I went to Japan and

I read aloud The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton more times in two weeks than I had in twenty years as a children’s librarian.

And

It turns out that architects, engineers and scientists are just as interested in STEM education through picture book read-alouds as are teachers, parents, and librarians.

And

That I can perfectly understand Japanese read aloud by a six-year-old when the book is Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper.

And

 

That “where to go” translates into Japanese to “toilet” and I forgot the English once and said the big cat taught the little cat “where to do her business.”

And if you give me a pretty bento box of food for a trip to Aomori on the fastest train called Shinkansen.

 

I will eat everything in the box even if the only thing I can identify is the rice and maybe a carrot flower.