Authentic Japanese Reading Practice Through Engaging Stories

Japanese Graded Readers for Schools, Teachers & Learners

Our Japanese graded readers help students build reading confidence through authentic photographs, natural Japanese, audio recordings, English translations, Quizlet vocabulary activities, and classroom resources. Designed for schools, independent learners, and JLPT preparation.

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 for secondary students, supporting vocabulary growth, grammar development, and reading fluency through meaningful content.

JLPT Learners

Japanese graded readers for JLPT learners, providing structured reading practice, vocabulary development, and cultural understanding.

Why Japanese Graded Readers?

Learning to read authentic Japanese can be challenging, especially for beginners and developing learners. Japanese graded readers make reading more accessible by introducing vocabulary, grammar, and sentence patterns in a carefully structured way. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by difficult texts, learners can build confidence through enjoyable stories that match their reading level.

At Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks, our Japanese graded readers combine authentic photographs, natural Japanese, audio recordings, English translations, Quizlet vocabulary activities, and classroom resources to create an engaging learning experience. Each reader gradually develops reading fluency while introducing Japanese culture through meaningful, real-life topics.

Whether you are a classroom teacher, an independent learner, or preparing for the JLPT, our readers provide step-by-step reading practice that helps students enjoy reading in Japanese with confidence.

Why Choose Our Japanese Graded Readers

Every Japanese graded reader includes:

🎧 Audio recordings narrated by Mariko Sensei

📖 English translations to support reading comprehension

💻 Interactive Quizlet vocabulary sets for vocabulary practice and revision

🖥️ Optional Class Sets with Online Flipbooks

Display books on your interactive whiteboard, model pronunciation with audio, and engage students in shared reading.

Perfect for:

✔ Whole-class teaching ✔ Small-group instruction ✔ Independent reading

✔ Home reading ✔ Homework ✔ Classroom libraries

✔ Building reading confidence and reading fluency

ページを開きたくなる本

Books that make you want to start reading

写真や絵による読解サポート

Reading comprehension support with photos and illustrations

各ページには、レベルに応じた文章量

Readable text tailored to every learning stage

初心者には読みやすい　　　教科書体フォント

Beginner-friendly textbook fonts

助詞の色分け

Colour-coded particles in Japanese

ふりがな付きのレベル別読解サポート

Level-based Japanese reading support with furigana

初心者向けの分かち書きサポート

Beginner-friendly word spacing support

Meet the author

As both a Japanese teacher and mother, Mariko Earle found that books published in Japan are NOT easily comprehensible by learners of the language.

Ultimately, her passion for writing, teaching, and Japanese literacy inspired her to create learner-friendly Japanese books designed specifically for students of Japanese.
Her goal is to help learners experience the joy of reading Japanese independently and enjoy the journey of becoming capable and enthusiastic readers of Japanese.

What Teachers Say About Our Japanese Graded Readers

Mariko Sensei’s books offer learners outside Japan a wonderful opportunity to experience Japanese culture and everyday life while improving their language skills.

One of the things I appreciate most is the combination of natural, level-appropriate Japanese, beautiful illustrations, and real-life photos. The visual support makes it much easier to understand new vocabulary and follow the stories without feeling overwhelmed.

These books are an excellent resource for developing reading comprehension, expanding vocabulary, and encouraging students to read independently. As both a former Japanese language learner and a Japanese language teacher, I highly recommend this reading series for N5 and N4 learners.

Lucila Gibo

Former Japanese Language Learner and Japanese Teacher

Mariko sensei’s books are helpful in teaching my daughter not only Japanese language but also unique culture we have.

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.

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