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Collection
Description
Gracie hasn't been able to see very well recently, so she decides to get some glasses. But, after playing on the mountain one day, she realizes that night that her glasses are missing. She heads straight out to look for them on the mountain-where a bored ghost is hiding in the darkness, waiting for someone to scare. Although Ghost tries to scare her, Gracie doesn't react by being frightened, not even little-because she can't see Ghost well enough to be scared without her glasses! Ghost really wants to see Gracie scared, so he helps in her search all night long and finally finds her glasses. But what happens when Gracie puts them on... AGES: 3 to 5 AUTHOR: Keiko Sena was born in Tokyo, Japan, and studied under the well-known printmaker and children's book artist Takeo Takei. She is an illustrator of children's books as well as in book design and the creation of kamishibai picture-panel stories.… (more)
Publication
Museyon (2016), 32 pages
User reviews
LibraryThing member py34tt
This is a cute story that seems to celebrate individuality while simultaneously highlighting the prevailing importance of perspective; Gracie meets a ghost intent on scaring passersby, but being without her glasses until the sun rises (prompting the ghost's abrupt disappearance) she is unable to
My only gripes... first, although I actually relish speculating about character's thought processes and motivations with my 2-year-old and 4-year-old, a bizarre inconsistency was presented that irks me. Very early on in the story, it's established that immediately upon getting her pair of glasses Gracie's friends tease her, and "she was a little embarrassed, but she was a little proud too." Her source of embarrassment is specifically accounted for, but what is going on with feeling proud? Is she proud that she took medically responsible steps to enhance her vision? Is she proud that her friends apparently find her worth teasing? Is she proud that teasing her is a bonding experience for her friends? Were her feelings of embarrassment very brief and fleeting, since she was very self-confident? Or instead of the FEELING of pride, is she experiencing the state of BEING proud and is actually a very haughty person? Why is one emotion addressed so directly, while another more ambiguous adjective seems to be added out of nowhere?
My second issue relates to plausibility. And before your head connects to your desk, here me out - I mean plausibility within the author's own established "universe" as depicted in the story, of course. And even so, I don't hold authors to ridiculous standards. I'm completely excusing the facts that 1) Gracie is clearly a young rabbit, but her parents are totally absent from the picture, even as she blindly leaves home in the middle of the night and doesn't return 'til after morning breaks, and 2) for some reason Gracie is specifically shown trying to go to sleep in the same dress she played outside in all day.
No, my "hang up," if you will, is Gracie being blind enough to mistakenly grab an owl and a mouse (who she thinks are her glasses) and unable to make out a literal ghost.... yet she apparently does not realize her glasses are missing until she tries to take them off before sleeping. So she traverses the path home from the mountain/forest where she and her friends played, goes about her life with dinner/bathing/etc., all being none the wiser to the fact that she cannot see anything. And, despite the glasses seemingly not being THAT important if their absence in her life is not even noted during her routine goings on, she elects to leave the house immediately to find them instead of waiting until daylight, at which time she'd have been able to solicit the help of her friends.
Again, the story is cute, but just not my favorite. I was provided a digital copy through NetGalley for reviewing purposes.
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see its scariness and instead marvels over how kind the ghost is. Funnily, the ghost's kindness is solely a result of its wish to sufficiently frighten Gracie. The story is colorfully and simply illustrated - sure to delight young children.My only gripes... first, although I actually relish speculating about character's thought processes and motivations with my 2-year-old and 4-year-old, a bizarre inconsistency was presented that irks me. Very early on in the story, it's established that immediately upon getting her pair of glasses Gracie's friends tease her, and "she was a little embarrassed, but she was a little proud too." Her source of embarrassment is specifically accounted for, but what is going on with feeling proud? Is she proud that she took medically responsible steps to enhance her vision? Is she proud that her friends apparently find her worth teasing? Is she proud that teasing her is a bonding experience for her friends? Were her feelings of embarrassment very brief and fleeting, since she was very self-confident? Or instead of the FEELING of pride, is she experiencing the state of BEING proud and is actually a very haughty person? Why is one emotion addressed so directly, while another more ambiguous adjective seems to be added out of nowhere?
My second issue relates to plausibility. And before your head connects to your desk, here me out - I mean plausibility within the author's own established "universe" as depicted in the story, of course. And even so, I don't hold authors to ridiculous standards. I'm completely excusing the facts that 1) Gracie is clearly a young rabbit, but her parents are totally absent from the picture, even as she blindly leaves home in the middle of the night and doesn't return 'til after morning breaks, and 2) for some reason Gracie is specifically shown trying to go to sleep in the same dress she played outside in all day.
No, my "hang up," if you will, is Gracie being blind enough to mistakenly grab an owl and a mouse (who she thinks are her glasses) and unable to make out a literal ghost.... yet she apparently does not realize her glasses are missing until she tries to take them off before sleeping. So she traverses the path home from the mountain/forest where she and her friends played, goes about her life with dinner/bathing/etc., all being none the wiser to the fact that she cannot see anything. And, despite the glasses seemingly not being THAT important if their absence in her life is not even noted during her routine goings on, she elects to leave the house immediately to find them instead of waiting until daylight, at which time she'd have been able to solicit the help of her friends.
Again, the story is cute, but just not my favorite. I was provided a digital copy through NetGalley for reviewing purposes.
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LibraryThing member Carlathelibrarian
This is a cute silly story that had the opportunity to teach a lesson on self-esteem but falls short in that area.
Gracie the bunny is having trouble seeing so gets herself some glasses. Her friends make fun of her but she still wears them. When she realizes that she has lost her glasses while
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Gracie the bunny is having trouble seeing so gets herself some glasses. Her friends make fun of her but she still wears them. When she realizes that she has lost her glasses while
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playing on the mountain, she heads off at night to find them. I really identify with this part of the story as I have been wearing glasses since I was 9 years old and can not remember how many times I misplaced them. There are some funny moments when she pokes the owl thinking it is her glasses and when she grabs the mouse's tail thinking it is the arm to her glasses. When the sad ghost tries to scare her, she can not see it so is not scared. There is an example of helping when the ghost looks for and finds the glasses for Gracie and she is sorry that her new friend disappears before she can thank him. Overall a simple cute story with cute illustrations that little ones would enjoy.I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Language
Original language
Japanese
Original publication date
2016-10-01 [English translation]
1975 [Japanese Edition]
Physical description
32 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
1940842131 / 9781940842134