Yoko is so excited to start Kindergarten, especially because she has just learned to write her name! However, when Yoko proudly shows her classmates her name, written in Japanese, she is ridiculed and taunted for only being able to scribble. The teasing continues at Yoko also introduces her class to her favorite book and reads it from back to front. Although Yoko’s classmates Olive and Sylvia insist she will not pass Kindergarten since she doesn’t know how to write or read a book properly, with the help of Yoko’s teacher she teaches her classmates to appreciate her culture and soon they are all writing in their “secret language”-Japanese!

This text deals with the themes of diversity and acceptance and would be useful in a counseling or classroom session with early elementary aged students. This text would be a great way to help ease foreign students or English language learners into the classroom by helping students understand that friendship can be the key to bridging cultural differences and that learning about each other can be a rewarding experience. This text also promotes the attitude of helping others, which is necessary for a positive classroom atmosphere, by focusing on the students’ willingness to teach Yoko the English alphabet, and Yoko’s willingness to teach her classmates about the Japanese language. The book is a good reminder that differences are meant to be celebrated and we can learn a lot from each other if we are open to that diversity.