I loved this story.  It was heartwarming and had such a wonderful ending.

 

It starts with a young Japanese man who decides to travel to America.  He finds his way across America and ends up in Northern California.  For many years he calls this home.

 

Finally he feels the tug of his homeland and feels the need to return home to Japan.  There he marries his sweetheart and they move back to California and have a daughter.

 

When his daughter gets older, he again feels the tug of his homeland a journeys back home with his family.  He is thrilled to see the sights and sounds of Japan once again.

 

His daughter moves to a bigger city in Japan.  She gets married herself and has a son, the narrator.  He is taught many things by his grandfather and hears the tales of his adventures in America.

 

They plan a return trip, but it is interrupted by war.  The cities and the houses were destroyed.  The grandmother and grandfather return to the villiage where they were children.  Grandfather longs to see California one more time, but never makes the journey.

 

The boy decides to make the journey to the land his grandfather loved.  He stays and has a daughter of his own.  He learns the way his grandfather felt, having two homes he loved and longed for one while away in the other.

 

A touching story with beautiful illustrations.  This won the Caldecott Award in 1995.