Let’s start this site with a baby level book that teaches the importance of onomatopoeia (オノマトペ) in Japanese even from such a young age.
じゃあじゃあびりびり (Jā Jā Biri Biri) is a board book for babies, and with its clean and simple drawings, it seems to be something of a best-selling first book.
I dutifully read it over and over when my kids were babies. This book describes the sounds of 11 seemingly random things – and now I know the sounds of running water (じゃあじゃあ) and tearing up paper (びりびり), through to a vacuum cleaner (ぶいーん) and the warning bells of a level crossing (かんかんかんかん). Some of these were definitely words I didn’t learn as a grown up, so I felt like some gaps in my own learning were filled – from a book intended for babies.
Our copy was a hand-me-down from another family, and it’s been through at least 5 kids. It’s falling apart, and unfortunately it’s time for it to hit the recycling bin.
Enjoyment rating (max = 5 koi-nobori): (Explanation)
My kids:
Me:
Author: まつい のりこ (Noriko Matsui)
Publisher: 偕成社