Chu's Day
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4.2 • 11 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times bestselling picture book from Newbery Medal–winning author Neil Gaiman and acclaimed illustrator Adam Rex!
Chu is a little panda with a big sneeze. When Chu sneezes, bad things happen. But as Chu and his parents visit the library, the diner, and the circus, will anyone hear Chu when he starts to feel a familiar tickle in his nose?
Chu's Day is a story that reflects upon how young children aren't always listened to…sometimes to calamitous effect.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
No wolves in the walls or button-eyed parents in this story about a baby panda named Chu. Yet Gaiman builds suspense from the enigmatic opening sentence ("When Chu sneezed, bad things happened"), which frames a portrait of the roly-poly protagonist, decked out in a striped T-shirt, aviator cap, and goggles. Gaiman maximizes anxiety by having Chu visit a tranquil library ("There was old-book-dust in the air") and a crowded diner ("There was a lot of pepper in the air"). Twice, Chu's anxious parents ask, "Are you going to sneeze?" and itchy-nosed Chu snapping his goggles over his eyes in preparation does not follow through. That evening, under a big top whose performing animals echo the menagerie in Rex's Tree Ring Circus, Chu cannot resist, and his true power is revealed. Gaiman's comic timing gets a boost from strategic book design and from Rex's hyperreal paintings, which emphasize Chu's round, fuzzy form and apparent harmlessness. Gaiman and Rex deliver a classic one-two-three punch, making hay from the notion that a cuddly baby panda is not to be trusted. Ages 4 8.
