Global Language Storytime: Japanese

Join us for a special storytime full of fun and Japanese culture—conducted all in Japanese!

For children ages 2-5, with their grown-ups: whether you understand the language or not, you’re sure to enjoy this fun program from Poponta Children's Cultural Society, featuring picture books, finger plays, puppets, kamishibai panel theater, and more.

Poponta Children's Cultural Society is a volunteer organization that introduces Japanese language and culture through stories to Japanese-speaking children in the Bay Area. Since its inception in 2008, Poponta has provided many storytelling sessions at local libraries, Japanese-language schools and educational institutions, and Japanese festivals.

Menlo Park’s Global Language Storytime series features a different language each month, exposing children and families to a wealth of languages and cultures during fun, interactive activities for audiences of all language backgrounds.

This free event received funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.

Friday, April 10, 2026 | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St., Menlo Park, CA, 94025

ONE BOOK, ONE COAST:

Throughout the months of April and May, Menlo Park is partnering with LA County library and nearly 200 library systems across California, Washington, and Oregon for One Book, One Coast, a shared community reading program that celebrates literacy, learning, community, and civil discourse. Join us for two months of special programming bringing Japanese American history and culture to life.

3/22-5/17
Exhibition: Am I An American or Am I Not?
Fred Korematsu challenged the mass imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WWII.

4/8
A Wartime Journey
Yoshiko Kanazawa talks about being forced to relocate to an incarceration camp as a child.

4/10
Japanese Storytime
Ages 2-5 with adult: high-energy storytime full of Japanese culture—all in Japanese

4/14
Draw Manga Moods
Age 8-Adult: draw expressive faces using the unique visual language of Japanese comics

4/20
Sacramento's Lost Japantown
Live virtual event with California Museum

4/21
Teen Book Group (Ages 12-17)
They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei

5/2
Koto Performance and Film
Musician Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto on preserving culture in the "camps"

5/4
Americans Behind Barbed Wire
Meet people who lived through mass incarceration, & their family members

5/17
Japanese Taiko Drumming
Drummer Kristy "Aki" Oshiro shares Japanese language, culture, and history

5/31
Author Talk with George Takei
One Book, One Coast wraps up with a special visit from They Called Us Enemy author George Takei, livestreamed from the East Los Angeles Library.

More free events with Menlo Park Library

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