

Hardcover: 60 pages
Publisher: Island Heritage Publishing; 1St Edition edition (October 1972)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 089610009X
ISBN-13: 978-0896100091
Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,460,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #106 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Asian #1398 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Multicultural #48317 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction
Age Range: 7 - 10 years
Grade Level: 2 - 5

This is one of a series of books produced by Island Heritage for the Bank of Hawaii's 75th anniversary in the early 1970's. I got most of the series and they became extremely popular with my young children. To this day they remember them as their favorite books. They are now being read to my grandchildren. If fact one of my children quietly slipped them out of my house recently hoping to gain possesion of them before the siblings became aware thinking no one would miss them. Well, another sibling showed up and wanted to read one of them to her young daughter and they were gone missing. It raised a bit of a stir. They have been returned but I think now I am going to buy them for each of the children for their children. The art work is wonderful and the stories are based on originals tales from Hawaii, Japan and China. The appeal is timeless. Absolutely worth having. Others in the series that you should get include, Seven Magic Orders (very popular) Pua Pua Lena Lena, Momotaro, Issunoboshi, Kama Pua'a.
This is a classic Japanese story, brightly brought to life by illustrator George Suyeoka.Momotaro, the Peach Boy, comes into the lives of a childless, elderly couple. They raise Momotaro into a young man and he sets off on a journey to protect the family and village he loves from...well, I'll let you read it (or other reviews).Young readers will as captivated by the story of good versus evil, just as I was as a young reader. Now, please pass the kibi dango!
The story and illustrations are certainly great. But this is now a collector's item and the version I got (2nd edition, 2nd printing, 2004) is not the October 1972 edition that I thought I was buying based on the product description. The more recent copy is not worth the big bucks I paid.
My kids grew up with this, and other, George Suyeoka books but Momotaro was by far their favorite. Just the fact that a kid can come from a big fat ripe peach is fun not to mention the talking animals that help out hero Momotaro along the way. A wonderful way to teach respect for ones elders and responsibility for ones community without being too preachy.
Momotaro Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters Momotaro