“A Picture Book to Look At / Kinder-Book, Volume II, No. 3 / Compiled under the Supervision of Mr. Seichi Kuzu, Bureau of Forestry, Ministry of Agr[iculture] and For[estry]. Illustrated by various artists. 14pp. in original pictorial wrappers. With color illustrations on wrappers and on each page. Some English notes, bibliographic and translations of text, typed on rice paper appended to wrappers and 7 text pages.
Very rare. According to the International Library of Children's Literature, children's books in post-war Japan under the American Occupation were virtually non-existent. No doubt this beautifully illustrated imprint benefited from sponsorship of a Japanese government bureau that functioned under the watchful eye of General MacArthur’s Occupation administrators.
The book was recommended to teachers and parents by Dr. Kinji Shimizu, head of the Bureau of Scientific Education of the Education Ministry, as politically correct and idealistic: “With the beginning of the new ‘Peaceful Japan’, we must learn to appreciate our native land, so full of the beauties of nature, and to endeavor to produce in it, a pure and clear society. To attain this ideal, it is essential to cultivate within ourselves the conception that every gift of Nature is the property of everyone, and to treat them with true affection. In America, wild birds, animals, trees, flowers, all these are protected as the common property of society, not belonging to any particular person. Such a conception must be cultivated gradually from childhood on. I consider this book ideal to…plant a sympathetic attitude toward bird protection in the heart of the rising generation.”