Long ago, children in Japan would come running at the sound of the kamishibai man's wooden clappers.  They were so happy to see him because they knew he had lots of stories to tell and sweets to sell.  But as time went by, more and more children began to stay home to watch television instead of listening to the stories of the kamishibai man.  The storyteller knew that time had passed him by and stopped going to the city.  Though many years have passed and the storyteller was now very old, he decides to make one more trip to the city and be a kamishibai man one more time.  What will he find when he reaches the city?

Booktalk #2

What has happened to our children when it comes to reading? Media and technology has taken control of our children, and reading has been placed into outer space and not in the minds of our kids. The book by Allen Say, titled Kamishibai Man, tells a unique story of a man in Japan, who loved to read stories to children, and how his stories excited the kids, and they loved to listen to him. But the creation of the television took control, and replaced his storytelling, and the kids became non-interested in listening to his books. They no longer wanted to hear Kamishibai and the stories he read to them. But the television did not deter him from stopping his passion of reading to children, because after many years of not reading, he decided to give it one more try, not knowing the expectations or the outcome. (Tuesday Cabiness,  lakerfan8tuesday@gmail.com, college student)