Hello friends and welcome to Storytime with The Met! I'm Julie Marie, and I'm so excited to see
you today. Please join us every Thursday at 12 o'clock for new stories and activities.
Now grab a cozy spot, and let's sing the Storytime song, just like we do at the museum.
One, two, three... Welcome friends! Get ready, get set for Storytime with The Met where we love
to read and sing and look at works of art and picture books. We use our eyes to look and see.
We use our ears to hear stories. Now take a seat, and give a "shh". Let's begin with our first book!
Good job, everybody! Today we're going to read
"A Carp for Kimiko" written by Virginia Kroll and illustrated by Katherine Roundtree.
Kimiko watched Papa putting up the poll. I must fix the lowest hook this year he said.
For my kite? asked Kimiko hopefully. For baby Yukio's! Papa answered.
Kimiko ran to the calendar and counted the days. The fifth day of the fifth month would
soon be here. She would ask again tomorrow. Kimiko peeked around the door to see them.
The fish kites lie flat. Kimiko knew that they were saving their energy for the special day.
Then they would fight the current, dancing and diving on the waves of air
against the blue sky and the frothy white clouds.
See Kimiko peeking around the door?
Kimiko admired Taro's red and yellow fish and Tomi's blue and green fish, but it was Yukio's
that made her sigh with longing. Orange and black and white, she said. The perfect calico carp.
You see all the beautiful koi fish, the carps? They're flying in the air!
If I had a daughter, she said, I would let her have a fish to fly high in the blue sky,
and it would be just like Yukio's. Then, Kimiko pouted, someday I will have a daughter,
but that is much too long to wait. Waiting is really hard,
especially when you're waiting for something that you really love, like a holiday.
The next morning Kimiko sipped on her breakfast tea and asked most politely, may I have a carp
to fly this year? Papa said, you know that we fly the carp for sons only, little daughter.
But the festival is no longer called boys day, it's called children's day! Kimiko said, And I'm
a child too! Yes, agreed Papa, but we celebrate you as well, and we cannot change the tradition.
Sometimes it's hard for young people to follow tradition, and sometimes it's hard for our
families to see that sometimes a few things need to change depending on who's in the family. Let's
see what happens! But I'm as brave as Taro and as strong as Tomi and much much bigger than Yukio!
Yes, said Mama, but that is the tradition. Kimiko frowned, and Mama said do you remember what March
3rd was just two months ago? Do you think Kimiko remembers what happened two whole months ago?
Kimiko thought for a minute. Then she remembered
it was the doll festival. We unpacked all the special dolls and set them up on bright cloth,
and I asked Hana and Matsu to come for rice cakes and candies! Mama smiled. Yes, a day just for you.
Do you see all the beautiful dolls?
She had the doll festival.
Not absolutely just for me, Kimiko recalled. I shared it with Yukio. Ah, yes,
Mama remembered. You let him come to your party too. Even if he is a boy, Kimiko said. Even if
he is a boy, Mama laughed. Mama, asked Kimiko. Yes little daughter? Do you think mom is going to ask
or if Kimiko is going to ask about bending the tradition, changing her tradition a little bit?
Do you think we could unpack the dolls so I can see them? Mama shook her head. You know
the tradition, Kimiko. The dolls are not for playing. They are unpacked only once a year
for their very special festival. But Mama! Once a year is too long to wait! Kimiko argued.
Mama said, You remind me of the carp, Kimiko, always wanting to swim against the current.
I have a feeling Kimiko is going to keep
asking. Kimiko's voice was butterfly soft.
Just one, she dared to whisper. Mama looked into Kimiko's eyes.
You have convinced me little daughter, but she said holding up a firm finger, just one.
Kimiko bowed. Thank you, Mama. Then she worried a little bit. Are we breaking tradition, Mama? No
little daughter, not exactly. You might say we're merely bending it a little. Like I did by sharing
my doll festival with Yukio? Yes, Kimiko, like you did by sharing your day with Yukio! Mama said.
Children's Day dawned on Kimiko's village. Papa hung the carps. One,
two, three, look how high the carp is above the rooftops!
Kimiko held her breath. One by one, they puffed their fullest and swam flickering their little
tails sideways, big brave fish using their strength against the current. Kimiko's breath
breathed out, and exclaimed Beautiful! Oh how I wish I had a carp!
They really are very beautiful, she's right.
Tomi yelled out, See mine it's the strongest! Taro shouted, Mine is the fullest, see!
Little Yukio waved his chubby hands in delight.
I don't think Kimiko is as excited as her brothers are.
That night, Kimiko closed her eyes to sleep. In her dreams, the colorful carp danced wildly on
the wind. When morning came, sunshine crept under Kimiko's eyelids and pushed them awake. Kimiko
blinked and blinked again. She saw a bowl of water on a tray glistening and gleaming.
Kimiko's eyes grew wide with wonder. She peered into the cool clear water at the beautiful
fish that boldly bobbed up to the surface, all orange and black and white. The perfect calico.
Kimiko has wanted a calico carp forever.
Kimiko headed out to the table where Mama and Papa were sipping
their breakfast tea. For me? she asked simply. For you, Mama said. A carp for Kimiko.
After all of that waiting and all that asking, Kimiko didn't get a carp kite the
way she thought she would. Instead, she got a real carp! Carb in Japan have so many special
meanings and symbols, strength and long life. Getting a gift of a carp is a really big deal.
At the museum, in Astor Court, we have a tiny little pond in the corner. If you go
you'll hear some bubbling and some bloop sounds. Next time you're there,
take a look into the water. You'll see we have real carp swimming their way through the space.
Those are some of my favorite little guys at the museum! They even know when they're gonna get
fed. They come up to the water ready to eat. Also in the museum there's this amazing wood
block print from the Edo period of a koi fish. This wood block has amazing colors. If you look
at each of those individual colors, a different block was carved out of wood just for that color,
and then a print maker put ink on the wood and pressed it to the paper each color one at a time,
and it looks so vibrant and so strong, just like the the koi fish, the carp. As I was
looking at this piece, I kept wanting a koi, carp just like Kimiko. Now, I don't really
have the room to have a beautiful little pond or to have a fishbowl, so I decided to make myself
a carp kite made out of all recycled materials. So I used a toilet paper roll and lots of different
patterned paper that I can find around the house, and I cut them into semi-circles or half a circle
to make the scales of the carp. Now Kimiko wanted a calico one. I wanted a rainbow one.
I also found some extra pieces of fabric from an old shirt, and I cut it up, with permission of
course, cut it up and added it to the back for streamers. I'm going to hang it out on a pole
outside on May 5th, and I'm going to celebrate Children's Day along with all of you!
I hope you have a chance to make your own koi fish as well and hang it up in celebration
because I think it's a perfect day to celebrate all of the children all around the world,
especially you. I hope you can join us again next Thursday for another Storytime! See you then. Bye!