Department Store Collects Books for Kids!

My present to you this holiday? Catching up on a few posts on both blogs I have missed - starting with this one! The Yaesu Book Store, located on the 6th floor of the Kei Kyu Department store in Konan Ward, Yokohama, collected old children’s books from November 16th to the 30th, and donated them to 16 district child-care facilities. They collected 442 books, to help bring up the children’s minds to value books again. Books included those that were based on animated cartoons, comics, and fairy tales, including Pokemon and Sailor Moon. Some new picture books were also donated. Each child-care facility got 30 books, and the Konan Ward Welfare and Health Center also donated some books as well. In previous years, they had asked for toys, dolls, and puzzles as well, but they always got more toys than books. Organizers felt that these centers needed more books to encourage the children to learn reading skills, and the number of books that they collected this year was much more than they expected! The book presentation ceremony was held on December 11th. A class of 22 Kindergarteners participated in the ceremony, and for many of them, this was their first book! The school’s director, Takako Takasaki said that he was happy with this donation, and he hopes that the kids will start learning how to read hiragana little by little. He promises to make good use of these books, and showed gratitude. In these times when Sailor Moon can once again teach so many important lessons to children , it is wonderful to see that she is being passed on to the next generation in such a generous way during the holiday season!