"A lively adaptation of a Japanese folktale.... The well-paced, carefully plotted text has a sprightly partner in its stylized, gently colored illustrations." - School Library Journal

"A sweetly illustrated retelling" - The New York Times

Sachiko and Kenji just want to welcome the new year in the proper way, but their mother tells them they don't have the money for a New Year's feast.

An act of generosity brings help from an unexpected source in this heartwarming Japanese classic.

May the Seven Gods of Luck visit you

Fifteenth...

Fifteenth Anniversary Edition with new notes by author David Kudler

Sachiko and Kenji just want to welcome the new year in the proper way, but their mother tells them they don't have the money for a New Year's feast. An act of generosity brings help from an unexpected source in this heartwarming Japanese classic.

May the Seven Gods of Luck visit you

"A lively adaptation of a Japanese folktale.... The well-paced, carefully plotted text has a sprightly partner in its stylized, gently colored illustrations." - School Library Journal

Kano Murasaki, you may not realize it, but I have done you a great favor. I have it in my power to give you a gift that you don't even realize you desire. Make yourself worth my trouble, and you will be glad of it. Disappoint me, and you will be very, very sorry.

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Though Japan has been devastated by a century of civil war, Risuko just wants to climb trees. Growing up far from the battlefields and court intrigues, the fatherless girl finds herself pulled into a plot that may reunite Japan...