The Friends - by Kazumi Yumoto & Rosa Guy (Paperback)

About the Book

Kiyama and his friends Kawabe and Yamashita become fascinated and curious about death when Yamashita's grandmother dies. Hoping to see death firsthand, they spy on an old man who looks like he will die soon. But while they watch the old man, he watches them. Soon their fascination for each other turns into a friendship that will change their lives forever. An ALA Notable Children's Book. A "Boston Globe-Horn Book" Award winner.

Book Synopsis

In this award-winning book from Japan, three young boys curious about death learn--and teach--some valuable lessons about life and friendship.

The Friends is the winner of the 1997 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Fiction.

Review Quotes

"In this graceful first novel, the funeral of one boy's grandmother excites a curiosity about death in three Japanese schoolboys . . . An offbeat and unsentimental coming-of-age story." --Starred, Kirkus Reviews

"An eloquent initiation story that first touches and then pierces the heart . . . The passage of the time and the nature of mutability are poetically expressed in this warmly humorous narrative, deserving of equally high marks in kid appeal and literary merit." --Starred, Publishers Weekly

"A book about death that espouses the pure joy in life." --School Library Journal

About the Author

Kazumi Yumoto has written several books, including The Letters. She lives in Tokyo, Japan.