Haiku Kaiju Ah-Choo!

September 15, 2024
Kaiju has sniffles. / Who will help the poor monster? / Maybe human friends! Even huge blue monsters aren't immune to colds, it seems. Waking up "feeling yucky and too hot" one morning and emitting a thunderous sneeze, Kaiju stomps off toward the nearest city in search of comfort, stepping carefully around the little cars and buildings while trying to ignore all the hovering helicopters. Fortunately, a Kaiju-speaking lad and his likewise olive-skinned scientist dad, who works at Kaiju Central, quickly diagnose the problem and order an army of robots to produce an outsize tissue, blanket, and bowl of soup--just the tickets to relieve the grateful giant's symptoms and send him back to his volcanic cave to snuggle down. McClements frames the entire narrative, including sneezes and wailing sirens, in conventional 5-7-5 haiku, which, rather than sounding forced or monotonous, actually offers lively, comical accompaniment to the cartoon illustrations by lending a rhythmic lilt to the telling. "Kaiju is back home. / Many adventures today-- / now it's time to rest." Fleeing humans, when large enough to tell, look racially diverse. Younger snifflers will / sympathize, and delight in / this read-aloud cinch!(Picture book. 5-9)

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September 16, 2024
In this comics-style tribute to two Japanese concepts and an onomatopoeic phrase, a blue kaiju wakes up feeling “yucky and too hot” in his dormant volcano home, and lets out a massive, tree-flattening sneeze. The all-haiku text draws laughs as the kaiju, who resembles an endearing cross between a stegosaurus and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, stomps into a city for help. (There, even a sign is written in haiku: “CONSTRUCTION WORKSITE/ BUILDING TO BE DEMOLISHED/ STAY AWAY FROM HERE.”) Everyone thinks the creature’s a menace, except for a child, touring his father’s office at Kaiju Central, who happens to be fluent in kaiju haiku: “This kaiju is sick—/ he’s not here to cause trouble./ He just needs our help.” The boy persuades his dad to train a robot squad not to attack but instead to deliver classic sick-kid comforts: soup, tissues, and a soft blanket. McClements (The Super Secret Adventure Club) kicks off this story with concise definitions of haiku kaiju, and ah-choo!, bringing readers on board right away and providing plenty of inspiration for making kaiju haiku of their own. Characters are portrayed with varying skin tones. Ages 4–8.