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Classroom Practice/Program

5.The fifth picture book is I’ll Always Love You (1988),
written and illustrated by Hans Wilhelm and translated by Taichi
Hisayama.

My precious puppy Alfie. He is always with me. Every night
before going to bed, I used to say, “I’ll always love you.”
Time passed and he passed away. I was sad, but I think Alfie I’ll Always Love You by Hans
Wilhelm with translations by
understood me because I always said “I’ll always love you.” Taichi Hisayama (1988)
In the seminar, I convey the message that it is important to
express in words what we are thinking.

Participants’ Feedback

Here are some comments from participants in my past seminars:
• By making friends with picture books, I can open up a new world. I can encounter new thoughts.
• It is wonderful. I want to enjoy life with picture books.
• I realized that it is necessary to spend time in the world of picture books, to be free and to look at
myself. I rediscovered the power of picture books.
• I was able to become the character of the story because of the emotion with which Mari read the
story to me. I have been reading to my children every night, but I regret not having been able to give
them such a moving experience.
• I am looking forward to the next time.
• I am not old enough to have picture books read to me anymore, so I enjoyed a relaxing time for the
first time in a long time. Rather than returning to my childhood, I often felt that I was overlapping
with my current state. I wanted to find my most natural and comfortable “me” and cherish that time.
• Reading the picture books helped me to calm down and feel at ease. Thank you for introducing such
memorable picture books. I would like to read picture books by myself again.

Conclusion

Picture books are deeply felt by adults. “Children experience picture books, but adults read them by
superimposing them on their own lives.” These are Okada’s words (2011).
There is no right answer to how one feels about a picture book. Each person’s life is valuable and
shared by the participants.
I will continue to research the picture book programs. I would like to thank Karen Kinney of Indiana
State Organization for her encouragement and support. She is a picture book advocate and has written
about her experiences in the DKG Collegial Exchange (2019).

Collegial Exchange · 37