Haiku on your shoe

the long version

Taka is new, from Japan. Jeremy tries to make friends with him, but Taka backs away. Then one wintery day, they discover that they speak the same language. In Haiku on Your Shoe, a Christian fiction book for young readers by Eileen M. Berry, a new boy named Taka moves to Jeremy's neighborhood from Japan. At first Jeremy is not successful in befriending Taka at school, but Jeremy's mother encourages him to keep trying. She likens Jeremy's efforts to the thawing of winter ice and assures him that Taka will eventually welcome his interest. As the friendship develops, Taka demonstrates the art of paper folding, and Jeremy learns how to write haiku, Japanese poetry. Instructions for two simple crafts are included at the end of the book. - Publisher.