Cinderella story…