Wendy Henrichs

In many Asian restaurants around my city (and probably yours) you will find the Lucky Cat, a figurine of a cat with it’s paw raised in a wave. I’ve always wondered what it was about and my friends would always say that it brings luck.

I am Tama, Lucky Cat, tells the tale of the Lucky Cat. It is beautifully illustrated and the story itself is sweet and charming. It is based on the Maneki Neko, and illustrates one of the many stories of origin of the sculpture. It is a great way to understand the legend (or at least one of the many legends) behind the familiar icon.

This is a very quick read for parents and children to read together. I would recommend it for all children, especially as a tool for broadening cultural boundaries.… (mais)

I Am Tama, Lucky Cat Traditional Fantasy
Written by Wendy Henrichs, Illustrated by Yoshiko Jaeggi

“I am Tama, Lucky Cat” is a popular Japanese Ledged about a cat who sought refuge at an old temple on a cold winters night. The monk inside said he was very lucky to be visited by a Japanese bobtail and named the cat Tama. Tama and the monk became very closed and lived a happy life. One day Tama left the temple during a thunderstorm and came across a warlord. The warlord noticed Tama and asked if she was a beckoning cat. As he moved closer, a tree snapped and fell in the place he once stood. The warlord appreciated Tama as a lucky cat as well. I had actually seen the beckoning cat in Asian food resturants and always wondered what they stood for or how they became a thing. This book, “I am Tama, Lucky Cat” answered my question. I also loved the illustration page during the thunderstorm of Raijin, the g-d of thunder and Raiju, the g-od of lightning. The illustrations depicted two evil looking creatures striking down upon a tree. This picture really caught my attention because the creatures looked so fierce and mythical. Finally, I liked the onomonopia. Henrichs wrote sounds such as “CRACK!”, “CREAK!” and “THUD!” that gave the reader the sounds in their head. Overall, I thought this was a good Japanese Ledged. The main idea was how Tama became a Lucky Cat and saved a warlord’s life. If the cat had not come out during the thunderstorm, the warlord would have been crushed by the tree. This is why Tama is known as a lucky cat and there are often statues of the lucky cat in the Japanese/Asian culture.… (mais)

I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend it for elementary school students 3rd grade and up. I think this story is better suited for older elementary students because it is a longer children's book and about a topic that many young children might not understand. One aspect of the book that I loved was the overall plot. I felt that it was a really unique plot because it was told from the perspective of a circus elephant named Anju who was taken from her home in Indonesia. Not many stories are written from this perspective, so I think it's unique and a really great tool for students to think about things from a different point of view. I also loved the messaged of the story. At one point in the story, Anju described, "Far away from her mother and Lali, Anju searched and searched for a new kind of family, one that spoke her language..." This plot is definitely relatable to ELL's because ELL's often feel out of place in a new classroom, just as Anju fell out of place in America. Eventually, Anju travels to an elephant reserve and becomes happy again, which shows how things can get better even if they seem rough. Another part of this book that I really enjoyed was how this book though fiction, was realistic in the treatment of circus elephants. It even included facts about elephants in the back, which is great because many students in America most likely don't know a lot about elephants.… (mais)