You can see that Mariko sensei is very committed to making these books with her passion. I believe many of the stories are related to her precious memories, and they are heartwarming. I recommend these books to everyone, students, teachers, mums and dads.
Japanese Graded Readers
🌸 Enjoy Reading Japanese – Build Confidence One Book at a Time
Discover Japanese graded readers designed to make reading Japanese accessible, enjoyable, and rewarding. Created by an experienced Japanese teacher, our books combine carefully leveled language, authentic photographs, engaging stories, and visual reading support. From beginner hiragana readers to more challenging texts, our collection helps school students and independent learners develop reading fluency and confidence. Perfect for classroom reading, independent learning, and Japanese extensive reading (Tadoku 多読).
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📚 Explore Japanese Readers by Learning Level
Primary & Elementary
School
Japanese readers for primary/ elementary school students, designed to develop reading confidence and language skills through engaging stories and cultural content.
High School Japanese Readers
Engaging Japanese texts that help students strengthen vocabulary, consolidate grammar, and develop independent reading skills.
JLPT Learners
Build Japanese reading skills with carefully leveled readers that support vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension.
Ideal for learners preparing for JLPT N5–N4 or developing their Japanese reading skills.
📖 Why Japanese Graded Readers?
Learning to read Japanese can feel challenging at first. However, once students begin recognizing hiragana and reading familiar words, they discover the joy of understanding Japanese for themselves.
Japanese graded readers make this journey easier by introducing vocabulary and grammar gradually through meaningful stories, photographs, and illustrations.
As learners experience success, they become more confident, motivated, and independent readers.
Our goal is simple: to help every learner say, “I did it! I read it myself!”
🌸 Japanese Extensive Reading (Tadoku 多読)
Japanese extensive reading, known as Tadoku (多読), encourages learners to enjoy reading many Japanese books at a comfortable level.
Instead of struggling through difficult texts, students choose books they can understand and enjoy, gradually developing vocabulary, reading fluency, and confidence.
Mariko Sensei’s Japanese graded readers support extensive reading through carefully leveled language, meaningful repetition, authentic photographs, and engaging stories.
Whether students read independently, explore classroom libraries, or enjoy shared reading activities, our books provide opportunities to make Japanese reading a regular and enjoyable experience.
✨ What Makes Our Japanese Readers Different?
Experience real Japan through reading!
📸 Authentic Japanese Photographs bring Japan’s everyday life, culture, and beautiful places into every story.
🎨 Color-Coded Particles and Word Spacing make Japanese sentences easier to follow and understand.
📖 Meaningful Repetition helps learners recognize familiar vocabulary and sentence patterns, building reading fluency and confidence.
🎧 Teaching & Learning Resources, including audio recordings, English translations, and Quizlet activities where available, provide additional support for teachers and learners.
📚 Explore the Special Features That Make Japanese Reading Easier
👩🏫 Meet the author - Mariko Sensei
Born and raised in Japan, Mariko Earle has over 40 years of experience teaching Japanese in Australia, from preschool children to high school students and adult learners.
Through her years of teaching, she discovered how important it is for learners to experience the joy of reading Japanese independently.
She created Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks to make Japanese reading more accessible, engaging, and enjoyable through authentic photographs, colorful reading support, and carefully leveled language.
Her greatest reward is hearing a learner proudly say, “I did it! I read it myself!”
What Teachers, Parents & Learners Say
Earle sensei’s books are helpful in teaching my daughter not only Japanese language but also unique culture we have.
Satomi Aoto
Japanese mother
As a teacher of Japanese, I know Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks provide an invaluable resource for both teachers and students.
It has been an absolute pleasure to see how far Mariko has come with writing her books and personally I am moved to tears at times when reading her books because you can feel the thought, love and passion that she puts into all that she does.
Dr. Amanda Autry
Japanese Lecturer, The University of the Sunshine Coast
The beautiful photography in Mariko Sensei’s books engages the readers immediately.
The size of the book allows for the readers to engage with a Japanese text without feeling daunted by having to read too much text. The books are a great introduction to Japanese reading for beginners.
Debra Shimada
Japanese teacher
English 
日本語