You Look Yummy!

Bestselling Japanese artist Miyanishi’s (Mr. Reaper) bold, woodcutlike spreads draw immediate attention. Strong black lines sizzle and swoop against the yellow and vermilion of his prehistoric landscape, which is studded with volcanoes and boulders. In contrast to his muscular artwork, Miyanishi’s writing tugs at the heartstrings as a newborn Ankylosaurus adopts a Tyrannosaurus Rex as his parent. “Heh heh heh... you look yummy!” Tyrannosaurus says to the baby dinosaur. After a page turn, a tight close-up shows the tiny Ankylosaurus clinging to one of Tyrannosaurus’ massive legs. “You just called my name, didn’t you?... You said, ‘You look Yummy!’ ” The Tyrannosaurus Rex soon finds himself tutoring “Yummy” in everything from ramming rocks with his head to thwacking trees with his tail (in return, he picks up a newfound appreciation for berries) before sacrificing his own happiness to deliver the baby to a proper home. Alas, a sometimes cloying translation (“Even more than the wound on his back, his heart ached throughout the night”) may prevent readers from embracing all that Miyanishi’s story has to offer. Ages 5–7. (Nov.)