Holly Thompson Takes U.S. Teachers On a Tour To 'The Wakame Gatherers' Locations
Author Holly Thompson was raised in New England and earned her M.A. in fiction writing from New York University. She has resided for many years in Kamakura, Japan where she teaches creative writing at Yokohama City University and is a Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) -Tokyo branch.
Her latest book The Wakame Gatherers, published by Shen’s Books, is the story of a young girl, Nanami, who has two grandmothers – Baachan whom she lives with in Japan, and Gram who lives in Maine. When Gram visits Japan for the first time, Baachan and Nanami take her on a trip to the seashore for the centuries-old Japanese tradition of gathering wakame seaweed. Nanami acts as translator as her two grandmothers discover they have much in common, despite being from two countries that fought each other during a time that both women remember vividly. With bright, beautiful illustrations by Kazumi Wilds, this book captures the warmth and love of a blended Japanese and American family, with its two grandmothers who become close despite their memories of war.
Recently 14 teachers from Colorado traveled to Japan to take part in a three week study tour entitled “Japan Through Children’s Literature”. Holly was asked to host a study session based on The Wakame Gatherers and took the teachers, along with community volunteers, to the sites illustrated in her book. It was a truly memorable event for all involved, with teachers commenting “That was the best day we’ve had on the tour!” “Amazing!” “So great to be able to cook together,” and “This, today, was the true meaning of exchange.”
Click here to read Holly’s description of the day’s events and learn more about wakame!
October 27th, 2008 at 10:52 am
To see a book come to life this way is so powerful!… I liked the book a lot when I first read it, but I like it even more now, after reading about Holly’s tour. What an incredible learning opportunity for those who were fortunate enough to take part in it! Holly’s tour report allows us to retrace their steps in Japan, and to make the most of the experience of sharing the book with young ones. Thanks for letting us all know about it, Corinne!
October 28th, 2008 at 2:14 am
I have to find this book! You’ve made it so tempting, Corinne–and now I want to gather wakame with Holly Thompson.
October 31st, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Ditoo, ditto, ditto! What a fantastic opportunity for those teachers – I am envious! I would love to hear how it impacts on their teaching further down the line…