SumoKitty’s antics delight despite a muffed cultural detail.
A furry feline has sumo-sized aspirations in this Japan-set tale.
A stray black-and-white kitty with round emerald eyes watches a sumo match from afar and then follows a group of rikishi back to the heya, where the pickings are good. Caught by the manager of the training center, the feline narrator is offered a place to stay: “Kuma is afraid of mice. Can you get rid of them?” The arrangement hits a snag when the Kitty’s weight gain affects its efficiency as a mouser and it is turned out of the heya. Dejected, Kitty gives up until Kuma quietly offers encouragement: “The cat that does not cry catches the mouse.” Kuma and Kitty are shown in action side by side, showcasing their parallel use of sumo moves. Japanese terms are defined, with pronunciation guides, next to the text: “shiko (shee-koh): leg stomp.” While Kitty finds the strength to reclaim its place and is deemed SumoKitty, Kuma now must face his own fear of mice in order to overcome his biggest sumo opponent. Kitty’s straightforward narration is set against comically charming illustrations that evoke scenes from classic Japanese woodblock art. Extensive research is expressed in both the inclusion of Japanese terms and the detailed illustrations. However, the inclusion of the Indian spiritual practice of yoga as part of the rikishi’s training regimen seems unlikely given sumo’s own deeply traditional and spiritual nature.
SumoKitty’s antics delight despite a muffed cultural detail. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-58089-682-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.
Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?
Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316564526
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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