Japanese Culture

Throne of Blood

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The greatest screen adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth is arguably Akira Kurosawa's visceral Throne of Blood (Kumonosu jô), starring Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada as the ambitious warrior and ruthless wife who try to murder their way to power and glory. Featuring some of the Japanese master's most unforgettable, hallucinatory imagery, and inspired by Noh theater as much as the classical source, this is Kurosawa at his atmospheric best.

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Grade Level: 
High
Length: 
01:49
Throne of Blood

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Unabridged)

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For 25 years, middle-grade readers have been moved by this telling of Sadako Sasaki's spirited battle with leukemia.

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Grade Level: 
Lexile: 
630L
Length: 
01:32
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Unabridged)

Magic Tree House #37: Dragon of the Red Dawn (Unabridged)

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Merlin the Magician will not eat or sleep or speak to anyone in Camelot. What can be done? The enchantress Morgan knows who to ask for help: young Jack and Annie of Frog Creek, Pennsylvania! The brother-and-sister team quickly head off in the magic tree house on another magical and historical adventure. Their mission: discover one of the four secrets of happiness.

Grade Level: 
Lexile: 
580L
Length: 
01:17
Magic Tree House #37: Dragon of the Red Dawn (Unabridged)

Grandfather's Journey

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Through compelling reminiscences of his grandfather's life in the United States and Japan, Allen Say poignantly recounts his family's journey to America.

Author: 
Grade Level: 
Primary
Length: 
0:10
Grandfather's Journey