Sushi lovers young and old will find this book informative and delightful.
On the Japanese island of Hokkaido, a fox befriends a human sushi chef and discovers the secrets of making great sushi.
When Fox first meets Kikuchi, she offers the elderly chef acorns in exchange for sushi. Instead, Kikuchi asks Fox to find him “the most delicious spring water.” Fox brings him to the deep valley, where a spring offers “the sweetest and most refreshing water.” “Sushi,” says Kikuchi, “tastes best when made with fine rice and delicious water.” Fox is “delighted by the taste of sushi melting in [her] mouth.” The next evening, Fox visits Kikuchi again. This time, Fox finds wasabi. “Real sushi needs the stinging taste of the wasabi,” explains Kikuchi. After watching Kikuchi, Fox thinks making sushi is easy. However, Fox succeeds only in making a big mess. Then Kikuchi has an idea! “Fox, your hands are small, so why don’t you try making a rice ball instead of sushi?” Fox makes the perfect packed lunch—rice balls stuffed with apricot and pickled fish eggs. Accompanying side notes discuss the history of sushi as well as other Japanese traditions such as matsuri, or festivals. Kaleidoscopic illustrations bring the text alive; rendered in delicate strokes and vibrant colors, peonies dance across Fox’s kimono, fatty streaks on tuna glint in the light, and pink shrimp mimic real life.
Sushi lovers young and old will find this book informative and delightful. (geographical notes, glossary) (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-939248-17-6
Page Count: 38
Publisher: TanTan
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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