Yotsuba&!

Vols 7 and 8
by Kiyohiko Azuma

More fun: Yotsuba plays 'telephone' using plastic cups and string, with the girls nextdoor (inspiring me to do this with my youngest, who'd never seen such a thing). She goes bike riding with Ena and her friend- is amazed to see Miura's unicycle. Thinks Miura must be a princess because the apartment building she lives in is so huge -like a castle! (doesn't realize that many families live there). She's shocked to find out that Fuuka is going to bake a cake (thinks they only come from bakeries) and then disappointed how it turns out. Goes on an errand to buy lunch for herself and dad at the convenience store- but comes home with candy instead of his noodles. It's actually funny how that happened. She goes to visit a ranch with her dad and the gang- Yanda invites himself along- the other guys seem just annoyed at his presence but Yotsuba is incensed. And of course he teases her the whole time. The guys squabble like little kids. Yotsuba gets to milk a cow, annd punches a sheep- because it butted her first!

Volume throws you off at first- because Yotsuba decides to 'play opposites' where she says "I'm full!" for being hungry and so on. Ends up yelling "yucky!" in the middle of a restaurant, to the embarassment of the adults accompanying her. It's funny to me that she insists on using a knife and fork because it's "a fancy meal" and her dad says um, why don't you use something easier like chopsticks? But for us it would be the opposite! She goes with her dad to a cultural day at Fuuka's school- once again disappointed by the cake. It's touching to see how the girls scramble to find a way to please her- they really care about her, or just don't want to see her cry! There's a typhoon. Yotsuba thinks the powerful rain and wind is awesome, and wants to play out in it, not realizing the danger. Jumbo stays with her when her dad has to be away for work, and Yotsuba is upset when Yanda drops by- but the trouble he causes ends in good fun. There's a religious festival in town where the children help pull a dashi to the shrine- Yotsuba takes part with enthusiasm, but it seems only because she's promised candy in the end. Miura has a part to play in the festival where she dresses up in traditional finery, cementing Yotsuba's assumption that her friend is really a princess.

Two things at the end really made me laugh, because I can relate. Yotsuba sees a man at the festival wearing a traditional japanese loincloth- and thinks it's hilarious that "you can totally see his butt!" Later she's out to do shopping with her dad and gets completely sidetracked when they go through a park with oak trees- obsessed with picking up all the acorns she can find. This. My six-year-old.

Rating: 3/5      208 and 224 pages respectively, 2007