#365PictureBooks 13. Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Adam Rex

Gaiman, N. (2014). Chu's Day. London, UK: Bloomsbury.

ISBN: 978148828014
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 5 stars

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 Meet the little panda with a very big sneeze! 

Meet Chu.  A cute little panda with a sneezing problem.  When his mum takes him to the dusty library does he sneeze?  When his dad takes him to the diner with lots of pepper floating around does he sneeze?  What about when he goes to the circus with his family?  Will anyone listen to him when he tries to warn them he's going to sneeze? 


Gaiman has used short sentences, with just one sentence per page, that clearly describe Chu's day out.  He uses language that is appropriate to the intended audience and repetition making this a book young children will be easily able to follow along with.

I really like Neil Gaiman's work, but I think with this book, the star of the show is Adam Rex's illustrations - Sorry Neil :-)

Rex's illustrations are bold. They're bright.  And they are just darned gorgeous.  I especially like how he has made all the animals so realistic in appearance, even though they are wearing clothes.  I mean, what self-respecting creature would go out in public naked!?!?  And keep an eye on Chu's goggles - they are key to the story.  It took me a few readings to realise they aren't just to help him look cute. 

Not biased here, but I just love the library scene.  Check out the mice
on their teeny tiny computer screens!

Rex captures the readers interest in the way he uses two distinct styles of illustrating.  We have pages with a white background with only Chu or a specific scene displayed.  These really make you concentrate on what's important - like Chu and his dad walking into the diner.

Then you have other pages with so much detail you can spend simply ages just looking at all the different characters and what they are doing.  These full-page illustrations have either a white border around them, which keep your eye contained within the pages.  Almost as if telling you there is nothing else to 'imagine' about the scene.  Alternatively they take up the whole page.  This gives the illusion that the picture carries on, you just can't see it all.  Over-all I really love the mix of illustration styles.  It makes the book really interesting to read.

The final scenes when all the animals are getting blown around are fantastic.  The looks on their faces when they see the 'sneeze' coming (especially the turtle) and after it's over, are fabulous.  I can spend hours just looking at these four pages checking out the looks of shock on their faces.  And cute little Chu's 'oops' look sais it all!  



Chu is just the cutest little panda around, and I'm sure he will be a hit with young kids everywhere.  Children (and adults) will be able to relate to a topic that is about something they have all experienced - whether it is a delicate cat-sneeze, a 'just tricking' nearly-sneeze, or a whooping great Chu-sneeze.  This is definitely a great addition to our library!

I got my copy of Chu's Day from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy of Chu's Day as well as, Chu's first day at school, at Napier Libraries.