(洋書を読んだ) The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman

This is a beautifully-illustrated picture book that I highly recommend to adults. Yes, it's a picture book, but a deeply moving one. I enjoyed reading it as much as, if not more than, my seven year-old. The book is about an elderly man recounting the stories of his life to his great granddaughter. The man keeps lots of matchboxes in his cigar box, and in each and every one of his matchboxes, he has a memento and a story to tell. He talks to her about his life before he immigrated to the United States from Italy, how they immigrated and life after landing in the United States.

Every one of his stories reminded me that I shouldn't take things for granted. And it made me feel grateful for being able to be with my children, being able to let both my son and daughter go to school and being able to eat meals every day. I'm glad I read this with my son and hopefully he realized how lucky we are.