Mina's Matchbox : A tale of friendship and family secrets in 1970s Japan from the International Booker Prize nominated author

It also has an unusual occupant in Pochiko, a Pygmy hippopotamus who is the last survivor from a time when the extensive gardens housed a zoo. But it is Tomoko's growing friendship with her cousin Mina which has the most profound effect on her time with the family. As the two girls share confidences and enthusiasms, encounter heartache and have their eyes opened to the workings of the adult world, they build an enduring bond which will change both of them.