Kamishibai Man (Module 5)

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Say, Allen. 2005. Kamishibai Man. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 9780618479542.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In Japan, the kamishibai man returns to the city he used to tell stories in. He finds the city to be different and begins to reminisce about the days when he was popular and why he stopped coming. However, as he finishes his story of the old days, he finds himself surrounded with an audience who still want him to tell his stories and bring his candy.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Allen Say's Kamishibai Man gives insight into a slice of Japanese culture and history. The story grabs the readers attention by starting with modern day and a “Jiichan” (Grandpa) and “Baachan” (Grandma) that have no children discussing missing something that requires a bicycle and candy. Through a flashback, Say lays out what kimishibai is and how this man used to make his living then gave it up. The conclusion of being surrounded by adults who remembered him as children is touching and poignant without feeling trite or sappy. This is a well-told tale filled with emotion and historical fact.

The illustrations are gorgeously painted, as we've come to expect from this Caldecott winning artist. Say distinguishes the modern day story from the flashback by making the flashback drawings less detailed and smaller on the page. These flashback illustrations are sized more like kimishibai cards and we find ourselves being drawn into a kimishibai story about the storyteller with a cliffhanger. However, our cliffhanger is resolved as we then come back to modern day and the joyful recepetion the kimishibai man has received.

Kimishibai Man is an excellent historical fiction picture book that draws the reader into the story while teaching about Japanese culture as well. A foreword from Allen Say and afterword by Japanese folklore scholar Tara McGowan give both the personal reason for Say to write this book and historical background to the story. Many readers will find it interesting that kimishibai was the precursor to Japanese manga and anime.


4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Booklist starred: “Its exquisite art, in the style of Kamishibai picture cards, will attract even the most jaded kid away from the TV to enjoy a good, good book.”
• Kirkus Reviews: “A fascinating window on a bygone art form.”
• School Library Journal: “The power of the story and the importance of the storyteller are felt in this nostalgic piece that makes readers think about 'progress.'”

5. CONNECTIONS

• Allow students to experience kamishabai. There is an interactive kamishibai theater on Japanese National American Museum kid's website that focuses on the Japanese internment in the US during WWII. Theaters are available for purchase at sites like Kamishibai for Kids, or try making a mini one with instructions with this lesson plan.
• Teachers Lani Horan and Jamie Berkmeyer created a webquest for fourth grade students that could easily be tweaked for other grades that focuses on exploring Allen Say's personal background, his home, his work as an author, and his work as an illustrator.
• Books about using kimishibai in the classroom:
  
  
  De Las Casas, Dianne. Kamishibai Story Theater: The Art of Picture Telling. ISBN: 9781591584049.
  
  
  McGowan, Tara. The Kamishibai Classroom: Engaging Multiple Literacies Through the Art of "Paper Theater.” ISBN: 9781591588733.
  
  
  Nash, Eric. Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theater. ISBN: 9780810953031.