Tales From The Cafe (Coffee Series Bk 2)

As a parent I'm quite picky about what I encourage my kids to read. This one gets a wholehearted recommendation from both me and my son, who laughed out loud multiple times and then made me read his favourite parts aloud at dinner. Toshikazu Kawaguchi has a real gift. We'll be buying everything they've written.

Wonderful in every sense. The story is inventive, the characters are lovable, and the themes — friendship, courage, kindness — come through without a single ounce of preachiness. Toshikazu Kawaguchi makes it all feel completely natural. My kids are already asking when the next one is coming. Five stars easily.

There are 4 layered stories which are set in the small, mysterious, time-travelling, magical cafe in Tokyo named Funiculi Funicula. There are : best friend (Gohtaro & Shuichi), mother- son (Yukio & Kinuyo), lovers (Kurata & Asami) & married couple (Kiyoshi & Kimiko). Each story is unique, relatable, and deeply personal. Noted Nagare- owner (shared family details), staff in the cafe (helpful & kind). In the cafe, one can find the rules. These are: 1) The only people one can meet while visiting the past who have visited the cafe and once the coffee is poured., 2) One cannot change the present life., 3) in order to return the past, one have to seat in that seat and to be alone., 4) while back in the past, one must stay in the seat and not to ve moved., 5) There is a time limit (one must return before the coffee gets cold).

I bought this as a birthday gift and the child in question finished it in two days and immediately asked for more books by the same author. That is the highest possible praise from an eight-year-old. The humour is perfectly pitched, the story moves beautifully, and the heart of it is real.

What I love about this book — apart from how much my children love it — is that it's genuinely good as a piece of storytelling. Toshikazu Kawaguchi doesn't talk down to young readers and the result is something that works for adults too. We read it together as a family and had a wonderful time.