Japanese / Japan
Ahiru no tegami
(The “DUCK” letter)
Kutsuki, Shō
(text)
Sasameya, Yuki
(illus.)
Tōkyō: Kōsei shuppansha, 2014. – 64 p.
(Series: Ohanashi mītsuketa! Shirīzu)
ISBN 978-4-333-02644-9
Letter | School | Disability | Friendship
Reading age: 7+
White Ravens issue: 2016
A first grade class receives a mysterious letter stating the word “DUCK”. The bad handwriting seems to be that of a young child, but it turns out to have been written by the school’s twenty-four-year-old neighbour Kenichi who has just learned to write characters. The pupils discuss what they should write in reply to this one-word letter, and they decide to play a game with Kenichi through an exchange of letters. Waiting for his reply, they imagine what he will write back, and they are surprised, excited and glad to read his reply. While the exchange of letters continues for more than a year, they imagine their neighbour’s everyday life and his feelings. Inspired by a true story, this book beautifully depicts a special age-blind friendship between people who have never met. The charming illustrations match the touching story very well. The illustrations of the letters written and drawn by the children and Kenichi are especially captivating.