Akiko gets a balloon in the market and when she brings it home, Mama ties it onto a spoon so it won't fly away. Since it's just about the same size as Akiko, she imagines it becomes her friend and they play together in the garden and have tea. But alas, the wind comes and blows the balloon high into a tree. Mama can't reach it! Akiko has to go in to dinner without it. She's very sad. Just when she's lost all hope, she looks out the window and sees it in the light of the moon and suddenly she imagines it back with her.
My two-year-old understood every word of this sweet, simple book. The childlike drawings are more sketches than full illustrations which somehow makes the book a bit wistful. This made a lovely, gentle bedtime story for us tonight.
So schoen wie der Mond, by Komako Sakai, translated from Japanese into German, available from Alphabet Garten
