A Heartwarming Story of Love Across Generations

Discover a touching story inspired by Mariko Sensei’s childhood memories with the person she loved most in the world—her grandmother.

As Mariko searches for her beloved grandmother, learners follow an emotional journey filled with imagination, everyday family life, and precious childhood memories. Beautiful original watercolour illustrations bring the story to life while supporting learners as they read longer narrative texts and natural dialogue.

More than just a Japanese reader, this story offers a glimpse into the warmth of Japanese family life and the special relationship many children share with their grandparents. It combines meaningful language, gentle storytelling, and heartfelt memories to create an unforgettable reading experience.

Language Features

Students will practise:

• Reading longer narrative texts
• Reading natural dialogue
• Understanding connected sentence patterns
• Encountering a wider variety of verb forms in context
• Building reading confidence through storytelling

Details: 

Japanese Reader Level:  7
Recommended for: Entry to Advanced Learners
Language Focus: Longer narrative texts, dialogue, plain forms, and connected sentence patterns
Vocabulary Theme: Family, childhood memories, everyday activities, emotions, and nature
Cultural Theme: Grandparents, family life, and childhood in Japan

Character Count: 525
Pages: 14
Product Type: A5 saddle-stitched booklet
ISBN: 978-0-6481178-0-3

Perfect For

• Learners ready for longer Japanese stories
• Secondary school Japanese programs
• Adult learners
• Home learning
• Japanese language classrooms
• Extensive Reading (Tadoku)

 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

Also available for schools and teachers:

•  Class Sets with Online Flipbooks

💜 A Note from Mariko Sensei

Long before I became a Japanese teacher or started creating Japanese readers, I was studying to become a kindergarten teacher in Japan. As part of my training, I created this story completely by hand. Every illustration was painted by me using watercolours, and every page was handwritten because computers were not part of the process then.

The story is inspired by my grandmother, the most important person in my world when I was growing up. She lived with our family from the day I was born, and many of my happiest childhood memories were spent with her. Even today, whenever I think about my childhood, I think of my grandmother first.

Although I have written many readers since then, this story will always have a special place in my heart because it reminds me why I wanted to become a teacher and an author—to create stories that touch people’s hearts as well as help them learn Japanese.

I hope this story reminds readers of someone special in their own lives and encourages them to treasure the people they love.

Happy reading!

— Mariko Sensei

📖 Your Next Japanese Reader

Now that you’ve shared Mariko’s childhood memories, continue your Japanese reading journey with these readers:

• とけちゃった — Enjoy another heartwarming story while expanding your reading skills through longer sentences, authentic photographs, and natural Japanese.
• かかしむら — Discover one of Japan’s most fascinating villages through an engaging story and authentic cultural experiences.

These Japanese readers are intended for individual use and extensive reading (tadoku).

© Mariko Earle. All rights reserved.