Kikuchi's Sushi

K-Gr 2—Fox offers to trade acorns for some of chef Kikuchi's appetizing sushi and ends up gaining both an appreciation for the cuisine as well as a new friend. The meandering story is told in first person by the unnamed fox who walks upright, speaks, and lives in a fully furnished den. Nonfiction paragraphs in smaller text enrich the story with information about Japanese food and culture. These paragraphs are sometimes hard to read when the dark text is set against the equally dark background. Only nigirizushi and rice balls are discussed, ignoring the many other varieties of sushi, such as the nori-wrapped maki that may be familiar to North American readers. Vocabulary is inconsistently defined: matsuri (festival) and koinobori (carp flag) are explained, but terms such as sashimi, palanquin, and blue-meat are not. Charming, colorful illustrations of the fox and Kikuchi include many traditional Japanese elements (cherry blossoms, traditional architecture, a village festival), and everyone is depicted in traditional Japanese clothing. While the back cover gives male pronouns for the fox, the front cover and internal illustrations show the fox in the traditionally feminine garb of a kimono and parasol. Miscellaneous facts at the back discuss two ethnic groups in Japan, the "northern" and "southern," a potentially misleading oversimplification that leaves out the Ainu and other ethnic minorities.