神獣たちのふしぎな力 紫禁城の秘密のともだち
Natively link: 神獣たちのふしぎな力 紫禁城の秘密のともだち | L22
Available formats: physical / full furigana
Summary - Japanese
北京の広大な城、紫禁城を舞台にくりひろげられる、伝説の神獣たちと小学4年生の女の子、小雨（シャオユウ）の物語。
お母さんが紫禁城で働いている関係で、放課後は毎日のように紫禁城ですごす小雨。紫禁城にいる動物たちとは大の仲良し。
ある日、きれいな石のイヤリングをひろってから、小雨の耳に、いつも餌をやっていた野良猫の梨花（リーファー）の言葉が聞こえるようになって……。
中国に伝わる龍や鳳凰、ふしぎな神獣たちもたくさん登場して、それぞれと冒険がはじまります。紫禁城の宝物や建物の不思議
Summary - English
The story of a fourth-grade girl, Xiaoyu, and the legendary gods and beasts of the Forbidden City, a vast castle in Beijing.
Because her mother works in the Forbidden City, Xiaoyu spends every day after school in the Forbidden City. She is good friends with the animals in the Forbidden City.
One day, after she finds a pair of beautiful stone earrings, she begins to hear the words of Lihua, a stray cat that she has always fed. …
Many Chinese dragons, phoenixes, and mysterious gods and beasts also make appearances, and the adventure begins with each of them. Treasures and building wonders of the Forbidden City
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Content Warnings
unknown
Reason(s) for nominating: I bought this book on a shopping spree at Tsutaya Books during my first trip to Japan, then read the first chapter or two on the plane on the way home! I really enjoyed it, and would love to finish reading it. It’s translated from Chinese, so probably great practice for anyone interested in reading China-inspired settings. (Such as 薬屋のひとりごと.) Also it has very fun illustrations. And dragons.