This was one of my favourite books as a kid, and one of the first ones where I saw a protagonist that looked like my family. The illustrations are gorgeous and the story is simple.
One thing to note is that it does talk about "red" and "yellow" men. Definitely take the opportunity to discuss that with your kids when you read this book together.

Grandfather's Journey
Audible Audiobook
– Unabridged
Amazon Price | New from | Used from |
Kindle Edition
"Please retry" | — | — |
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial |
Hardcover, Picture Book
"Please retry" | $20.08 | $37.71 |
Paperback, Bargain Price
"Please retry" | $9.83 | $10.37 |
Through compelling reminiscences of his grandfather's life in the United States and Japan, Allen Say poignantly recounts his family's journey to America. The feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries are sensitively narrated by B.D.Wong.
©2008 Houghton Mifflin (P)2008 Weston Woods
- Listening Length7 minutes
- Audible release dateMarch 12 2014
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB071FR81MQ
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
Your complimentary audiobook is waiting
Included with free trial
$0.00$0.00
Included with free trial
$0.00$0.00
- Free trial includes 1 credit in your first month good for any title of your choice, yours to keep.
- Plus, you can enjoy unlimited listening to The Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks.
- You'll unlock exclusive member-only sales, as well as 30% off your purchases of any additional titles.
- After 30 days Audible is $14.95/month + applicable taxes. Renews automatically.
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
Buy with 1-Click
$10.50$10.50
Buy with 1-Click
$10.50$10.50
List Price: $12.00$12.00
You Save: $1.50$1.50 (13%)
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
Related to this topic
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
- Audible Audiobook
Product details
Listening Length | 7 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Allen Say |
Narrator | B. D. Wong |
Audible.ca Release Date | March 12 2014 |
Publisher | Weston Woods |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B071FR81MQ |
Customer reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
368 global ratings
How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness.
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from Canada
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 7, 2021
Report
Verified Purchase
Helpful
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 6, 2021
Verified Purchase
Actually it is for Kindergarten age or grade 1 students.
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 22, 2003
The pictures throughout this book are striking. Even without having known a thing about it, the cover of this book was familiar to me the minute I picked it up. Though I've only seen it briefly in bookstores and libraries, Say's illustrations do not leave a person's mind readily. Most beautiful, to my mind, are his drawings of his elderly grandfather, as well as the evocative shots of cities and mountains in the United States. Say tackles a subject that I've rarely seen even acknowledged in children's literature. It is the notion of forever being homesick for the other towns and cities you've grown to love in your life. I don't know how well this can be conveyed to children. Quite possibly, kids reading this story will understand what the author is saying on a much smaller level. If a person explains to a kid that it is like missing school/camp/a grandparent's house when one is home and vice versa, it might be comprehensible. This would be an excellent book for reading aloud to large groups. Moreover, it might pair well with other stories of immigrants coming to America.
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 19, 2002
Allen Say tells the story of his own grandfather, who was born in Japan, raised a family in California, and returned to Japan, where Say was born. The text is very simple, as are the illustrations. The story is quite touching as the grandfather ages, and can never return to his beloved second home, because of WWII. Cultural differences, such as dress, are shown, as is the unchanging importance of family and tradtion.The author also moved to California as a young man, and now understands even more about his grandfather. This is liked by children 7-9, and adults will appreciate it on their own level. After your child reads this book, I recommend Allen Say's book, "Tree of Cranes."
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 29, 2004
As part of a summer course I am taking at WV State University I would like to review this book. It is a great book for a teacher to use. It could be used with the following themes: grandfathers, countries, homesickness and loss. The pictures are beautiful and so is the story.
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 18, 2001
Each large page contains a faded color painting of a photo (maybe 7x8 inches) with text beneath, both by Allen Say. Allen tells the story of his grandfather, first shown in traditional Japanese attire, and next traveling by steamship to California in Western garb and bowler hat. On the next pages, we see him travel through America by riverboat, train and foot, meeting various people (red, brown, white and yellow), seeing deserts and oceans of golden amber grain, visiting rural towns and industrial cities filled with factories. Returning to Japan, he marries, and settles in San Francisco to raise a family. year later, they return to Japan, and he helps to raise his grandchild prior to WWII. Allen, the author, grows up and follows in his grandfather's footsteps, coming to America to explore. When in California, he and his grandfather long for Japan; in Japan they long for California.
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 16, 2000
Allen Say has combined his love of family history and his talent for evocative illustration to create this wonderful story to share with your own family! He retells his grandfather's story of immigration, imparting not only the wonder he experiences being in his new country, but also conveying the angst he feels at being away from his land of birth. These feelings are expressed exquisitely in the paintings which bring to mind photograhs of that period in history. In addition, there are many springboard opportunities for discussions. The photographic paintings elicit questions from your children that will begin conversations about methods of travel, different regions of our own country, differences between cultures, and differences between the time that is illustrated and the time we are living in now. A valuable book on so many levels, you will be glad you chose to share this with your children!
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 3, 2000
Grandfather's Journey was my introduction to one of my very favorite authors and illustrators, Allen Say. This magnificently written & beautifully painted book is a masterpiece and a wonderful tribute to Allen's grandfather and progenitors. That anyone would rate this anything but a 5 prompted me to write this review. As a schoolteacher on a very limited budget, I only buy hardback books that I consider exquisite. This was a definite MUST HAVE after I read and re-read it. As a family member, it gives me ideas on how to write my family history. As a school teacher, it provides the perfect example for my students of how they, too, might capture their family's heritage. Definitely a 5!!
Top reviews from other countries

pilgrim0795
5.0 out of 5 stars
Evocative and Poignant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 3, 2013Verified Purchase
Beautifully illustrated. The images seem deeply personal with an inherent sense of dignity. In this wonderful tribute to his grandfather, Allen Say, through his taut prose and pictures, takes the reader on a journey to find the place called home. As the old saying goes, Home is where the heart is. However, what happens if your heart is drawn by two places and very different cultures: the land of your birth and the land through which you journey and ultimately settle?
Grandfather's journeys between the unnamed mountain village in Japan and the seacoast of California, evoke a sense of pilgrimage. Yet the story suggests that with changing times and circumstances, your feelings too can suddenly be changed. In a moment of suspense, it would appear that the restless tide of journeying has ended with grandfather's death.
But the family line continues and in words remniscent of his grandfather, the writer states: "The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other."
Young children may find it difficult to connect with the pictures, (many of them, portraits of the Grandfather and his family). The issue of being an immigrant is probably outside their experience and although this is a story about adventure, it is more a reflection upon the feelings of the grandfather, rather than a suspense filled plot. As an adult, however, I loved this story. Although I have no personal experience of immigration, the skilful combination of writing and images enables you to enter into and empathise with the characters on their restless journeys between homes. Just like Allen, the reader is able to say, "I think I know...grandfather now."
Grandfather's journeys between the unnamed mountain village in Japan and the seacoast of California, evoke a sense of pilgrimage. Yet the story suggests that with changing times and circumstances, your feelings too can suddenly be changed. In a moment of suspense, it would appear that the restless tide of journeying has ended with grandfather's death.
But the family line continues and in words remniscent of his grandfather, the writer states: "The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other."
Young children may find it difficult to connect with the pictures, (many of them, portraits of the Grandfather and his family). The issue of being an immigrant is probably outside their experience and although this is a story about adventure, it is more a reflection upon the feelings of the grandfather, rather than a suspense filled plot. As an adult, however, I loved this story. Although I have no personal experience of immigration, the skilful combination of writing and images enables you to enter into and empathise with the characters on their restless journeys between homes. Just like Allen, the reader is able to say, "I think I know...grandfather now."
2 people found this helpful
Report

lea fischer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unbeschreiblich schönes Buch
Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on June 7, 2014Verified Purchase
Berührende Geschichte
Poetischer Text
Atemberaubende Illustrationen
Vollkommener Lesegenuss
Ein wertvoller Schatz für die Bilderbuchsammlung!
Das ist kein billiges Kinderbuch zum Aufsagen. Es ist eine ergreifende Beschreibung, die überzeugt und anregt, was mit vielen wunderschönen Illustrationen unterstrichen wird. Fast zu gut für die Kleinen!
Poetischer Text
Atemberaubende Illustrationen
Vollkommener Lesegenuss
Ein wertvoller Schatz für die Bilderbuchsammlung!
Das ist kein billiges Kinderbuch zum Aufsagen. Es ist eine ergreifende Beschreibung, die überzeugt und anregt, was mit vielen wunderschönen Illustrationen unterstrichen wird. Fast zu gut für die Kleinen!

Dirk Harms
5.0 out of 5 stars
Großartige Bilder, großartiges Buch!
Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on December 9, 2020Verified Purchase
Großartige Bilder, großartiges Buch!