Summary: "Peach Boy" is about a old couple in Japan who longed for a son to look after and protect them. One day, the old woman was washing clothes in the river when she came upon a huge, beautiful peach. She took the peach home and began to cut it with her husband but a voice from inside the peach screamed to not harm him. The peach split in half and a boy sent from God was in the peach to be their son. As the boy grew older, the oni monsters continued to terrorize their village. When the boy turned 15 years old he went off to fight the monsters. On the way, he met a dog, monkey, and hawk who all wanted to help him fight the monsters. When the monsters saw the boy and the animals, they laughed and began to fight them. The boy and the animals were winning the fight when the monsters became frightened and promised to never harm his people again. In addition, the monsters returned all the treasures they had stole from the village. Soon after, the boy and the animals returned to the village with all the treasure and lived happily ever after.

Review: The main idea of this story is an older couple wished for a son to protect them as they got older. As a result, God sent them a son in a peach and the boy went on to defeat the monsters who were harming his family and village. This book had a great story line and good pictures that helped readers visualize what they were reading. In addition, I liked how this book used repetition of certain phrases. For example, when the boy met the dog, monkey and hawk on his way to fight the oni monsters, each animal had the same conversation with the boy before they joined him. It started off with the animals asking the boy "Where are you going?" The boy then replies "To fight the oni monsters" and each animal replied back, "Then I'll help you." This repetition can help readers comprehend what is going on in the story since it is repeated more than once. ( )

In this classic Japanese folktale, an old man and woman wish for a child. The old woman is surprised to find a giant peach floating down the river one day.

The woman takes the peach and when she gets the peach home, she and the old man are even more surprised to see a child born from the giant fruit. They name his Momotaro which means "peach boy" in Japanese.

The village that this family lives in is being terrorized by evil "Oni" (oh-nee is Japanese for ogre), and the boy vows to grow up and put an end to the oni's thievery and reign of fear.

After starting out on his quest, Momotaro encounters three animals, a dog, a monkey, and a hawk, who all wish to help him defeat the evil oni.

The story ends with a battle ensuing and each animal assisting Momotaro in a different way.

This book follows a nice, simple story format and the hero is a young child.

Extension activities for this story could include:
- Making oni masks
- Eating peach slices or dumplings with chopsticks
- Recalling the sequence of story events with simple die-cuts
- Exploring similarities between this stories and American traditional stories.

This book is recommended for children in grade 1-3. ( )