私のお気に入絵本の本屋さんをご紹介します。カリフォルニアのロサンゼルス郊外にある Mrs. Nelson's Toy & book Shopです。名前はジュディ、ネルソンさん。ジュディは元々図書館の司書であり、看護婦さんでもありました。４０歳の時、双子と２人のお嬢さんの子育て真っ盛りの時に、自分の絵本とおもちゃのお店を開店しました。私は、ジュディと１６年ほどのお付き合いです。地域の学校の司書や、図書館と三位一体になって子ども達の読書教育に熱心に取り組んでいます。私は、１６年前に彼女のお店で、はらぺこあおむしというエリック・カールの絵本を日本語と英語でのバイリンガルで読みました。集まって下さった子ども達に、日本がどこにあるかとか、当時４歳だった次男に浴衣を着せて、夏になると浴衣を着てお祭りに行ったり色々な催しのお話をしました。
Let me introduce one of my most favorite children's book store. It is "Mrs. Nelson's Toy & Book Shop" (1030 Bonita Avenue. LaVerne, CA 91750 U.S.A. (909-599-4558) Owner is Mrs. Judy Nelson and she used to be a librarian & nurse. when she was 40, when she was very busy with a twin boys and 2 girls, she started her own business. I have known her for more than 16 years now. Her store tie up to teachers and librarians. Her store is striving to build amore literate society. She knows that teachers and librarians are working toward the same goal, and she can be even more effective when they work together. There are so many resources and services available for them to use at her shop.
16 yeas ago, I held a bilingual storytime (English & Japanese). I read " A Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. I showed where Japan is located on the world map to the children who came together to enjoy the storytime. My 4- year -old son, Ryo got dressed in a cotten Kimono called YUKATA for summer. I told that is the Japanese costume when they go to the summer festival and dance Japanese dance in a big circle etc. Children there listened to my stories quite excitedly. Their resonses were great!!
１９９４年に私は、自宅に５０００冊ほどの英語の絵本が集まり、自宅を開放してボランティアで私設図書館 "Noriko's World Library"を開設しました。絵本を通して、子ども達の心に世界平和の種を蒔いていく事が私のライフワークです。その頃の新聞記事などを之から少しずつ掲載していきたいと思います。あれから、１７年経ちました。事情があり、ライブラリーの活動は一時中断していましたが、これからこのブログで再開したいと考えています。阪神淡路大震災の頃、神戸にいました。ライブラリーは神戸にありました。今、私は東京に住んでいます。あのころ、被災地の小学校に絵本を持って行き、子ども達に絵本を読むボランティアをしました。今年の東日本大震災は、津波と原発で本当に大変です。私は、これからの第二次災害が心配です。被災地の子ども達の傷ついた心や高齢者がホッとできる、本当の意味でのボランティアが根付いていって欲しいと思います。
In 1994, I had more than 5000 English children's books. So I established "Noriko's World Library" to share the joy of reading with the children in my community at my own home in Kobe. It has been my lifework to plant the seeds of world peace in children's mind & heart. I would like to introduce many articles on the newspapers later on in this blog. 17 years has passed since then. I need to close for a quite a while for a certain reason. I was in Kobe when a Huge Earthquake struck Kobe in 1995 and I volunteered by taking a children books in a box, reading them at the elemetary schools and the temporary shelter places. Now that Huge Earthquake & Tsunami struck the northern Japan this year, I recall the memory I had in 1995 in Kobe. The damage of the Nuclear plants caused much more disaster to the people & children in the area. My concern is the second disaster that cause them not only in the physical but mental, and social-emotional dimentions of their lives, especially those for the eldery people and children. Now is the time, the people should help out & reach out with compassionate, kind and warm spirit of human voluntary connection & action!
