FICTION

A Good Home for Max

by Junzo TERADA
illus. by Junzo Terada. 40p. Chronicle. Sept. 2014. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781452127026. LC 2013044355.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—Tabi, a mouse, lives in a shop. At night, he cleans the shelves and arranges the toys so people can find them. He is concerned that Max the Dog has never found a home, so he tries everything he can think of to make customers notice him. Terada brings a unique quality to his illustrations. Each page looks as if the artwork has been designed on brown paper bags. The yellowish-brown hue gives the story an old-fashioned feel. Items displayed on the shelves are labeled in French (lait for the bottles of milk or confiture marmalade for jam). However, this book has been translated from Japanese, and the conclusion is confusing. It is not clear just how Max found a home, but he is smiling on the final page. Pass on this friendship title. There is a slim chance for rereadings.—Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
After the shop closes at night, Tabi, a little mouse, wakes up to make sure the toys are ready to be sold the next day. He tries everything to help his best friend Max, a frowning stuffed dog, find a home, but no one wants him. Both the text and the pattern-filled illustrations have an old-fashioned feel in this quiet story of friendship.
Reviewed by Blair Christolon , Aug 01, 2014

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