Temple Alley Summer – Sachiko Kashiwaba

Winner of the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder AwardA July/August 2021 KidsÂ’ Indie Next PickA Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionFrom renowned Japanese childrenÂ’s author Sachiko Kashiwaba, Temple Alley Summer is a fantastical and mysterious adventure featuring the living dead, a magical pearl, and a suspiciously nosy black cat named Kiriko.Kazu knows something odd is going on when he sees a girl in a white kimono sneak out of his house in the middle of the night—was he dreaming? Did he see a ghost? Things get even stranger when he shows up to school the next day to see the very same figure sitting in his classroom. No one else thinks itÂ’s weird, and, even though Kazu doesnÂ’t remember ever seeing her before, they all seem convinced that the ghost-girl Akari has been their friend for years!When KazuÂ’s summer project to learn about Kimyo Temple draws the meddling attention of his mysterious neighbor Ms. Minakami and his secretive new classmate Akari, Kazu soon learns that not everything is as it seems in his hometown. Kazu discovers that Kimyo Temple is linked to a long forgotten legend about bringing the dead to life, which could explain AkariÂ’s sudden appearance—is she a zombie or a ghost? Kazu and Akari join forces to find and protect the source of the temple“s power. An unfinished story in a magazine from AkariÂ’s youth might just hold the key to keeping Akari in the world of the living, and itÂ’s up to them to find the storyÂ’s ending and solve the mystery as the adults around them conspire to stop them from finding the truth.