Peach Boy: A Japanese Legend (Legends of the World)

Peach Boy begins as the sad story of an old man and an old woman who have good lives but aren't happy because they have no children to brighten their days. One day while doing the wash, the woman finds a giant peach floating down the river. She takes it home as a treat for her husband...but when

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they go to eat it, a baby boy pops out! Recognizing it as a gift from the gods, answering their prayers to have a child, naturally they name the child Momotaro (Peach Boy). The child indeed brightens their days and grows big and strong, helping them both with their jobs until one day he hears of some ogres who are terrorizing villagers and stealing their treasures...he decides to set out and fight the terrible ogres and get back the people's treasure. Along the way he meets a dog, a monkey and a pheasant, each of whom he shares a dumpling and who joins him on his journey to fight the ogres. In the end, it is a combination of clever wit, teamwork with his new allies and brute strength that wins the day and sends Peach Boy back to his village and family a hero.

Overall, Peach Boy is well told and the illustrations match the text perfectly...a very nice compliment. Sakurai has personalized the story a bit with details like the ever hungry nature of Peach Boy and the way that the animals are enticed by the smell of his mother's dumplings and agree to help him if he shares, this give the story a bit of humor, which is very nice!! I give Peach Boy four stars; it's a fine retelling of this Japanese folktale and a nice addition to any classroom library or for reading by any child who loves myths and legends! One final note, each book in this series comes with a one page summary of the legend, including other names it's been called and a bit about the history how the story developed and what its significance is, so you don't just get the story...you get the context as well! This is something that I really enjoy in this series and it's one of the reasons that I recommend it.

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