Justin’s Japan: ‘You Look Yummy!’
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Shukan NY Seikatsu. Visit his Examiner.com Japanese culture page here for related stories.For parents of little ones not quite ready for Jurassic World comes You Look Yummy!, a children’s book by Tatsuya Miyanishi and newly published in English by Museyon.The story of a fearsome Tyrannosaurus (the star of 11 other bestselling titles written by the author) and the baby Ankylosaurus he grows attached to (the tot believes his “daddy†names him “Yummy†after he’s hatched), You Look Yummy! teaches valuable lessons about the bonds between a parent and child, and how those bonds can remain strong despite mistaken identity.
As “father†and “son†grow close, the Ankylosaurus mimics the T-Rex in ramming mountains, cutting down trees and roaring (complete with his own muted sound effects). When the day comes for them to part, readers will be touched by what unfolds.Children will be instantly attracted to Miyanishi’s illustrations. Throughout its pages, there are artistic touches like a white sky, coloring outside the edges to make the images pop, and hash marks for the dinos that serve as texture 101. Especially effective are scenes of a night sky jam-packed with stars and dotted with some exaggeratedly large ones (think Christmas tree). The result is something that feels like it could have been drawn by a child, but is secretly the work of a seasoned artist—after all, the Tyrannosaurus is a dead ringer for Godzilla.For more information, visit www.museyon.com.