I'm Learning Japanese!: Learn to Speak, Read and Write the Basics

I bought this for my niece, and she really likes it. She’s taking Japanese lessons, and this book has been a helpful supplement to her studies. It makes learning the basics of speaking, reading, and writing fun and accessible.

Excellent for learning. There's no romaji, so you're learning to read, really read, in Japanese from the start. You're introduced to a set of 3-5 hiragana, then learn a set of words that can be made with them then works up to simple sentences with some basic grammar points that are explained clearly in a remarkably easy to understand manner. Most often vocabulary is given with a picture and the hiragana beneath it for you to learn by reading Japanese. Each chapter is themed around a bit of Japanese culture, and the conversations and vocab you learn are based around that. It's fun and simple and rewarding to learn Japanese in Japanese. Toward the end you learn a handful of basic kanji and will have the reading comprehension to get through a letter to test your skills. All of this is presented in a friendly, easy to absorb manner with a cast of drawn characters and a fox-sensei. All of the answers to everything are right at the back of the book. My only complaint is that it could have a bigger vocabulary, but as-is it's fine and a perfect intro to reading and writing Japanese for anyone.

I've only just skimmed the book and read the first couple of pages, but it seems very cute. Definitely meant for children so maybe I'll work the book with my 11 year old. It's designed like a graphic novel or comic both, and the kids make wise cracks. Just a cute design. Would definitely make kids laugh, but not so cheesy an adult can't appreciate the humor too. The first bit is mostly intros to the characters and a few facts about Japan, in English. They seem to teach kana and stroke order as you progress through the book, but there is a chart available in the front if you're already familiar but need to refresh. There isn't too much romanji, which I also like. There seem to be several exercises throughout and the Japanese increases. It also gives literal translation and English translation, which I personally like, because I have a hard time getting my English brain to adjust to Japanese sentence structure, so creating my own sentences has been difficult (which is why I bought this kids book at 35 years old lol). So, if you are very beginner with no prior knowledge or maybe a little familiar but need to refresh, I think this is a good book to help you get to a level of constructing sentences in 日本語

This is a really interesting book for kids learning Japanese. It goes deeper than a simple picture vocabulary book. It tells how to make simple sentences and write hiragana. It uses cartoon characters, but they're kind of funny, not sappy. I'd recommend the book for upper elementary grades because it's linguistically a bit hard for little kids, but middle schoolers might find it childish.

I wish there were more books like this. It's a great introduction. After reading the first two chapters, grammar and particles are making more sense than when I read them in other books. This is step-by-step, great for beginners of multiple age groups (example: parents and children learning together), and won't lose you in heaps of jargon and boring blabberings. Cut and dry, easy to understand, and doesn't throw too much at you like I've seen done in other books. I recommend getting this book before any other since it's uniquely engaging and has example illustrations for better learning. Not to mention, the price was great for the this size of book. I expected it to be small, thin and lame but am happy to say I was wrong. It's thicker than I thought it would be which means more valuable educational content for me and my children. I'll be purchasing more since the initial purchase was a gamble to see content.

The story of the book and how it introduces parts of the Japanese language have been fun to read and have been a huge help with particles and other aspects of speech.

As an absolute beginner I am enjoying the high quality of this beautiful book. I feels and looks like a wonderful children’s book. The illustrations alone are lovely. The content is interesting, simple enough for a beginner and thorough. It not only teaches the hiragana alphabet, but also simple sentence structure and reading. It includes a few simple Kanji and counting numbers. This is a great way to prepare before taking a beginner class or self study. This book is not over simplified and therefore gives you a solid basis and understanding of the covered subject. This seller uses the utmost care in packaging this book!

Great resource!