Jasmine Toguchi

Eager to do something her big sister has not done first, Jasmine Toguchi, eight, decides to pound mochi with the men and boys when her family gets together for New Year's.

It's talent show time at school, and eight-year-old Jasmine Toguchi is excited to show her stuff. But as she thinks about her strengths-tree-climbing, mochi making, collage-none of them feel quite right to perform on-stage. Jasmine's friends already have a talent: Tommy yo-yo's, Daisy dances, and Linnie plays piano. Plus, Maggie Milsap (aka Miss Perfect) is saying she'll have the best talent. When Jasmine's mom introduces her to the taiko, a traditional...

Eight-year-old Jasmine is enthusiastic about her family's vacation to Japan, but once in Tokyo she is distracted by her older sister's grumpiness and her own blunders--will she be able to cheer up her sister while finding her own footing? Includes author's note and recipe.

When Jasmine and family visit Kabo, the Japanese village where her grandmother grew up, she is homesick and angry with her older sister for not playing with her, but when they start to compromise, they discover ways to bridge their differences. Includes author's note and instructions on how to make a folding fan.