Hachiko Waits: Based on a True Story - Softcover

"Hachiko embodies all the best qualities of a dog. He is loyal, brave, gentle, and childlike. Based on a true story from Japan, this is a beautiful tribute to a historic dog." --Book Sense Pick of the List, Fall 2004

"Lesléa Newman has done an amazing thing. She has written a book that is both profoundly sad and hopeful at the same time. When the world needs such a story, Hachiko Waits shows us the very best in life: loyalty, devotion, our ability to love, to nurture, to care about someone other than ourselves--all taught by a beloved, intelligent and heroic dog. The voice and the art are authentically Japanese, though the heart of the book and its meanings cross all cultures. This book is for all ages. I love it." --Patricia MacLachlan, Newbery Award-winning author of Sarah, Plain and Tall

"This will be popular with dog lovers; consider having a packet of tissues on hand." --Booklist

Lesléa Newman is a poet, an animal lover, and the author of Runaway Dreidel!, Cats, Cats, Cats!, Daddy's Song, and other picture books. Her awards include the Parents' Choice Silver Medal and a Poetry Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She has a B.S. in education from the University of Vermont and a Certificate of Poetics from Naropa Institute, where she was Allen Ginsburg's apprentice. She has worked as a preschool teacher, secretary, waitress, freelance reporter, and sales clerk, and now teaches writing for children and young adults at Spalding University. She lives in western Massachusetts.

Machiyo Kodaira is a native of Tokyo, Japan, and a graduate of Parsons School of Design. Hachi's story was Ms. Kodaira's first book for young readers.