TEN ONI DRUMMERS
by Mathew Gollub & illustrated by Kazuko G. Stone
Ten garishly hued creatures from Japanese folklore gather one by one on a beach for an exuberant drumfest in this bedtime-cum-counting-rhyme from the creators of Cool Melons—Turn to Frogs! (1998). Growing in size as well as number in Stone’s simply drawn seaside scenes, the oni caper about wildly. They are comic figures despite staring red eyes (only two each—unlike their cousins in Arlene Mosel’s Funny Little Woman, 1973), horns, and fangs, providing as much entertainment for readers as for the young narrator: “Ichi, ni, san, TUN-TUN! / One two three, around they run. . . .” After a night of chasing bad dreams away: “Then as daybreak lights the land, / they shrink and sink back in the sand.” Perfect fare for fans of wild rumpuses—with an afterword that includes background information on oni, taiko (Japanese drums), and charts for writing 1-10 in kanji script. (Picture book. 6-8)