Sumo Mouse - Hardcover

Wisniewski, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0811834921 ISBN 13: 9780811834926

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2002

Synopsis

"Grrr!" growl the cats. "Eeek!" squeak the mice. So it goes in the battle between cat and mouse. But when feline crime hits Tokyo, an unlikely hero strikes back. He's not lean and mean. He's round and profound. He's Sumo Mouse! And he's ready to wrestle all wrongdoers. But can this champion of justice squash the sinister schemes of Dr. Claw? Or will evil pin Sumo Mouse to the mat? Caldecott-winning illustrator David Wisniewski has wrestled brightly colored papers into fun, comic book-inspired collages for this action-packed mouse tale.

About this title

About the Author

David Wisniewski was an artist who worked as a clown and shadow puppeteer before turning to cut paper illustration and children's books. He died on September 11, 2002. He was 49 and lived in Maryland. His many children's books include The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups, Tough Cookie, and Golem, which won the 1997 Caldecott Medal.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 3-The artwork for this tale set in Tokyo is done in Wisniewski's usual paper-cutting technique, but without the intricate layers and depth of his earlier work, such as The Golem (Clarion, 1996). The larger, simpler outlines, however, fit the comic-book layout and approach to this story, as do the eye-popping shades of yellow, purple, and orange. Sumo Mouse is a superhero with a secret identity-an updated version of Superman with an Asian twist. The evil cats, Tiger Tanaka and Dr. Claw, plan to unmask him so they can continue to make squeaky toys with live mice. In a case of mistaken identity, they plan to attack the famous sumo wrestler Gachinko to prove that he is the one who has been foiling their plans. Although they are stopped dead in their tracks by the wrestling tactics of the real Sumo Mouse and never learn his identity, clever readers will soon spot the true hero in the tiny, mild-mannered barber who gives wrestling tips to the stars. Although some of the details in the pictures may be a bit small for group viewing, the nonstop action, large-scale figures, unusual angles, and varied sound effects ("swoosh," "crunch," "kaboom," "eek") will make for dramatic reading and invite group participation.
Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book's endpapers trumpet a corny musical theme, performed by a parade of grinning mice: "If Mount Fuji blows its stack,/ If a monster should attack,/ Don't just hide inside your house!/ Give a call for Sumo Mouse!" The superhero jingle sets the mood for a mock-dramatic story about a "chubby champion of justice," an enormous purple mouse with a topknot and yellow trunks. Sumo Mouse makes his home in Tokyo, where smaller, skinnier mice are being abducted. He knows that a cat mafia runs the mousenapping ring, to keep Tanaka Toys in business. "We can't make squeaky toys without squeaky mice," growls the cats' leader. Meanwhile, down at the wrestling arena, Sumo Mouse turns out to be not a real sumo champion or rikishi, but a scrawny barber named Yama who "trained to be a rikishi like his forefathers. He mastered every thrust and throw, but never grew in body." When his friends are threatened by the cats' diabolical invention, none other than a sumo-wrestling robot mouse, Yama climbs into his fleshy Sumo Mouse exoskeleton and leaps into battle. The late Wisniewski (Tough Cookie) takes his cues from monster cinema and comics. His high-anxiety plot is so loose that it threatens to disintegrate, but his multi-paneled spreads and signature cut-paper illustrations are layered with explosive activity. And he sustains the Iron Chef-style hilarity as Sumo Mouse saves the day. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

PreS-Gr. 3. In his banana-yellow loincloth, topknot, and goggles, enormous grape-colored Sumo Mouse is an unlikely super hero. But when thousands of mice are kidnapped in Tokyo, it's this "chubby champion of justice" who saves the day. The late Wisniewski draws from comic books and Asian cinema in a rowdy action spoof featuring his expert paper-cut illustrations. The plot has as many holes as, well, Swiss cheese: the kidnappers turn out to be evil toy manufacturers who "can't make squeaky toys without squeaky mice," and their quest to expose and destroy Sumo Mouse at a tournament makes up much of the disjointed story. What works here is the body-slamming action and comedy that explode off the pages as well as the underdog appeal of Sumo Mouse, who is revealed to be a scrawny barber named Yama. Even without much story to hang on to, children will connect with Sumo Mouse's triumph over evil, and they'll delight in the slapstick antics of the brawny, sumo-wrestling rodents. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0811834921
• ISBN 13: 9780811834926
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32