Fanci Dancy Visits Her Japanese Tomadachi

The children's literature genre belies a timeless universal message for all ages. The proverbial excerpt "...a little child shall lead them" is nowhere more evident than in this little book. Two young girls descended from two different cultures have become a bridge that spans two continents. “Ding-ding-dong!” the doorbell chimed. “Hello, Mrs. Dancy! Hello, Fanci! Hello, Kayla-Rae! And you must be Ken!” Mrs. Ahira greeted them, opening the door wide. Now Mrs. Ahira and Sashi were going to give their visitors a peek into Japanese life. She had given them slippers to wear because Japanese people do not want to bring the dirt and germs from shoes inside their homes. The tatami is the mat used to brush any dust from the slippers. Japanese people take great care to keep themselves and their surroundings very clean. They want to stay well and healthy. “Well, why don’t we get busy with some fun things?” Mrs. Ahira offered. “First, we can learn some Japanese words. We will count from one to ten if that is all right,” she said. “Ooh, that sounds fine,” Mrs. Dancy replied. “Would you like to count in Japanese?” Mrs. Ahira asked the children. “That was fun!” Fanci chuckled, happy that she could repeat the Japanese numerals correctly. “I can say my age in Japanese,” she continued. “I am nana just like Sashi! She’s seven, too.”