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Payal Kapadia
For Payal Kapadia's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Oct 7, 2008
'Nurk', 'A Beginning, A Muddle, and An End'
"Nurk," Ursula Vernon, Harcourt; 2008; 131 pp. What makes "Nurk" such a readable little tale? There's nothing tingly and new about an adventure story in which the hero is a reluctant adventurer. A quiet homebody finds himself thrown into a situation where he must display his inner courage (if he has any) — we've all heard that one before.
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Sep 23, 2008
'The Prison Runner,' 'The Charlie and Lola Series'
"The Prison Runner," Deborah Ellis, OUP; 2008; 190 pp. A wobbly tooth, a favorite library book that has been lent out to someone else — these are the sorts of problems that children should be growing up with. But life isn't the same everywhere, and in developing countries such as Bolivia, children grow up too fast to have a real childhood. Like Diego, the 12-year-old hero of Deborah Ellis' "The Prison Runner."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Aug 5, 2008
'Young Samurai — The Way of the Warrior,' 'Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox'
'Young Samurai — The Way of the Warrior' By Chris Bradford; Puffin; 2008; 316 pp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jul 1, 2008
"The Roar," "Waves"
"The Roar," Emma Clayton, Chickenhouse; 2008; 473 pp. 'The sun was setting over the Atlantic and as it ran like molten gold into the waves, a girl in a Pod Fighter ripped through the scene, like graffiti sprayed across a landscape painting, and for a few startled moments, the sun and the sea trembled."
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Nov 6, 2007
"The Bomb," "Bunker 10"
"The Bomb" Theodore Taylor, Harcourt; 2007; 195pp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Oct 2, 2007
"Three Good Deeds," "Miss Alaineus — A Vocabulary Disaster"
"Three Good Deeds," Vivian Vande Velde, Harcourt; 2007; 147pp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Sep 4, 2007
"The Devil's Breath," "Mr. Putter — Tabby Spin the Yarn"
"The Devil's Breath," David Gilman, Puffin Books; 2007; 377 pp. Close on the heels of Charlie Higson's highly successful Young Bond series comes another adrenalin-pumping adventure story that reads like a Robert Ludlum thriller tailor-made for teenagers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Aug 7, 2007
"The Boyhood of Burglar Hill," "Little Rabbit's New Baby"
"The Boyhood of Burglar Hill," Allan Ahlberg, Puffin Books; 2006; 181 pp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jul 3, 2007
"Tunnels," "The Boy in the Biscuit Tin"
"Tunnels," By Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, Chicken House; 2007; 463 pp. Books that lead to sequels are good news and bad news bundled into one. Good news because a sequel means that there's more where this came from, and bad news because the author is not obligated to resolving the plot by the time the book is over.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jun 5, 2007
"The Great American Mousical," "Jake Cake: The Robot Dinner Lady"
"The Great American Mousical," Julie Andrews Edwards, Puffin Books; 2006; 133 pp. If you don't know who Julie Andrews is, ask your parents. They'll tell you how Andrews, the star actress of movie classics like "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music," brought cinema alive for children all over the world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
May 1, 2007
"Endymion Spring," "The Legend of Captain Crow's Teeth"
"Endymion Spring," Matthew Skelton, Puffin Books; 2007; 439 pp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Mar 6, 2007
"Double or Die," "The Skunk Code"
"Double or Die," Charlie Higson, Puffin Books; 2007; 390 pp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Feb 6, 2007
"Looking for X," "Beauty Shop for Rent"
"Looking for X," Deborah Ellis, OUP; 2006; 138 pp.
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jan 9, 2007
"Happy Feet," "Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony"
"Happy Feet," Adapted by Kay Woodward, Puffin Books; 2006; 121 pp. Typically, the book comes first; then some smart film director gets his hands on it and turns it into a movie. With "Happy Feet," though, it was the film that came first. But if you haven't watched it -- or if you want the adventures of Mumble the penguin to be your own imaginings -- try the book. Woodward's straightforward "novelization" of the film has no real surprises, apart from the ones in the original film, of course. But the story of the emperor penguins of Antarctica who find their one true love through their "heartsongs" is a moving one. Every emperor penguin has a heartsong, and it's the voice he hears inside. That's how Mumble's parents, Memphis and Norma Jean, found each other, by crooning their heartsongs. But Mumble can't sing to save his life; he can only tap away with his feet in a beat that's all his own. The conservative penguin colony cannot accept anyone so different and blames Mumble for the fish shortage they have been facing. Shunned by everyone he has known, Mumble embarks on an epic journey to save Emperor Land by finding out who's taking all the fish. Turns out the culprits are humans (are we surprised?), and now Mumble must confront them to change their ways. Can his feet -- for they are the only language he knows -- get the message across? This heart-warming tale gives you an inside glimpse into the ways of Antarctica's penguins and makes you admire them. It also has a powerful environmental message: We must learn how to want less; how to take only what we need; and how to share the bounty of this beautiful planet with all the others who live here.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Dec 5, 2006
"Bad Kitty," "Junie B. Jones ... is on Her Way!"
"Bad Kitty," Michele Jaffe, Puffin Books; 2006; 294 pp. It's ha-ha-hard being a teenager, particularly if you're Jas Callihan, all of 17, half-Jamaican half-Irish, with a height to rival King Kong's and a nonexistent chest. In author Michele Jaffe's hands, nothing could be more hysterical than the gaffes of adolescence.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Nov 7, 2006
'When Santa Fell to Earth,' 'Brooklyn Rose'
'When Santa Fell To Earth,' Cornelia Funke, Chicken House; 2006; 173 pp. Timeless. That's the word for fiction of this sort. How else can a story originally published in German in 1994 Eand now translated into English for the first time Emake for such great reading? Cynics might say that it's got to do with that Santa character Estories about him never go wrong, do they? But that's just it: Everyone knows about the fat guy in red who visits at Christmas. How can a tired old myth be revived so that it still sparkles like freshly fallen snow on Christmas morning?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Oct 3, 2006
"Each Little Bird That Sings," "The Girl With the Broken Wing"
"Each Little Bird That Sings," Deborah Wiles, Harcourt; 2006; 247 pp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Sep 5, 2006
"The Monstrous Memories of a Mighty McFearless," "The Year the Gypsies Came"
"The Monstrous Memories of a Mighty McFearless," Ahmed Zappa, Puffin; 2006; 215pp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jul 4, 2006
"The Possum Always Rings Twice: A Chet Gecko Mystery," "Strange Happiness"
"The Possum Always Rings Twice: A Chet Gecko Mystery," Bruce Hale, Harcourt; 2006; 112pp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
May 2, 2006
"Cyrano," "Small Steps"
"Cyrano," Geraldine McCaughrean, OUP; 2006; 167pp.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world