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Welcome to our chat with Kimiko Kajikawa, a local author recommended to us by Mrs. Korman. We have read Yoshi's Feast by Ms. Kajikawa and we enjoyed it very much.

We are excited that we will be reading her newly released book, //Tsunami//.

2/25/09 Dear Ms. Kajikawa,

Hi! We have been spending the past 1/2 hour learning about tsumanis on different websites and previewing the book, //Tsunami//.

We have some comments and questions.

Tre': If a person was near a tsumani, would they be able to go under the wave and stay safe?

//No, Tre. When looking for safety during a tsunami, it is always best to move to higher ground.//

Donovan: If you were in a submarine and a tsunami was coming, would the submarine break? //That's a good question, Donovan. If the submarine was in deep water, it would be unaffected.//

Savannah: Do the animals under the sea get hurt by tsunami? //This depends, Savannah. Most animals except the ones near shore would be safe.//

We did a picture walk next. Savannah really likes the illustrations because she's really into collage. Tre' and Donovan are not crazy about the illustrations because they were looking forward to illustrations that looked like real life - more like paintings. What do you think of the illustrations? //I understand how Tre and Donovan feel about the illustrations. Having worked on the manuscript for a long time, I had always pictured the illustrations to look more like real life, too. What has been interesting for me is that the more I look at Ed Young's illustrations, the more I like what he's done. He's challenged me with his interpretation, and now I appreciate Ed Young's art. Simply beautiful!//

We have a few more questions before we read:

Donovan: Why did you write this book? Are you interested in tsunamis? //I found the orginal story in the basement of the Trenton Public Library (it's over 100 years-old) and fell in love with Lafcadio Hearn's story. It literally had me in tears. I didn't know much about tsunamis at the time, so what really interested me in doing this book was the story itself. I loved the tale of the old man who sacrifices all of his riches for his community.// Tre': How did you find this man's name? What made you look him up to find out about him? //I am very interested in Japanese folklore, so I took a trip to the library to find ALL of the old books they had on the subject. When I read the story of Ojiisan, I knew it was the story I needed to retell.//

Savannah: Where did you get your last name from, your mom or your dad? //It is my mother's family name, Savannah.//

Have a great week! We will be reading the book next week! :-) Mrs. Deckebach, Tre', Donovan, and Savannah

//Have a great week to all of you. I can't wait to hear what you think about the book! :-)

Kimiko Kajikawa//

March 3, 2009

Dear Ms. Kajikawa,

Hi. We have spent time reading the true story of the tsunami and fire in the rice fields on a web site and we read half of the book. We have been trying to use sentence clues to figure out the Japanese words.

Tre': I think the book is good so far because it's not skipping details - it's going one thing at a time. It's good because I'm trying to imagine different pictures than the ones that are in the book. But I really like some of the colors - the fire is pink - it seems really hot.

//That's a great observation, Tre. I like the pink fire, too. It's different than any other fire I've seen before, but it definitely gives me the sense that this is a very serious fire.//

Savannah: I like the book so far. I like how you told us what some of the words mean. I found out that ojiisan means "grandfather" and tsunami means "monster waves" (that was Tre's). She also really likes the color so far.

//Isn't it interesting to learn words in different languages? I'm glad that you like that, Savannah!//

Mrs. Deckebach: I really likes the line, "THE SEA WAS RUNNING AWAY FROM THE LAND!". I like it because it's great personification!

//Thank you, Mrs. Deckebach!//

Tre' wants to know if you will make more books with the same illustrator.

//I don't honestly know the answer to that question, Tre. As a writer, it is usually the editor's job to pair me with the illustrator -- so it's not usually my choice. Only time will tell whether or not I ever work on a book with Ed Young again.//

Tre' also wonders what you would do if you were near a tsunami.

//I would be running for the highest ground I could find. What about you, Tre?//

Savannah is wondering if you've written any other tsunami stories.

//No, not yet, Savannah. Would you like me to?//

Mrs. Deckebach wants to know why the character in your story is so old, because in real life, the man who did this was about 35 years old.

//That's a good question, Mrs. Deckebach. Because the original version of this folktale was written by Lafcadio Hearn in 1897, he is really the only person who could answer it. My guess is that Mr. Hearn loosely based the story on actual events and really wanted to emphasize how the hero, Ojiisan, became a living God to his village ("A Living God" is the tale's actual title). The Japanese have great respect for the wisdom of their elders, and I believe that Mr. Hearn made the oldest person in the village the hero so that the reader would have great respect for Ojiisan.//

We are looking forward to reading the rest of the book next week. Thanks!

//I can't wait to hear more of what you think about the book! Thank you!// :-)

Tre', Savannah, and Mrs. Deckebach

3/11/09 Dear Ms. Kajikawa,

Hi! Thanks very much for writing back to us. We read your post and Tre' said, yeah, he would run for higher ground like you. Savannah would really like you to write another book about tsunamis because now she's interested in them. Maybe some nonfiction.

//Thank you for writing to me. I've really enjoyed our conversations. Tre, you're very smart to run for higher ground! And, Savannah, thanks for being interested in my future books. I'm flattered.//

We finished the book today and were all very captured by the ending. We all jotted comments and questions as we read.

Tre': I love your story because it told an old story and if you did not make it, nobody else would have heard about it.

//I am so touched by your comment. I am grateful that you loved the book, and you make me wonder whether or not anyone else would have wanted to retell Lafcadio Hearn's story.//

Savannah: I love the book right now because it's getting exciting!

//Yeah, Savannah! I'm glad that you found the story exciting. Thank you!//

Mrs. Deckebach: I love the simile that talks about the people running up the hill like ants. It gave me such a good picture in my mind of all those villagers running up the hill from many different directions.

//I'm grateful that the simile really helped you form a picture of the action in your mind, Mrs. Deckebach. That's exactly what I hoped it might do.//

Tre': Which one of Ed Young's illustrations do you like best?

//That's a great question, Tre. I would have to say that the double page spread of the oncoming tsunami really conveys the terror and enormity of the situation. Yes, I would say that it is my favorite.//

Savannah: Did you ever write about tornadoes?

//Not yet, Savannah, but I really like your idea.//

Mrs. Deckebach: Did you have to write many drafts of the part where the wave hits? It seems like it would be hard to get that part just right.

//Oh, Mrs. Deckebach, I had to write many drafts of the entire manuscript, but, yes, the part where the wave hit was particularly challenging. It felt that there was little that I could write that would convey the enormity of the situation.//

While we read, we also tried to figure out the meanings of all the Japanese words by using context clues. The only one we got wrong was "kita". We thought it meant "Look!". We also labeled a lot of the figurative language you used because it is the week before PSSA's!

//I think you guys are great and really appreciate the time you took to understand and appreciate the story and illustrations. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!//

Thanks for such an excellent book. We really enjoyed it!

//Domo arigato -- thank you very much!//

Mrs. Deckebach, Tre' and Savannah

//Kokoro Kimiko Kajikawa//