A powerful example of peaceful political protest put into a fairy tale setting.

The story underlines the fact that social change works best when two different types of people are involved – the person affected by the problem who needs to state the problem and the person in the position of power and privilege who recognizes they have power and privilege and does something to change the system.

Also, wow, loved the realism of the central government trying to institute changes to the system, and the privileged class throwing a fit about privileges being shared.

A wonderful story with a powerful message that sometimes things have to change.

In this original fable by Mercer Mayer, Shibumi is a young princess of a "far-away kingdom" sheltered behind garden walls she isn't allowed past. She dreams of the wonders on the other side of the wall. When she overhears some children outside the wall making fun of the princess they've never seen, Shibumi climbs a tree to set them straight, but the squalor and deprivation she sees from that tree shatter all her illusions of a better world beyond the wall. Fearing that her father will punish her for climbing the tree, but driven to change what she sees, she conceives of a daring plan (that only a child would think of) that will force her father, the emperor, to make the situation better. Her drastic action gets his attention, and through it, she finally tells him what she wishes to happen. As he starts to implement a plan to fulfill her greatest wish, his councilors, thinking he has lost his mind and not eager to have the status quo changed, engage in a treacherous plot that results in Shibumi fleeing into exile. Despite his broken heart, or maybe because of it, the emperor works for years to implement the needed changes to his land, but is now, many years after Shibumi's departure, besieged in outright war by angry nobles who want things to return to the way they were. A young samurai goes in search of Shibumi, knowing that her father needs her to help him continue what she started.

Mayer's love of Japanese art and culture is evident in every beautiful and meticulous illustration.

This is a book with some heavy themes for young children: inequality of classes, the "haves" vs. "have-nots," and the difference one person can make in a seemingly impossible situation. I appreciated how Mayer allowed Shibumi's "grass-is-greener" attitude to develop into a deep conviction that she needed to be -and believed she could be- an instrument of change. I also appreciated that he didn't show the process as being easy or quick. I expect it's a book my girls will think about for years to come.

My seven and eight year-old daughters loved this fable. My four-year-old at least stayed beside me while we read, sometimes tuning out, but then something would draw her back in.

This was an amazing fun children's novel about a girl named Shibumi who wanted to her kingdom be more fun and exciting and wanted to make friends with the other kids due to sneaking out one day on the other side of the wall and seeing how poor her father's kingdom is and so she wants to build the biggest kite the kingdom has ever seen with her help from the Kitemaker. Fun for both kids and adults!

Bravo!! Beautiful story and illustrations!

Beautiful artwork. I especially liked the author's explanation at the end.

Beautiful art work, and not a bad story, either.

This is a beautifully illustrated book. The story is great, but students could be captivated by the illustration alone without ever reading the words. However, with the text added to go along with pictures, this book is absolutely amazing. It is a great story to use in your classroom when teaching and making students aware of having compassion for others. This concept is clearly seen in the story while still being surrounded by suspense and action.

This book has some amazing artwork in it. Seriously drop your phones, and just go find this in the Children's section of your local library.
Over achieving 2nd graders and just entering 3rd grade; shouldn't find a problem with this read.

This book delves into why so many people are so poor. It was fascinating to read a children's book the addresses how rich nobles will fight even an emperor who tries to make life better for the people. It is a great book by a wonderful author.

The illustrations seem both digital and artistically drawn like a video game. The story centers around a princess that sees the beauty of her life in comparison with others and decides to make a change in her kingdom.