How Do You Live?

by Genzaburo Yoshino (Author)

How Do You Live?
Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade

Now in paperback with an introduction by Neil Gaiman: the classic Japanese coming-of-age story that has sold more than two million copies, inspired anime master Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited AwayThe Boy and the Heron), and become a New York Times bestseller. 

After the death of his father, fifteen-year-old Copper must confront inevitable and enormous change, including the aftermath of his own betrayal of his best friend. Between episodes of Copper’s emerging story, letters from his uncle share knowledge and offer advice on life’s big questions. Like his namesake Copernicus, Copper looks to the stars and uses his discoveries about the heavens, earth, and human nature to answer the question of how he will live.

First published in 1937 in Japan, Genzaburō Yoshino’s How Do You Live? has long been an important book for Academy Award-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki. Perfect for readers of philosophical fiction like The Alchemist and The Little PrinceHow Do You Live? serves as a thought-provoking guide for young readers as they grow up in a world both infinitely large and unimaginably small.

Select format:
Paperback
$9.99

Review quotes

A New York Times Bestseller
An Indie Bestseller
Genzaburo Yoshino
Genzaburō Yoshino (1899-1981) was a Japanese writer and publisher. In 1935, he became director of a collection of educational books for young people. When the acclaimed writer Yūzō Yamamoto was unable to complete a book on ethics as part of the series, Yoshino stepped in and wrote How Do You Live?. Since its debut as a novel and guide to philosophy for young people, How Do You Live? has sold more than two million copies, and been re-edited and republished more than eighty times to reflect the changing times and culture in Japan.

Bruno Navasky is a teacher and writer, whose work as a translator and editor includes Festival in My Heart: Poems by Japanese Children and Poem in Your Pocket for Young Poets, as well as translations published in The New York Times and The Paris Review. He was the founding editor of American Poet, the journal of the Academy of American Poets, where he now serves on the board of directors. He lives and works in New York City.

Neil Gaiman is the author of many bestsellers for readers of all ages, including Stardust, American Gods, Sandman, Anansi Boys, Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), The Graveyard Book (winner of the Newbery Medal), and Coraline. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781643753072
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Algonquin Young Readers
Publication date
September 20, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
JUV030020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Asia
JUV046000 - Juvenile Fiction | Visionary & Metaphysical
Library of Congress categories
History
Friendship
Death
Schools
Uncles
Japan
Diaries
Conduct of life
Historical fiction
Fathers
1926-1945

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