Eager to do something her big sister has not done first, Jasmine Toguchi, eight, decides to pound mochi with the men and boys when her family gets together for New Year's.

Jasmine makes a wish for a pet flamingo on the special daruma doll her grandmother sent from Japan, then sets out to prove herself responsibile enough for a pet.

Meet Jesse Owens, an African American runner who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin! What made his achievement even more memorable was that Adolph Hitler expected the Olympic Games to be a German showcase. In fact, he criticized the United States for even including black athletes on its Olympic roster. According to many reports, after Owens won his fourth gold medal, Hitler stormed out of the stadium. In 1936 Jesse Owens took a stand...

"In this female-forward spin on the traditional children's song, readers meet Miss MacDonald on her vegetable farm and learn about gardening, seasons, plant-based meals, and local produce"--

"Jasmine worries that she will be the only one with no talent to share in the school talent show until her mother brings out her taiko drum"--OCLC.