A Review of "I LOST MY DAD" by Taro Gomi ~ My recommended Japanese picture book!

Hello!

I am Toko of Tokyo.  I live in Tokyo, Japan, with my husband and 4-year-old daughter.  I was once an English teacher at junior high, high school and university, but now I am a full-time homemaker.  My major is English literature.  

• This time, I introduce I LOST MY DAD written and illustrated by Taro Gomi, one of the leading picture book authors in Japan. 

• I LOST MY DAD / written and illustrated by Taro Gomi 
• First published in Japan in 1983 under the title Tousan Maigo by Kaisei-sha Publishing Co., Ltd. 
• First American Edition 2001 by Kane/Miller Book Publishers Brooklyn, New York & La Jolla, California

• Spoilers ahead, so if you mind, please read the book for yourself first!

• This book is written from a first-person perspective of "I," which represents a young boy.  "I" and his Dad are in a toy department, and in the next breath, "I" lost "my" Dad. 
• Isn't it funny that not the young boy but his Dad "gets lost"?  Yes, it is not a grown-up but a child that seizes the initiative in this book! 

• "I" search around the department store for "my" Dad.
• This book is a lift-the-flap book.  "I" catch a glimpse of a person who is partly similar to his Dad (such as a similar suit, hat or shoes...), but when a reader lifts the flap, "I" find that the person is a totally different one from "my" Dad.  
• The parts hidden by the flaps bring us funny surprises, so young readers will be drawn to this book. 
• Will "my" Dad be unharmed and taken into protective custody?  Will "I" be able to get the toy "I" want after all?  Check the book for yourself!
• And of course, all the children can learn an important lesson from this book: Don't let go of your Dad or Mom's hand in a department store so as not to make them get lost!  

Thank you very much for reading and I hope you are interested in this book♪