Book Bargain...

In Japan there is a chain of stores called Book Off, sister company to Hard Off (don't ask me why they went for that name!) Years ago all the books were ¥105 except for big publications such as encyclopedias but in recent times the prices have gone up. Our local store usually has a few English books but they are quite often the most expensive on the shelf so imagine my delight when we went in and found all the books were on sale at ¥105 whoo-hoo.

This one is bilingual, 'Not Mines But Flowers' it is about the landmines in Cambodia, bit hard hitting in places and I haven't read it with Ebi-kun yet, I think I will wait a while, although the illustrations are not graphic in nature the English translation packs a punch. It is one I will keep out of sight until I think he is ready for it.

available on Amazon

Little Albert about a boy who lives in the Swiss Alps, perfect for our Europe continent box, I think this has been translated from German.

Available on  Amazon

Ebi-kun picked this, he read it in the shop and said it was really funny, something about a boy eating dango.

Another Ebi-kun pick this is about a dragon and a magic ball.

We made some great 'knight' finds and as you know anything to do with knights gets the big thumbs up in this house. The illustrations are great and the text is well written, I think some of the finer nuances go over Ebi-kuns head but as he gets older and re-reads it I think he will get even more out of the book.

available on Amazon

 This is a pop up book and was sealed so we couldn't see what kind of condition it was in, it was marked for sale at ¥950, I wouldn't have paid that for it without being able to look inside, just as well we only paid ¥105 since in needs a bit of love and attention, nothing a bit of glue won't fix.

available on Amazon and the Book Depository

This is one of the pages, Ebi-kun and I had fun making the knights do the okey-cokey.

A daddy find, the Japanese version of Arrow To The Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale by Gerald McDermott and it is beautiful. I have my eye on a couple of his other books too.

available on the book depository and amazon

 And finally, The Field Mouse and a Dinosaur Named Sue, this is a really cute story about a little mouse and the journey of how she ended up at the museum along with Sue (the biggest T-rex ever discovered), it is a gentle introduction to the world of dinosaurs and fossils.

available via amazon

One thing I miss in Japan are the charity shops, a great place to take unwanted goods and even better for a good rummage to find some treasure or a good bargain. Over here the 'recycle' shops have taken off in recent years but I hate taking stuff there and getting paid a pittance, I would prefer to take them to a charity shop and receive nothing but the knowledge that money made from my donation goes to a good cause.