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GON, THE LITTLE FOX

Name: GON, THE LITTLE FOX
Author: Nankichi Niimi
ISBN: 978-1-940842-03-5

by Nankichi Niimi ; illustrated by Genjirou Mita ; translated by Mariko Shii Gharbi ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2015

The startling and violent ending may make it difficult to find an audience, but it is a valuable introduction to a...

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An animal tale from the “Hans Christian Andersen of Japan” is now published in an English edition.

A lot of information about Japanese culture and custom is imparted in the course of this telling, which may appear rather strange to American eyes and ears. Gon is a fox who makes mischief. He empties the fishing basket of Hyoju and bites the head off the eel Hyoju had caught. Later, he finds the villagers making preparations for an event and discovers it is a funeral for Hyoju’s mother. Gon the fox thinks she must have desired the eel on her deathbed, so he resolves to make it up to Hyoju. Unfortunately, he does so by stealing sardines and gathering chestnuts and mushrooms and leaving them for Hyoju. The sardine seller gets angry with Hyoju, thinking he stole the fish, and a friend tells him the chestnuts and mushrooms must have come from God. Angered that Hyoju thanks God instead of him, Gon sneaks back to Hyoju’s house, where Hyoju recognizes him as the eel thief and shoots him. The story ends there. The sounds and sights of the natural world—bird song, water glistening on grass, the temple gong, a clover stuck to Hyoju’s cheek “as if it were a large mole”—form the texture of the tale. Mita’s beautiful and delicate original watercolors offer readers’ eyes large and lovely resting places as they make their ways through this long tale.

The startling and violent ending may make it difficult to find an audience, but it is a valuable introduction to a non-Western storytelling aesthetic. (Picture book. 7-10)

Pub Date: May 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-940842-03-5

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Museyon

Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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CODY HARMON, KING OF PETS

From the Franklin School Friends series

by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Rob Shepperson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016

Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.

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When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.

As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?

Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)

Pub Date: June 14, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Claudia Mills

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by Claudia Mills

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by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Grace Zong

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ACOUSTIC ROOSTER AND HIS BARNYARD BAND

by Kwame Alexander & illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011

Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...

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Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.

Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.