Hinamatsuri: Japanese Doll Festival or Girls’ Day 2021

image courtesy of Kate McLachlan

Image: Kate McLachlan / Wellington City Libraries

Brace yourselves, girls! The Japanese Doll Festival (Hinamatsuri), or Girls’ Day, is being held on March 3rd in Japan. This festival is a time to pray for the health and well being of young girls. Most homes with daughters will set up a display of hina dolls. The main dolls used are Odairi-sama (a prince) and Ohina-sama. (a princess)  Around the display dedications of peach blossoms, rice cakes and white sake are made. The festival is celebrated not only within the family but in communities, which each have their unique ways of celebrating the occasion. 

Why Hinamatsuri is celebrated? The annual celebration is held to recognize the special place that daughters have in Japanese society.

Did you know? The tradition seems to have come from China and dates back to at least the 8th century. In the early days of the festival, dolls could be as large as 1 metre high, but eventually laws were passed to limit their size.

Check out some of the great stories about dolls that Wellington City Libraries has on offer:


image courtesy of syndeticsYoko’s show-and-tell.
“When Yoko’s grandparents send her a beautiful antique doll named Miki all the way from Japan, Yoko couldn’t be happier. She places Miki on her red carpet and brings her candy until Girls’ Festival on March 3. Even though Mama said no, Yoko decides to sneak Miki to school for show-and-tell. How could she have guessed that Miki would be in accident along the way? Looks like a trip to the Doll Hospital is in order
Rosemary Wells poignantly captures Yoko’s regret over a poor decision and subtly shows the healing power of love in this charming picture book for emerging readers.” (Catalogue)

Dolls of hope / Parenteau, Shirley
“A heart-warming tale based on a true story about the 1926 Friendship Doll exchange, in which American children sent thousands of dolls to children in Japan in the hopes of avoiding a future war. Eleven-year-old Chiyo Tamura finds herself wrapped up in this historic event when she is appointed the guardian of one of these American ‘Friendship Dolls,’ and given the responsibility of hand-crafting one of the 58 dolls to be sent to America in return.” (Adapted from Catalogue)


image courtesy of syndetics
The Little Girl and the tiny doll.
“There was once a tiny doll who belonged to a girl who did not care for dolls. One day when the little girl was shopping in the supermarket with her mother, she threw the tiny doll into a deep freeze. So the tiny doll had to stay there, cold and lonely, and frightened by people shuffling all the food round her. But someone came along who felt sorry for her, and thought of ways to make her happier, so the tiny doll began to smile again.” (Catalogue)

image courtesy of syndeticsDoll-E 1.0.
“A STEM-friendly tale of a girl and the doll she upgrades to be her new friend, for fans of The Most Magnificent Thing and Rosie Revere, Engineer.” (Catalogue)

image courtesy of syndeticsKelsey and the quest of the porcelain doll.
“A captivating story of adversity, adventure and love from award-winning author Rosanne Hawke. ‘Nanna, can you tell me a story just as if I were with you?’ Kelsey is in Pakistan and wants to go home. Mum and Dad are busy helping flood victims and she misses her friends. But most of all, Kelsey misses Nanna Rose. Luckily, Kelsey can talk to Nanna on Skype. To help Kelsey feel better, they create a story about a porcelain doll called Amy Jo who wants to find someone to love her. As Kelsey and Nanna imagine Amy Jo’s quest, Kelsey starts to realise Pakistan isn’t that bad after all. But how will the porcelain doll’s story end? Will Amy Jo find the person she’s destined for or be on a quest forever?” (Catalogue)

image courtesy of syndeticsThe beach at night.
“A story about a doll named Celina who experiences all the human emotions of fear, jealousy, and rejection when the little girl who owns her leaves her behind at the beach after receiving a kitten as a gift. Cerri’s ocean blue-hued illustrations are both sensitive and sophisticated.” (Catalogue)


Search out catalogue for more books about dolls.

Hinamatsuri: Japanese Doll Festival or Girls’ Day 2016.

image courtesy of Katie

Brace yourselves, girls! The Japanese Doll Festival (Hinamatsuri), or Girls’ Day, is being held on March 3rd in  Japan. This festival is a time to pray for the health and well being of young girls. Most homes with daughters will set up a display of hina dolls. The main dolls used are Odairi-sama (a prince) and Ohina-sama. (a princess)  Around the display dedications of peach blossoms, rice cakes and white sake are made. The festival is celebrated not only within the family but in communities, which each have their unique ways of celebrating the occasion. Check out some of the great stories about dolls that Wellington City Libraries has on offer:

Picture Books:

image courtesy oif syndeticsThe Paper Dolls.

A string of paper dolls go on a fantastical adventure through the house and out into the garden. They soon escape the clutches of the toy dinosaur and the snapping jaws of the oven-glove crocodile, but then a very real pair of scissors threatens.

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsPatti Cake and her new doll.

Patti Cake is a little girl with a brand new big girl room and a new, but slightly smudged, doll to keep her company–if her dog Tootsie does not run away with it.

 

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsYoko’s Show and Tell.

When Yoko’s grandparents send her a beautiful antique doll all the way from Japan, Yoko couldn’t be happier. Even though Mama says no, Yoko sneaks Miki to school for show-and-tell. How could she have guessed Miki would be in an accident along the way?

 

 

Junior Fiction:

image courtesy of syndeticsPenny and her doll.

Penny instantly loves the doll her grandmother sends her, but finding the perfect name for her is a challenge.

 

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsThe little girl and the tiny doll.

Living in a supermarket deep freeze wasn’t very nice for the tiny doll until one day a very special little girl came along, and thought of ways to make her happier.

 

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsThe Fairy Doll.

Elizabeth is the smallest in the family. She is always getting into trouble and her brothers and sisters are forever leaving her out and ordering her around. She’s convinced she’s useless. Then Great Grandma gives Fairy Doll to Elizabeth – and it isn’t even Christmas! From then on Elizabeth keeps hearing a little ‘Ting!’ which seems to tell her what to do. Suddenly everything starts going right instead of wrong. Could Fairy Doll be magical?

Odd Stuff: Volcano creates a new island

A volcanic eruption has created a new island in the sea South of Tokoyo, Japan.

The island hasn’t been named yet (the Japanese Government is waiting to see if it sticks around or sinks back into the sea), but it’s 200m wide and is just off the coast of Nishinoshima, a small, uninhabited island in the Ogasawara chain, which is also known as the Bonin Islands.

The Japanese Coast Guard managed to grab some incredible footage of the island:

 

Volcanoes are cool, and we have heaps of them in and around NZ, so it pays to know a bit about them…

 

Fresh New Fiction

Atticus Claw Settles a Score by Jennifer Gray (sequel to Atticus Claw, Breaks the Law)

Atticus Grammatticus Cattypus Claw, the world’s greatest REFORMED cat burglar is back. This time, the tabby with talent is on the right side of the law. And when Jimmy Magpie and his gang are busted out of jail by a mysterious villain and an evil cat called Ginger Biscuit, Atticus knows from bitter experience he’s going to need all his skill and courage to catch them.

 

 

 

A Very Peculiar Plague by Catherine Jinks 

The thrilling second book in this 3-part series, set in a time when science clashes with superstition and monsters lurk in chimneys. Jem takes on the role of bogler’s apprentice and gets the fright of his life.

 

 

 

 

Osbert The Avenger by Christopher William Hill

Meet Osbert Brinkhoff, the unlikeliest of avengers.  His is a tale of dark delights and ghastly goings-on, of injustice and revenge.  The Villains are VICIOUS.  The settings are SINISTER.  And good does NOT always prevail…  If you prefer CLEAVERS to kittens and FIENDS to fairies…. then welcome to the GRUESOMELY FUNNY tales from Schwartzgarten.; (taken from book cover)

 

 

 

 

Project Huia by Des Hunt

“Logan’s grandfather grew up near Palmerston North in the 1940s. One day, he and his sister Mavis spotted a beautiful and unusual bird in the kowhai tree outside their house: it was a huia bird, which was believed to be extinct. The bird flew away, and in an attempt to photograph it they managed to track it deep into the Manawatu Gorge. It was a dangerous journey through two train tunnels, made even more so when the horrible Carson boys got wind of their mission and decided to try and find the huia first so they could shoot it and sell its highly valuable feathers. More than 60 years later, 11-year-old Logan has returned to the Manawatu with Grandpop and a scientist to try and solve the mystery of what happened to the huia that he and Mavis found all those years ago. Grandpop must remember all the details of the events of many years ago. Can the group rely on his version of the events, and find the huia’s final resting place? Will the huia still be there, and will its DNA still be valuable for scientific research into NZ’s native fauna? And whoever would have thought that those Carsons are still living in the area and on the loose, and still up to their nasty tricks?”–Publisher information.

 

The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata

Just when twelve-year-old Summer thinks nothing else can possibly go wrong in a year of bad luck, an emergency takes her parents to Japan, leaving Summer to care for her little brother while helping her grandmother cook and do laundry for harvest workers.

 

 

 

Librarian in the spotlight: Katie

Find out about your local librarians!

What is your name? Katie

Which library(s) do you work at? Central & Brooklyn

What’s the best thing about being a librarian? Helping people find information.

Favourite book? A few of my MANY favorites are The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and Dewey : a small-town library cat who touched the world by Vicki Myron (Adult Non-Fiction).

When I read I like to….? Curl up on the couch (or in bed) with a cup of green tea.

If you wrote a book, what would it be about? Probably picture books about animals and children.

If I wasn’t a librarian, I would be a …? Teacher or Nurse.

 Favourite food? Japanese. I also have a weakness for margarita pizza and Scopa’s legendary hot chocolate.

Favourite place in the world? Japan

My dream library would have…? a children’s area (similar to the Aaarus Children’s Interactive Library) where kids can read, play and learn at the same time, an area for adults where they can sit in comfortable chairs and sofas, a separate teens area with cushions, Mac and PC computers, music room/recording studio, and touch screen TV. (Similar to Te Takere’s Youth Space). A library pet whether it is a cat, dog, rabbit ot goldfish couldn’t hurt.

 

Hinamatsuri: Japanese Doll Festival or Girls’ Day.

hinamatsuri dolls festival

The Japanese Doll Festival (Hinamatsuri), or Girls’ Day, is held on March 3rd in  Japan. This festival is a time to pray for the health and well being of young girls. Most homes with daughters will set up a display of hina dolls. The main dolls used are Odairi-sama (a prince) and Ohina-sama. (a princess)  Around the display dedications of peach blossoms, rice cakes and white sake are made.

A picture book about Hinamatsuri – Girls Day.

 

Junior Fiction about dolls.