Gift From the Mikado by Elizabeth P. Fleming 1958 HC/DJ

Gift From the Mikado
Elizabeth P. Fleming
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1958
Illustrated by Janet Smalley
Weekly Reader Book Club edition
176 pages

The binding is in good condition, the pages are clean but browning, a name is written on the rear jacket flap and bookmark. The gray cover is toned on the edges. The jacket is rubbed and has a small amount of edge wear. Good in acceptable dust-jacket. Hardcover.

The Poate children - Fred, Ernest, and Daisy - have moved to a town in northern Japan where Americans have never been before. Their new home had once belonged to a Japanese war lord, and the town is full of wonderful surprises and fascinating sights. The Poates have brought with them a surprise of their own - a gift from the Mikado, the emperor of Japan. The villagers are impressed by the gift and eager to please the Poates.

There is the Feast of Dolls, where Daisy and her mother see dolls dating back three hundred years, all dressed in beautiful costumes. Fred and Ernest are fascinated by the Festival of Sons, during which every house hangs out a paper carp for each boy in the family as a symbol of his bravery and strength. There is a happy time, when a baby arrives and the new little sister, Baby-San receives wonderful gifts from all the Poates' Japanese friends. And there are perilous times, too, when Fred and Ernest visit the cave of an "evil spirit," having a narrow escape from disaster, and help in a daring rescue. (#000061)