『青がやってきた』（読み物）をおすすめします。
青（ハル）は小学校５年生の男の子だが、父親が「ドリーム・サーカス」のマジシャン（ハルにいわせれば本物の魔法使い）で、サーカスが鹿児島、福岡、山口、大阪、千葉と興業先を転々とするたびに自分も転校し、行く先々でさまざまな子どもたちに出会う。勉強や容姿にコンプレックスをもつ子もいるし、給食の野菜が嫌いで食べられない子もいるし、かと思うと、自分のだといい張るおじいさんからサーカスの犬を取り返してくれる子もいる。宮城にいたときに津波で父親を失った子は、マジシャンの修業をしているなら、亡くなった父親をマジックでだしてくれとハルに迫る。多様な状況にいる５年生を描く短編集だが、ハルと出会ったのがきっかけで、どの子も最後には精神的な成長を見せる。一編ずつが短いなりにまとまっているので、読書慣れしていない子どもにも薦められる。
10歳から／転校 サーカス 不思議
Here Comes Haru!
This collection of short stories realistically portrays the daily lives, environments, and problems of elementary school fifth grade children in five regions of Japan. Haru, a circus boy who never spends much time in one school as his family is constantly on the move, plays a supporting role throughout the book. His father is a magician in the world-famous Dream Circus, and Haru makes new friends at every new school he attends. Mio, who lives in Kagoshima, is worried about being bad at studying, while Mai, who lives in Fukuoka, has a complex about her appearance and an awkward relationship with her best friend. In Yamaguchi, Haru catches straight A student Shu sneaking the vegetables from school lunch into a plastic bag to hide them, and in Osaka he asks Kazuki to help him get a circus dog back from the mean old man next door, while in Chiba Koki presses Haru to use magic to bring back his father who was swept away when the tsunami hit in Miyagi. The book ends with a conversation between Haru and his father in the car as the circus heads to its next location. The children Haru meets all grow psychologically, but is that because the eccentric new boy Haru placed a spell on them, or was it a natural result from having met him? The author leaves this point open to the reader’s imagination. Each of the stories ends on an upbeat note, making the reader feel positive, so it is recommended for children not generally fond of reading. (Sakuma)
- Text: Mahara, Mito | Illus. Tanaka, Hirotaka
- Kaiseisha
- 2017
- 214 pages
- 19×13
- ISBN 978-4-03-649050-9
- Age 10 +
School transfers, Circuses, Magic
（JBBY「おすすめ！日本の子どもの本2019」より）
