From Memen to Mori
Shinsuke Yoshitake, Translated by Ajani Oloye
Verdict: ✦✦✦✦✦
A beautifully accessible collection of life-affirming messages, simply-yet-evocatively illustrated on every page. More existential than action-packed, this is a great book for reading aloud to children with big feelings and big questions about life.
What is it about?
Memen is the calm older sister, Mori, the curious younger brother. When Mori asks questions like, “What is the meaning of life?,” how does Memen respond? Through humorous and tender moments, the two siblings teach each other that sometimes, the answer to life is less complex than we think.
Our take:
With very little text, simple illustrations, and lots of white space, this short, meditative volume by Japanese author/illustrator Shinsuke Yoshitake unfolds gently and lightly. It’s not a single, continuous story with a distinct plot, but rather several extended vignettes, most of them centered around a philosophical question presented in an approachable way. The answers to those questions are gentle, fun, and positive, focusing on play, caring, balance, creativity, and changing your perspective. One especially effective section dealing with a dirty, melting snowman no one finds appealing anymore is a powerful meditation on empathy and appreciation. The book is chock-full of life-affirming messages, without feeling too didactic or heavy.
Perfect for:
Young independent readers ages 7+, or listeners of any age. We recommend it as an easy solo read for a variety of reading levels, including reluctant teen readers, due to its easy, illustration-centric structure. It would be equally useful for reading aloud to a small classroom while showing the students the pictures. As it’s both episodic and short, it can easily be spread across several sessions or devoured in one sitting.
Conversation starters:
What do you think is the most important thing in your own life? What makes your life happy?
Which section of the book did you find the most relatable and why?
For older readers, it could be fun to discuss the book’s pun-like title. What does the word “Memento mori” mean? Why might the book be called that?
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