Gigi and Ojiji (I Can Read Level 3)

"Gigi crafts her Japanese American identity in this enchanting early reader. The cuteness, inclusivity, and cross-cultural problem-solving represented will have young readers coming back again and again. A must-buy." —School Library Journal (starred review)
Gigi, a biracial six-year-old girl, learns about her Japanese culture from her grandfather when he comes to visit. Perfect for social emotional learning.
Gigi can’t wait for her Ojiji—Japanese grandpa—to move in. Gigi plans lots of things to do with him, like playing tag, reading books, and teaching Roscoe, the family dog, new tricks.
But her plans don’t work out quite the way she’d hoped. And her grandpa doesn’t seem to like Roscoe. Will Gigi find a way to connect with her Ojiji?
This exciting new I Can Read series is brought to you by author-illustrator Melissa Iwai, whose popular books include Soup Day and Dumplings for Lili.
Gigi and Ojiji is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level 3 books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories. The story contains several Japanese words and a glossary of definitions and pronunciations.
"The text is well supported by the endearing illustrations, which capture all of Gigi’s big emotions and depict her as a biracial child, with a white father and Japanese mother." —Booklist (starred review)
"An affirming option in the quickly diversifying field of early-reader books." —Kirkus\nFrom School Library Journal\nGr 1–3—Gigi is excited to meet her grandpa, Ojiisan, who is arriving from Japan to live with her family. Even with her basic Japanese vocabulary and the drawing she made to welcome him, their introduction stumbles through several cross-cultural misunderstandings, which makes Gigi cry. Her mom helps her understand the differences between American and Japanese culture and reassures Gigi that all will be well in time. Gigi's interiority is well represented in this wonderful early reader; her thoughts and worries are front and center. Her need for adult consolation and the child-friendly explanations of cultural context will resonate with young readers. The arc of the story is easy to follow. Diversity is well represented; readers will see in the bright, adorable art that Gigi's dad is white, and her mom is Japanese. Readers will also have to make a few inferences about the story, but with three to seven sentences per page, the images support the text to help children understand Gigi's feelings, her parents' reassurances, Roscoe the dog's actions, and Ojiisan's mannerisms. Although some sentences are 10 to 18 words long and some pages contain up to nine six-letter words, most of the text is short dialogue. Japanese words are explained through conversation, and there is a glossary at the end to cement understanding. VERDICT Gigi crafts her Japanese American identity in this enchanting early reader. The cuteness, inclusivity, and cross-cultural problem-solving represented will have young readers coming back again and again. A must-buy.—Jamie Winchell