Joji and the Dragon

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Joji was a Japanese scarecrow, made of straw, who couldn't scare anybody. The crows, as a matter of fact, were his best friends. One day, in despair, the farmer advertised for a spooky person to scare crows. Toho the Terrible, a tremendous dragon, saw the farmer's sign and took the job. Poor Joji! He was no longer of any use to anybody-except Toho, who often used some of Joji's straw to light his pipe.

But the crows didn't like the new scarecrow at all; they longed to see Joji back in the rice fields again. They plotted carefully and with great success, for one night Joji came back and scared the dragon away. What really happened that amazing night is a secret known only by Joji and the crows (and the reader). But the job of scarecrow became Joji's for life.

Eiichi Mitsui, a Japanese artist in sumi-e (Japanese brushwork), has provided the arresting illustrations for this modern fable. Every detail is authentically Japanese, from the farmer's ceremonial bow to the interior of the farmer's home. Story and pictures combine to make a strikingly unusual book for young readers.