I loved the concept of Haiku but never got to read it since I didn't know where to start. Thankfully, Basho's Haiku Journey gave me the first break to the world of Haiku.

The book is beautiful- both the illustrations as well as writing. The book has an overall soothing vibe to it. Would love to read this book with a cup of tea on a rainy day.

I must admit, before reading Basho’s Haiku Journeys I knew next to nothing about Matsuo Basho, the Japanese poet who lived in the seventeenth century and is credited with inventing the haiku. For those of you unfamiliar with the form, a haiku is a short-form poem most often containing seventeen syllables in three lines, with five in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third and last line. Most haiku are about nature and haiku purists insist that only haiku about nature can be considered true haiku, but the form has evolved to include other topics.

For most of his life, Basho lived a comfortable and cosmopolitan life in Edo, which was then the capital city of Japan. He made his living teaching and writing, but there was an unfulfilled longing inside him—to see more, to experience the vibrancy of life more fully. He lived in a hut outside Edo that his students had built for him, and one night it caught fire and burned to the ground.

Most people would feel devastated at the loss of all their earthly possessions, but Basho felt liberated. He wandered into the woods, basking in the elation he felt at his change in fortune. It was then he decided to adopt an itinerant lifestyle, beginning the first of what would become five long journeys. From 1684-1689, Basho would traverse the length of his country and write about the beauty of the natural world in books that would later become classics of Japanese literature.

Ng honors Basho by telling his story in haiku form and the result is nothing short of breathtaking. One of the hallmarks of a good book is that it leaves you wanting more and in that regard Ng has more than succeeded. Cassandra Rockwood Ghanem’s gorgeous hand-painted illustrations add depth and clarity to Basho’s story. This book is a must-purchase for children’s librarians, language arts teachers, and parents and guardians who want their children to be curious and creative citizens of the world.

A pleasant enough book, certainly to look at, but one that will leave many a young reader nonplussed. In a narrative collection of haikus, our author has tried to introduce Basho to the primary school classroom, and convey all five of the journeys and treks he notably wrote about. But in providing haiku that are not quite, for want of a better word, Zen enough, the book actually manages to become too Zen. Basho is aware, in planning the third trip, that he hasn't seen all that was available for him to see on his first – but all we watch him witnessing is a hut, and then a baby deer, and then he's gearing up for the fourth! I wanted this to succeed, despite the doubts I had on requesting it that it could – and I'm afraid to say I don't see it having much mileage. Unlike its subject, of course.

Fascinating and beautiful! The haiku describing Basho's journeys were simple, elegant, and almost meditative. This would be a great way to introduce students to the concept of haiku since it successfully demonstrates both the typical form and feeling that is generally the goal.

As appealing as the text was, the illustrations are the real standout. They're breathtaking and vivid and will definitely pull students in to engage with the text. This would be an excellent addition to school and classroom libraries for almost any grade level.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

We regularly have Haikus as part of our English curriculum and this books is really good. Each Haiku is gentle and easy to follow the pattern.
The illustrations are amazing, they bring the story to life. They are each like a watercolour painting.

Being a big Basho fan, I was curious to see how the authors' would present this in a way that would be meaningful to children. Often beautiful books like this one are books that adults end up liking more than children. But, in this case, the authors did a good job. Haiku are brief enough to be readable for children, but also hold enough meaning to paint a picture. And if the picture IS actually painted a child can really grasp the meaning quickly and even consider the word choices. I could imagine a parent reading this with very young children. I could imagine this being used as a resource and reference book for a Poetry Unit or a Japan Unit in an elementary school. And of course it also works as a coffee table book.

The illustrations are beautiful and playful and should appeal to both adults and children. A reader could linger for quite a long time over each page. Highly recommended and would be an excellent gift.

This is such a beautifully illustrated book, I cannot say enough about the individually painted pages. The story is written in Haiku and is based on Basho real life travel journeys across Japan during the seventeenth century. I highly recommend this book.