Hiromi’s Hands by Lynne Barasch (1st Grade +)

Hiromi’s Hands by Lynne Barasch (1^st Grade +)

Barasch, Lynne. (2007). Hiromi’s Hands. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc.

Genre: Biography

Lexile:

This story is a story about a young girl who lives in Japan and her father is a sushi chef. Her father works very hard to move up the “Sushi Ladder of success” and does so. Then a New York sushi restaurant opens and he is asked to be the chef. He moves his whole family to New York and begins work. Hiromi, his daughter decides she too wants to be a sushi chef like her father. Traditionally in Japanese culture women are not allowed to work, or be equals to men. Hiromi wants very badly to be a chef like her father. Eventually she starts her apprenticeship with her father at his restaurant and works very hard.

This story provides students with a new understanding of not only a true person, as well as a new culture, the Japanese culture and language that is used throughout the book. Students in this age group want to read about experiences that allow them to see and learn through real situations. This book allows for cognitive development because the situations that Hiromi is going through are those that really happen in real life and they could put themselves in Hiromi’s shoes and learn from her experiences. This book is good for personality development because both in boys and girls at this age they do not want to feel vulnerable or failure. This book shows how Hiromi persevered and accomplished her dream of becoming a sushi chef even though it was a mans job, and the dad shows us that because he allows his daughter to become a chef does not make him less of one. He is proud of what a great job she is doing and I think it reflect on the father as well.

Characterization & Setting- The characters are developed in this story as well as the setting. The characters are briefly introduced and the descriptions are not given too much though because the majority of the book focuses on plot and how Hiromi becomes a great sushi chef. The setting is in New York and Japan, but a lot of thought is given to describing the fish markets. You get a strong sense of what they market is like.

Illustrations- The illustrations throughout the book looks like real life events and people, which help the reader because the book is a biography.

Mini Lesson- Using this book for an opening to a biography unit or more in the middle and having students find characteristics about his person.

Enjoyment- This is a tough read for First graders as an independent book, I would wait till about 3/4^th grade as independent. As a  read aloud though, it is a great book for many ages.