A little Japanese woman who loves to laugh is making rice dumplings one day when one rolls off the table into a crack in the floor. As she bends down to get it a hole opens up in the earth and the woman falls through. Her search for her missing dumpling will lead her straight into the arms of the fearsome oni. How will the funny little woman ever escape?
This quirky Japanese folktale is illustrated in lush colors and with lots of subtle details. While the woman is trapped in the underground land of the oni a black and white illustration of her house endures the changing seasons. Blair Lent also uses color to show location. The funny little woman's house is yellow and brown; the path she follows down to the oni is brown, but as she gets closer to the oni's home it changes to green.
Along her adventures the funny little woman walks down a path lined with statues of the gods. This could be problematic but the gods are shown as powerless. They talk to the woman but can do nothing to save her from the oni. Instead it is her cheerfulness in the middle of adversity that ultimately gets this funny little woman out of trouble and safely back home.
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Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews here.
|
Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews
here.
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