Books published by publisher Gakken

The Samurai Handbook is packed with short bios of the most famous samurai in history and their death-defying feats. Readers will also learn about amazing Japanese weaponry, insane samurai armor and helmets, cool castle defenses, and even what kind of warrior they would be in feudal Japan. This heavily illustrated handbook is packed with everything you’d ever want to know about samurai: *The samurai code *The ways of the warlords *Life in feudal Japan *Samurai armor and clothing *Generals’ powerful helmets *Weapons, from spears and longbows to early firearms *What happened during the Japanese civil war *How feudal battles were fought *Japanese families and clans *The bravest samurai generals *The most famous samurai in Japanese history *Hidden passageways and other castle secrets *How to capture a castle *Battle match-ups: Who would win in a fight? *Women in battle *Your own samurai style: What kind of warrior would you be?

The Play Smart fun-first philosophy (which has proven hugely successful with children, parents, and educators) is: Children learn when they're having fun. Play Smart Play Again Picture Puzzles includes more than 60 engaging activities that help to hone preschoolers' focus, fine motor skills, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities. Wipe-off pages, and a set of different challenges for every activity--from spot-the-difference and matching games to mazes and hidden pictures—make for hours of entertainment. The books are designed so that the puzzles get harder as you move through the book, helping to build a sense of independence, and confidence. Lively, colorful art, aa erasable marker, practice worksheets, and doodle pages complete the package. These award-winning, kid-tested activities have won over millions of fans around the world.

Newborn babies as young as six weeks old will be mesmerized by the bold shapes and colors in BABY SEES COLORS! This book makes a perfect gift for a new baby—parents, grandparents, and other caretakers will love the bonding experience of reading this lovely board book aloud to infants or one-year-olds. **2019 National Parenting Product Awards Winner** (NAPPAawards.com) Based on decades of research and refinement, the art in this high-contrast board book will help babies focus and begin to discern shapes and colors. Written by popular children’s book author Akio Kashiwara, BABY SEES COLORS has simple, uplifting images and rhymes. Babies soak in everything they hear, and eventually learn to associate particular sounds with familiar people and things. Hundreds of thousands of parents in Japan have already discovered the power of this little book, and now American parents can too! This adorable, sturdy book will still look new after being loved for years, and will find a place on the shelf next to classic board books like Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; Chica Chica Boom Boom, and Sandra Boynton’s classics. What parents are saying: “My baby started being very interested in this as soon as she could focus, around one and a half months. This is a great first book!” “GREAT first book for baby. My two month old twins LOVE when I read and show them this book.” “Attention Grabber! Super cute book! Really grabs my 2 month old’s attention!"

Every new parent purchases at least one high-contrast board book, and this one, with its bold, more abstract art, stands out from the crowd. Featuring graphic images that are perfect for infants, parents and babies will love exploring this book together. Infants can distinguish the colors black and white because of their high contrast. But what is the next color infants see? Red! The images in this book have been created based on decades of research and refinement and are accompanied by bouncy, rhyming text.

The Go Go Series puts the emphasis on fun―so much so that children have no idea that they’re building important skills while they trace lines and shapes, cut and paste objects, solve mazes, create crafts, and tackle other simple, enjoyable activities. While they are playing, they are also: ・improving their hand-eye coordination ・building find motor skill ・learning how to follow increasingly challenging sequential directions ・sorting and matching things by shape or color ・enhancing their observational skills ・boosting their creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving skills ・acquiring and reinforcing healthy life habitsEvery title includes Activity Stickers, Reward Stickers, and a Write-on/Wipe-off Game Board for more interactive learning. ・Reward Stickers: Let your child apply the reward stickers to each page when he or she is finished. Also, make sure to give plenty of praise! This is important for building confidence. ・Active Stickers: By using stickers to help make and complete the pages, your child's creativity and imagination will be ignited. ・Write-on/Wipe-off Game Board: Crayons and whiteboard markers can be erased with a tissue. You can try it as many times, in as many ways as you like.

Bursting with insider information about ninja weapons, survival skills, training practices, stealth techniques, and famous warriors, THE NINJA HANDBOOK is the only book any ninja enthusiast will ever need. This heavily illustrated handbook is packed with everything you’d ever want to know about ninjas: *The code of the ninja *Ninja history *Ninja weaponry from dirks and throwing stars to swords, climbing weapons, and hidden weaponry *Ninja costumes—how to dress for battle *How to run, walk, climb, and escape danger like a ninja *How to “fly” like a ninja *How to walk on water *The art of illusion *The art of eavesdropping, information gathering, and covert message delivery *The art of disguise *Ninja survival skills *Ninja training manual *Spotlights on the most famous and deadliest ninjas throughout history *Spotlights on female ninjas

Introducing Japan’s #1 Best-Selling Educational Publisher, Gakken's Play Smart™ PLAYTIME - a new series in the critically-acclaimed, parents-approved, kids-adored “Fun-First Learning” Play Smart family! Simply fun activities that boost young brains for life! Introducing Play Smart PLAYTIME “Can You Find It? Spot-the-Differences & More Fun Games”Gakken’s Play Smart PLAYTIME Can You Find It? Spot-the-Differences & More Fun Games pairs our research-based, engaging early learning activities with our “Learning should be fun” philosophy for hours of productive and smart play time while developing thinking skills, observation abilities, focus, confidence, and a love of learning. Play Smart PLAYTIME Can You Find It? Spot-the-Differences & More Fun Games is packed with 20 fun-first spot-the-differences and hidden pictures games that educate your child and sharpen their skills without them realizing it. Each activity comes with tips for parents to help enhance the experience along with alternate ways to play each game. We also include "Extended Play Ideas" which takes each activity off the page and into the real world - a truly unique feature for activity books. Gakken's Play Smart PLAYTIME activity books include 60 adorable stickers and a suitable-for-framing completion certificate that allow you to reward your little one for a job well-done and to encourage additional learning.

Introducing Japan’s #1 Best-Selling Educational Publisher's Play Smart™ PLAYTIME - a new series in the critically-acclaimed, parents-approved, kids-adored “Fun-First Learning” Play Smart family! Simply fun activities that boost young brains for life! Introducing Play Smart PLAYTIME “Can You Solve It? Amazingly Fun Mazes"Gakken’s Play Smart PLAYTIME Can You Solve It? Amazingly Fun Mazes pairs our research-based, engaging early learning activities with our “Learning should be fun” philosophy for hours of productive and smart play time while developing thinking skills, observation abilities, focus, confidence, and a love of learning. Play Smart PLAYTIME Can You Solve It? Amazingly Fun Mazes is packed with 20 fun-first mazes that educate your child and sharpen their skills without them realizing it. Each activity comes with tips for parents to help enhance the experience along with alternate ways to play each game. We also include "Extended Play Ideas" which takes each activity off the page and into the real world - a truly unique feature for activity books. Gakken's Play Smart PLAYTIME activity books include 60 adorable stickers and a suitable-for-framing completion certificate that allow you to reward your little one for a job well-done and to encourage additional learning.

Introducing a new kawaii property “Mochi Mochi Panda,” a hugely popular brand with Japanese kids and teens! It was created by Kamio Japan, one of the top stationery companies in the country, and gained exposure through Gakken’s tween fashion magazines as well as 16 books. Now the brand has been licensed to over 50 licensees, who have featured it on towels, toys, accessories and more. Mochi Mochi Panda is a panda-like creature that is squishy like mochi (rice cake). This is not a panda, not a rice cake, nor a marshmallow. Much like the kawaii character Gudetama, the world of Mochi Mochi Panda is about being laid-back and relaxed. Jumbo Mochi Mochi Panda can pull off pieces of himself to create lots and lots of Tiny Mochi Mochi Pandas. You'll meet Idol Panda, Aloha Panda, Princess Panda, Chic Panda, Rainbow Panda, Zombie Panda, and lots of other Tiny Pandas! What is kawaii? The concept of kawaii, Japan’s culture of cuteness, started in the ‘70s and made its way to the US in 1976 with Sanrio’s Hello Kitty. Since then, the US has seen continued success with such kawaii properties as Pokemon and more recently, Gudetama. The culture of kawaii is not just about being cute: it is pushing away serious things like business and politics, and embracing a more laid-back lifestyle. Couldn’t we all use more of that?Includes 12 sticker sheets featuring 1,250 stickers! Meet all of the Mochi Mochi Pandas, then explore their adorable world with 1,250 stickers! Mochi Mochi Panda is a panda-like creature that is squishy like mochi (rice cake). This is not a panda, not a rice cake, nor a marshmallow. Much like the kawaii character Gudetama, the world of Mochi Mochi Panda is about being laid-back and relaxed. Inside, you can play make-believe with Princess Panda, shop with Chic Panda, help Idol Panda write a song, and much more! It was created by Kamio Japan, one of the top stationery companies in the country, and gained exposure through Gakken’s tween fashion magazines as well as 16 books. Now the brand has been licensed to over 50 licensees, who have featured it on towels, toys, accessories and more. What is kawaii? The concept of kawaii, Japan’s culture of cuteness, started in the '70s and made its way to the U.S. in 1976 with Sanrio’s Hello Kitty. Since then, the U.S. has seen continued success with such kawaii properties as Pokemon and more recently, Gudetama. The culture of kawaii is not just about being cute: it is pushing away serious things like business and politics, and embracing a more laid-back lifestyle. Couldn’t we all use more of that? Part of the Kawaii Kids Club, a cute and engaging series for children and teens—incredibly popular worldwide! Gakken Publishing is the largest publisher of children's educational books in Japan. For the first time, these sophisticated and exciting books are now available to parents, teachers, and caregivers in the United States.

The Go Go Series puts the emphasis on fun―so much so that children have no idea that they’re building important skills while they trace lines and shapes, cut and paste objects, solve mazes, create crafts, and tackle other simple, enjoyable activities. While they are playing, they are also: ・improving their hand-eye coordination ・building find motor skill ・learning how to follow increasingly challenging sequential directions ・sorting and matching things by shape or color ・enhancing their observational skills ・boosting their creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving skills ・acquiring and reinforcing healthy life habitsEvery title includes Activity Stickers, Reward Stickers, and a Write-on/Wipe-off Game Board for more interactive learning. ・Reward Stickers: Let your child apply the reward stickers to each page when he or she is finished. Also, make sure to give plenty of praise! This is important for building confidence. ・Active Stickers: By using stickers to help make and complete the pages, your child's creativity and imagination will be ignited. ・Write-on/Wipe-off Game Board: Crayons and whiteboard markers can be erased with a tissue. You can try it as many times, in as many ways as you like.

This activity book features 75 puffy stickers and over 300 regular stickers for many hours of fun with Mochi Mochi Panda! Each kit includes stickering activities and favorite age-appropriate activities like mazes, spot-the-differences, and dot-to-dot. Introducing a new kawaii property “Mochi Mochi Panda,” a hugely popular brand with Japanese kids and teens! It was created by Kamio Japan, one of the top stationery companies in the country, and gained exposure through Gakken’s tween fashion magazines as well as 16 books. Now the brand has been licensed to over 50 licensees, who have featured it on towels, toys, accessories and more. Mochi Mochi Panda is a panda-like creature that is squishy like mochi (rice cake). This is not a panda, not a rice cake, nor a marshmallow. Much like the kawaii character Gudetama, the world of Mochi Mochi Panda is about being laid-back and relaxed. Jumbo Mochi Mochi Panda can pull off pieces of himself to create lots and lots of Tiny Mochi Mochi Pandas. You'll meet Idol Panda, Aloha Panda, Princess Panda, Chic Panda, Rainbow Panda, Zombie Panda, and lots of other Tiny Pandas! What is kawaii? The concept of kawaii, Japan’s culture of cuteness, started in the ‘70s and made its way to the US in 1976 with Sanrio’s Hello Kitty. Since then, the US has seen continued success with such kawaii properties as Pokemon and more recently, Gudetama. The culture of kawaii is not just about being cute: it is pushing away serious things like business and politics, and embracing a more laid-back lifestyle. Couldn’t we all use more of that?

Brand-new format making its debut! Introducing a new kawaii property “The Imaginary Aquarium,” a hugely popular brand with Japanese kids and teens! The Imaginary Aquarium is comprised of characters that are a combination of land animals and sea creatures, which is spot-on with the current U.S. publishing trend of mash-up characters. It was created by Kamio Japan, one of the top stationery companies in the country, and gained exposure through Gakken’s tween fashion magazines as well as five books. As a result of Kamio’s partnership with Takara Tomy Arts, The Imaginary Aquarium has become a merchandised brand, with characters that are featured in toys and stationery. What is kawaii? The concept of kawaii, Japan’s culture of cuteness, started in the ‘70s and made its way to the US in 1976 with Sanrio’s Hello Kitty. Since then, the US has seen continued success with such kawaii properties as Pokemon and more recently, Gudetama. The culture of kawaii is not just about being cute: it is pushing away serious things like business and politics, and embracing a more laid-back lifestyle. Couldn’t we all use more of that?This is no ordinary aquarium! At The Imaginary Aquarium, all the creatures are mash-ups of land and sea animals. Packaged with 8 stackable fat crayons that are perfect for little hands to grip, this activity kit features 120 pages of favorite age-appropriate activities like mazes, spot-the-differences, and dot-to-dot. Meet all The Imaginary Aquarium friends: Budgiseal= budgie bird + fur seal, Bunnyguin=bunny + penguin, Eelpuppy=dog + eel, Elephin= elephant + dolphin, Jellybear=jellyfish + bear, Kangalion=kangaroo + sea lion, Kittyshark=cat + shark, Li'l Bunnyguin=baby bunny + penguin, Octopiggy=octopus + pig, Sealster=hamster + seal, Squidhog=squid + hog, Squiglet=baby squid + hog, Squotter=squirrel + otter, Sunbra=zebra + sunfish, Turwolf=turtle + wolf, and more!