Xcitabelle and the Japanese Wisteria

The story

Xcitabelle gets excited about everything and lets the world know with her fiddle. On the first day of spring she takes Goblick to a magical wisteria wall, where a hidden door swings open.

She rushes through and finds herself under a giant wisteria tree in Japan. A caterpillar named Yoshi says she must find the mysterious voice that let her in, because it is her only way out.

The real place: Ashikaga Flower Park

Three things to tell your kid after the story.

1. 1Ashikaga Flower Park in Japan is famous for its Great Wisteria, a single tree more than 150 years old.
2. 2The Great Wisteria's branches are held up by a huge frame, so the flowers hang down like a giant purple umbrella.
3. 3Wisteria in Japan usually blooms from late April to early May, and the park lights up the flowers at night.

Next stop

EP 41 · Vienna, Austria

Goblick

Has terrible table manners.

EP 42 · Croatia

Pickyeata

Is a picky eater.