Everyone loves adorable pandas. Everyone loves the weirdly brilliant Neil Gaiman. And everyone, if they don't already, should love Adam Rex. Which leads me to predict that everyone (including their uncles) will love "Chu's Day," written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Adam Rex.
"When Chu sneezed, bad things happened." So begins the story of Chu, the adorable aviator helmet-wearing baby panda. He starts his day out at the library (as everyone should) and almost sneezes. He has lunch at a diner with his dad and almost sneezes. To round out this most excellent of days, Chu's parents take him to see the circus. With all the dust and commotion, Chu finally sneezes, and it's like a nuclear bomb went off all over town. As his parents tuck him into bed that night, he finishes the day with these wise words, "Yup, said Chu. That was a sneeze all right. Goodnight."
Gaiman's picture book is a cute story, and the destructiveness of this tiny panda's sneeze will cause all young readers to giggle. But the real treasures are in the distinctive, boldly colored, whimsical pictures of animals doing all sorts of people-y things. Who wouldn't chuckle at a whale in a box-car diner, cooking up some lunch? This story is great for the pre-K and kindergarten crowd.
--Andrea W., H.Q.
P.S. For a special treat, watch Neil and Adam read the story together.
No comments:
Post a Comment