Suki's Kimono

I work at a daycare and try to buy themed books when certain months come up. So when AANHIP came up, I wanted to get age-appropriate books about Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Suki's Kimono was one of the books I purchased. It's adorable with a fantastic message of listening to your heart and embracing your culture. The kids enjoyed it and were interested in learning about kimonos. Highly recommend.

I read this to my Pre-K students at the beginning of the year to introduce them to the idea that it is cool to embrace your culture and not worry about what others may think of you. I show them a real pair of Geta (the wood shoes the main character wears) and a parasol and show them Japan on the globe and it makes for a great story time.

This was such a great book for students to learn about other another culture.

Amazing story

Good for my 3- & 5-yo, after we spent 4 years in Japan (so the only problem is they're calling a yukatta a kimono, which it technically is, I guess). Great lesson about marching to your own beat with a positive outcome. Didn't notice any glaring grammar or spelling issues in the story either -- a big plus in this house!

Charming little story about a little girl with a personality of her own. She lives in San Francisco and is very proud of her Japanese heritage. She decides to wear her kimono the first day of school despite her older sisters attempts to make her feel embarrassed. She is met with a few snickers at school but holds her head up high . Later when introducing herself in class, she has the opportunity to explain about her kimono and the Japanese dancers at a festival during the past summer. Great book for our family as we are raising bicultural, bilingual Japanese kids in the US.

There is a lot of pressure from other kids and even our own family to deny our cultural heritage... therefore, I loved how this book encourages kids to instead embrace and share what their culture and what they love about their culture. There is beauty in every culture and sharing that with each other makes the world beautiful, but if we deny ourselves and our our heritage - hiding it like its a secret or something to be ashamed of, then we deny ourselves and we remain broken under a mask of uniformity. It just does not work. If someone is from Japan or Scotland or Zimbabew or from anywhere else in this world, they all should grow up supported and encouraged by educators and communities.... to celebrate the beauty their culture and people add to the world. Celebrate the good.

"Suki's Kimono" is about a young Japanese girl, Suki, who wears her favorite kimono from her grandmother to school on the first day. Her older sisters tell her it's not cool and warn her about what others might think, but Suki wears it anyway because she is proud of it and its memories. I love the message behind this book: be yourself and don't worry about what others think of you. I read this to my second graders every year and we have a nice discussion about what makes us all unique and why it's important to celebrate those differences. The illustrations are beautifully done also. Awesome book!