Rating: 
Summary: Edu-tainment at its best
Review: "Jimi's Book of Japanese" is edutainment at its best. The Japanese language and culture lessons are so simple, they'll stick to your skull wall like a well-chewed clump of bubblicious! I bought this for my daughter, but it is great for an adult. This is a remarkable book!
Rating:
Summary: Fun Monkey Business
Review: Gotta say, I bought it for the monkey! The book is fun, and easy to learn from. From other reviews, I was under the impression that I would learn to "speak" Japanese better...not so much - but that's not the book's fault! I love the applications at the bottoms of every page, and at the end of the book. The numbers detailing how to write are impressive. It's a fun and simple way to start learning Japanese. Get it!
Rating:
Summary: Fun Monkey Business
Review: Gotta say, I bought it for the monkey! The book is fun, and easy to learn from. From other reviews, I was under the impression that I would learn to "speak" Japanese better...not so much - but that's not the book's fault! I love the applications at the bottoms of every page, and at the end of the book. The numbers detailing how to write are impressive. It's a fun and simple way to start learning Japanese. Get it!
Rating:
Summary: Most inspiring...Two Thumbs Up!
Review: Grade 3-6? This book's age range should be from 2 to 100. I am not kidding. This book is made for a kid but intelligent enough for an adult. "Jimi's Book of Japanese" is simply unbelievable. I wouldn't normally take the time to write a glowing review about a book I purchased on a whim, however, this book is far more than I ever expected. In fact, this book's unique "Triple Bubble Learning System" is intuitive in its approach and creative in its execution--simply brilliant. This is the only book I've found that includes reading, writing, and pronunciation in a uniformed manner. This allowed me as an adult to grasp Japanese kana much more quickly than I normally would. Just the other day, I showed this book to my Japanese Sensei and even she remarked how "motivating" the books content is. Yes, in this case the marketing spin is really true: "Jimi's Book of Japanese" IS a "Motivating Method to Learn Japanese"
Rating:
Summary: 3 Reasons to meet Jimi and his friends
Review: I don't know what I like best about this book -- the color palette that is the best eye candy I have seen in a book in a long time, the simple and easy-to-mimic instructions, or the cool characters Jimi, Roboto-san and Akiko. I think the characters are strong enough that they will eventually show up in some kind of interactive games or maybe tv show. I think this is part of a series--it definitely seems like that. Every single friend of mine who has seen the book at my house has picked it up to flip through it, and some of them don't even read for fun. I gave the book to my little neighbor to take to her school and she came back and asked me for another copy for their library, so I guess kids really like it too. And kids always want to discover new cool things, so I guess this fits that bill. I would definitely recommend this book as a fun learning book for kids, but also as a cool, unique -- and cheap -- gift for older kids and grownups. I can't wait to see the next color explosion from this illustrator! and hopefully, some more fun characters to Jimi's family of friends.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for learning how to write kana
Review: I don't think this book can be the one and only source for learning Japanese, but this is a great book for learning how to write kana properly. Big visuals showing every stroke clearly are very helpful - kanas look simple but writing them in the right proportion is not that easy. This book helps you start the learning process of writing Japanese characters in the right direction while acquiring practical vocabularies. And, of course, characters are cute and fun!
Rating:
Summary: this book isn't just for kids
Review: i read it through every night to help me commit (and retain) my hiragana. often times, when writing something out in hiragana, the page that it's on comes to me... so, i suppose, my hiragana always has a cute monkey attached to it... seriously though, this book presents hiragana in a non-daunting manner that is suitable for both adults and children. it has helped me more than almost every other book on hiragana i own.
Rating:
Summary: Jimi's Book of Japanese
Review: I'm a sophomore in high school and I use this book to help me learn the language easily and quickly. I hope to go on the foreign exchange program--hopefully to Tokyo or Kyoto, or possibly Osaka. I'm writing people's Japanese names and my teacher's too for extra credit. I've been studying Katakana and Hiragana since grade seven and this book has been the biggest help to me yet. Thank you, Peter Takahashi!
Rating: 
Summary: Looks aren't everything
Review: There's no doubt about it; this is a great looking book. The graphic artist responsible for this book did a superb job. The colors and images remind me of the work of Paul Frank or Hello Kitty. This is the best looking guide to learning to write Japanese that I own, and if I were rating this book solely on visual presentation I'd give it 5 stars. However, despite the great presentation this book falls short in teaching the Japanese syllabary because it relies simply on rote memorization for learning, and overemphasizes the romaji. The 46 syllabary in hiragana are presented in a visually entertaining manner and a diagram demonstrates how each symbol is written so as a supplement to another text this book may have some utility, but alone the book provides the reader with no insight in how to memorize the syllabary. The reader is left to either rely on rote memorization through repeated drilling or to rely on another source for this critical element of the learning process. There are easier ways to learn Japanese than repeated drilling, but you won't find them here. Additionally, the book which is intended to teach hiragana wastes pages on text recapping volabulary written in romaji and English translation without any hiragana whatsoever. As a supplement this book may have some utility, especially to a fan of good graphic design, but I'd not recommend it as a primary language text.
Rating:
Summary: Is it okay to fall in love with a monkey?
Review: This award-winning, user-friendly book designed by educators, designers, and cultural anthropologists is the only book of its kind to feature reading, writing and pronunciation on a single page. If you want to learn Japanese properly, this is a terrific book to buy. You will love it! Maybe you are learning Japanese for school. Maybe you are learning Japanese because your parents make you. Maybe you are learning Japanese to impress your friends. Whatever your situation, "Jimi's Book of Japanese" makes your learning experience more enjoyable. Clutter-cutting methods that enable you to grasp Japanese kana effortlessly. Color-coded pages that allow you to studay kana sets together or seperately. Completely interactive. Decidedly unique. Each page of Jimi's Book of Japanese is memorable. Great for a kid. Just as good for an adult. If nothing else, slap this book down on your coffee table and let the conversation begin...
| 
