This is a good book to read as an encouragement for students to trust their friends and to become a friend like Jojofu. Jojofu is about a brave and smart dog that protects her owner, Takumi, and the other hunting dogs on a trail to the hunting grounds. On the journey, the author utilizes illustration, dialogue, and plot to create suspense within the story. The illustration of Jojofu and her fiery eyes and sharp teeth conveys a message to readers that Jojofu is out of character and that something is very wrong during their journey to the hunting grounds. I could predict that something bad was going to happen to the hunting crew based off of the illustration which helped me to better visualize and understand the situation. The dialogue that Takumi has towards Jojofu is very interesting when Takumi says, "Why are you headed into the woods, you foolish dog?". This is because the words "foolish dog" show readers that Takumi has a sense of authority over Jojofu and is degrading Jojofu's character which is a important part of the story because the statements get turned around at the end of the book. Takumi asks Jojofu to forgive him for mistakes and distrust to Jojofu which gives confidence in Jojofu's character. The plot overall and the organization of the text was well throughout because the three dangerous events that could have killed Takumi was one after the other. First, was the dangerous rocks and right after there was the dangerous cliff. Lastly, there was the dangerous snake. All of these events that are subsequent to each other help with the flow of the story. The sequence demonstrates the wise Jojofu and her reasons behind her actions. ( )

I really enjoyed reading this book for three reasons. The three reasons why I enjoyed reading this book so much was for the illustrations, the writing style and the overall message. The overall message is one that can used in a teachers classroom for teaching acceptance and trust in others. The illustrations were new and fresh, unlike any I have ever seen before. Because the illustrations were from a different cultural aspect, the text is more enhanced. An example of the illustrations can be found on any page but a particular page with the all white dog and bright yellow eyes, shows how angry and upset the dog was because of the snake in the tree. The writing style for the book is engaging with descriptive language such as "snarling and snapping" to describe the sound the angry dog was making. "Angry" is another of the many descriptive words that can be found in the story. ( )

The story is based on an old Japanese folk tale.

Jojofu ("heroine")is the bravest dog in the hunter's pack. Even though he knows this, he still has some reservations when she makes decisions that go against his routine. He finally learns to trust here as time and again, Jojofu proves to be the smartest, bravest, and strongest dog of them all. ( )