Ten Oni Drummers

In this playful, rhyming story, young children find reassurance and comfort for their fears when scary dreams come their way. Through art and story, children also learn about Japanese taiko drumming and the Japanese words and characters for the numbers one to ten.

At dusk, on a beach in Japan, a young boy falls asleep and begins to dream, but soon he has company--a tiny oni, creeping up from the sand. Throughout the night, one by one, more oni appear, until there are ten in all, and they grow bigger, too. They begin beating their taiko drums, louder and louder. They play games, have a big meal, and eventually chase away the boy's scary dreams.

With bright watercolor paintings, Stone draws on the folk culture of her native Japan to portray the monsters as both frightening and funny. A delightful read-aloud that's part counting exercise and part bedtime story!

Matthew Gollub is a multi-talented children's book author and speaker. He has produced more than twenty picture books, including his award-winning Jazz Fly series with audio. A dynamic drummer and bilingual (English / Spanish) presenter, he has also performed at over 1,000 elementary schools, across the US and abroad, inspiring students and families to read for fun. He lives with his family in Northern California. Visit him online at matthewgollub.com.

Kazuko G. Stone was born in Tokyo, Japan, and immigrated to the United States in 1974. She lived in New York City for nearly 50 years and wrote and illustrated more than 30 children's books during that time. Her books have been published in six languages and distributed all over the world. Cool Melons Turn to Frogs, a book of haiku that Kazuko illustrated, won numerous awards and distinctions including two starred reviews and an American Library Association Notable Children's Book. She passed away in 2022. You can learn more about Kazuko at kazukogstone.com.