Ten Oni Drummers

November 13, 2000
The oni in this combination bedtime story and counting book by the creators of Cool MelonsDTurn to Frogs! may keep readers awake more than it lulls them to sleep. "In dreams I gaze upon the sand,/ beneath the moonlight in Japan," opens the narrative, as a boy standing on a beach watches the first of the 10 ogre-like title characters emerge from the sand. Their lackluster activities (they raise flags, stoke a fire, eat from a large cooking pot) aren't likely to engage readers; even the more raucous activities (such as riding a raft and beating their drums) appear stagnant in the pictures. The rhyme and rhythm of Gollub's singsong verse intermittently falter. Stone's sometimes garish watercolor and colored pencil pictures depict the vividly colored oni as a potentially scary lot. Ironically, a full-spread rendering of the 10 wide-eyed, fanged drummers staring out from the page accompanies the words, "To me they're friendly, and what's more,/ they stand guard over slumber's shore./ When spooky dreams fill me with fright,/ they chase those dreams... into the night." The final spread imparts the volume's most valuable asset: a display of the Japanese kanji characters representing the numbers 1-10 and a demonstration of how to write each one. Ages 2-6.

November 1, 2002
K-Gr 4-In a reassuring rhyming story, 10 Japanese oni appear one by one on the beach. They bang drums, make noise, and increase in size, page by page. As they approach the house of a small boy, they chant loudly and count in Japanese. However, the little hero is not afraid of these colorful wild goblins, for they serve to chase away his spooky dreams and become small sand creatures again at daybreak. This is a humorous look at nighttime fears, a delightful counting book, and an appealing story poem. The verse is crisp and childlike. Stone's vibrant, expressive watercolor-and-pencil illustrations strike just the right balance between being scary and funny. They fill each page with action and color. Clear Japanese characters from 1 to 10 adorn the shirts of each one. The book concludes with a pronunciation guide, background notes, and a number chart. A delightful and unique offering to fill requests for bedtime and counting books.-Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2001
K-Gr 4-In a reassuring rhyming story, 10 Japanese oni appear one by one on the beach. They bang drums, make noise, and increase in size, page by page. As they approach the house of a small boy, they chant loudly and count in Japanese. However, the little hero is not afraid of these colorful wild goblins, for they serve to chase away his spooky dreams and become small sand creatures again at daybreak. This is a humorous look at nighttime fears, a delightful counting book, and an appealing story poem. The verse is crisp and childlike. Stone's vibrant, expressive watercolor-and-pencil illustrations strike just the right balance between being scary and funny. They fill each page with action and color. Clear Japanese characters from 1 to 10 adorn the shirts of each one. The book concludes with a pronunciation guide, background notes, and a number chart. A delightful and unique offering to fill requests for bedtime and counting books.-Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2001
In this counting book, a young boy tells how ten "oni, " ogres from Japanese folklore, chase away his bad dreams by playing drums. The rhyming text is uneven, and the illustrations are colorful but bland. Brief information on "oni", Japanese drums, and how to write the numbers one through ten in Japanese is appended.

(Copyright 2001 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)