Taro Yashima is a Japanese who has been living in America since before the war. Recently his little daughter Momo has been asking him for stories about his childhood.

For Taro Yashima the center of his youth was the huge village tree which stood on the bank of the river. Here in the summer sun the children scrambled in the branches, jumped into the river, swam and tumbled, and played on the beach.

Very simply and freshly, Mr. Yashima has captured the wonder of being young, in any village, or in any country. The freedom and curiosity of the children, and the beauty of the tree and the river, which help to make their happiness, are all merged in a story which flows as smoothly and clearly as the river itself.

Mr. Yashima writes with the color and spontaneity of someone to whom English is not just a habit but a living thing. He also writes with the color and integrity of an artist. The pictures themselves, with their warmth and grace, their strength and their richness, are proof of his skill as a painter and as an illustrator for children.

From the dust jacket