This is a story of a grumpy old man who always gives the children grief when they are playing. A funny set of events happen including the old man's turning in to a fishbowl. Eventually he turns into a fish pond for the children and city people to enjoy.

I enjoyed this humorous story about a grumpy landlord, and how the people of the town react to his various "conditions" (including having a cherry tree grow out of his head!). ( )

The Grumpy old man is mean to everyone around. He is a landlord and loves cherries. When he is eating cherries one day, he accidentally eats one cherry and its pit! He starts to grow a tree through his body and all the children and city people start to like him. He learns his lesson, and this is a very famous joke in the Chinese history!

This book was a good book and could be used to teach students about communities and especially about the Japanese culture. It is an interesting folktale and would keep kids entertained. The book does have the word brat in it so it may not be a good book in some situations.