🌸 Discover Wagashi with This Level 1 Japanese Reader

What Is It? (これ なに？) is a Level 1 Japanese Reader that helps complete beginners start reading Japanese through a simple guessing game featuring beautiful traditional Japanese sweets.

Each page asks the same natural question:

これ なに？
What is it?

Learners look carefully at the photograph and decide what the wagashi resembles.

レモン？A lemon?   ベル？A bell?   クリスマスツリー？A Christmas tree   ボール？A ball?

As the book continues, learners discover that these colorful shapes are not ordinary objects at all—they are wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets. The PDF deliberately builds curiosity before revealing にほんのおかし。 わがし。near the end.

Because the question remains predictable, beginners can focus on recognising Japanese words rather than decoding a completely new sentence on every page. Authentic photographs provide strong visual clues, helping learners connect written Japanese with meaning naturally.

🎯 Language Features in This Level 1 Japanese Reader

Students will practise:

• これ なに？ — asking “What is it?”
• Responding with single Japanese words
• Reading Hiragana vocabulary
• Beginning to recognize Katakana words
• Katakana examples such as レモン、ベル、クリスマスツリー、ボール、ゼリー
• Reading simple expressions such as わからない
• Reading simple adjectives such as おいしい and きれい
• Using visual clues to predict meaning
• Recognising familiar borrowed words in Japanese
• Building confidence through repeated question patterns

📖 Level 1 Japanese Reader Details

Reading Level: Level 1
Recommended for: Complete beginners / Beginning Hiragana readers
Character Count: 131
Pages: 15
Text Type: Factual description
Language Focus: Simple question-and-answer patterns and beginner vocabulary
Vocabulary Theme: Familiar objects used as visual clues
Cultural Theme: Traditional Japanese wagashi and green tea culture
Script: Hiragana & Katakana with furigana support
Product Type: A5 saddle-stitched booklet
ISBN: 978-0-6481178-9-6

Perfect For

• Complete beginner Japanese learners
• Learners progressing from individual words to simple Japanese question patterns
• Beginning Hiragana readers
• Primary and elementary Japanese programs
• Beginning secondary Japanese learners
• Adult beginners
• Visual learners who benefit from authentic photographs
• Japanese food and culture units
• Guided reading
• Independent reading
• Extensive Reading (Tadoku)
• Building confidence before progressing to longer beginner readers

📚 Teaching & Learning Resources

Every reader includes free access to our Resource Library.

Included with every reader:

• 🎧 Audio recordings narrated by Mariko Sensei
• 📖 English translation
• 💻 Quizlet vocabulary activities

🏫 Teaching a Class? Explore the What Is It? Class Set

Bring What Is It? (これ なに？) into your classroom with printed readers for every student and a matching Online Flipbook for whole-class display.

Choose 10, 15, 20, or 25 printed readers with password-protected Online Flipbook access. The Class Set supports whole-class reading, guided reading, pair work, and independent reading.

👉 Explore What Is It? (これ なに？) Class Set & Online Flipbook

💜 A Note from Mariko Sensei

As a child in Japan, wagashi always felt special to me. They were not everyday snacks. Sometimes my grandmother would take me to a small wagashi shop near our home and let me choose one.

I remember looking carefully at all the beautiful shapes and colors before deciding which one I wanted. To me, wagashi felt like something for grown-ups—something you appreciated not only for the taste, but also for the way it looked.

That childhood memory inspired this reader.

I chose the natural spoken question 「これ なに？」 rather than the more formal 「これは なんですか。」 because this is the kind of Japanese children naturally use in everyday conversation. I also included expressions such as 「わからない。」 so learners can experience simple, authentic Japanese from their very first reader.

Wagashi is traditionally enjoyed with green tea, whose slightly bitter and refreshing taste complements the sweetness of the sweets.

I hope this book helps you enjoy your first Japanese reading experience while discovering the beauty of traditional wagashi.

Happy reading!

— Mariko Sensei

📖 Your Next Japanese Reader

🎌 Shiritori Japanese Word Game (しりとり) — Continue building confidence with Japanese words and Hiragana through a traditional Japanese word-chain game.

🍫 Japanese Snacks (にほんのおかし) — Continue early Japanese reading through a fun guessing quiz featuring popular Japanese snacks.

🪁 Kites (たこ) — Continue reading simple Japanese with strong visual support while discovering colorful Japanese kites and culture.

📚 Explore More Japanese Reader Packs

Continue your Japanese reading journey with our carefully graded Japanese Reader Packs.

🌱 Beginner Hiragana Readers Starter Pack — Continue from first words and simple questions to short sentences and stories with carefully graded Level 1–3 Japanese readers.

🏫 Primary & Elementary School Japanese Readers Pack — Explore Level 1–4 Japanese readers designed for young learners, with authentic photographs, engaging cultural topics, and gradual reading progression.

📚 All Japanese Readers Pack — Explore the complete collection of graded Japanese readers, from beginning reading through advanced levels.

📌 Important Information

This Japanese Reader is designed for individual use and extensive reading (Tadoku).

Copyright © Mariko Earle. All rights reserved.

Please do not copy, reproduce, distribute, or share any part of this book without permission from the copyright holder.