Posted By: Carol Wertz
Posted On: December 1, 2015
This is a story that elementary children would easily relate to. It is a story of how a young girl's parents first met. The girl's mother, Aiko, was a Japanese schoolgirl and her father, John, an American sailor. The story takes us through their courtship in Yokohama.
When John and Aiko first met, both were embarrassed by their lack of knowledge of how to eat using each others implements. John would like to ask Aiko to dinner, but is unable to correctly use chopsticks. Aiko would like to be asked to dinner by John, but doesn't know how to handle a knife, fork, spoon. When John is told his ship will be leaving in 3 weeks, he wants to ask Aiko to marry him. So that they won't go hungry, he decides he must learn what foods Aiko likes and how to use chopsticks to eat that food. John goes to a Japanese restaurant and has a waiter help him learn the intricacies of chopstick eating. After many failed attempts, John succeeds. He is now able to ask Aiko to dinner. This forces Aiko to go to her great uncle for help. He had visited England and Aiko asks him to teach her how to eat with a knife and fork. With Great uncles encouragement, and practice at a western restaurant, Aiko masters the utensils after many tries. John and Aiko decide they can help each other to become better with their new ways of eating.
The end of the story leads us to John and Aiko's daughter. She explains to the reader that some days they eat with chopsticks, some days with knives and forks just as her parents have done since they met.
This story would hit a common theme with many of the students. A large portion of the children have a blended ethnic background. Those who do not have this mix within their own family, can certainly see it within others around them. There are many different traditions and practices brought to these families. The students could also relate to the feeling of embarrassment when trying something unknown for the first time. This book highlights the acceptance of others, along with patience in new and different practices.
The story lends itself to comparing and contrasting. The students in my class were able to list cultural differences between the parents. They also listed the food and ways of eating that food. The pictures in the book helped them with the comparisons. After discussing the differences, the children began to list the similarities. Over and over again the similarities in the main characters feeling kept coming up. The students agreed that the feelings were universal in the story.