Chirri & Chirra On the town

PreS-Gr 1--Doi brings back the bobbed-hair twins introduced in Chirri & Chirra, The Snowy Day and other titles. Here, the pair ride their bikes to purchase yarn, and travel to a weaver who quickly creates decorative scarves for them as they sip hot drinks. Leaving, they hear "Chiri-Chirira" and think someone's calling them. The girls bike again, but stop at a "beautiful house" where a granny invites them in for snacks. They hear the call again, and follow the sound to discover a bluebird couple celebrating their trio of newborns with a bevy of colorful birds. VERDICT This cozy tale is as soothing as the soft crayon-and-pastel illustrations. Best shared one-on-one to pore over the delicately detailed images.--Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

"Dring-dring, dring-dring!" Chirri and Chirra's bicycle bells summon readers on another serene adventure.This fifth book about the imperturbable bicycle-riding youngsters is something of a departure for the Japanese series, taking them into the human landscape of a nearby town instead of a tiny, fantastical one in surrounding nature. But that doesn't make it any less adorable. A shop of yarn and thread "in every color!" offers the same visually detailed satisfaction as did earlier outings to a moles' peanut farm (Chirri Chirra Underground, 2019) or a bumblebees' kitchen (Chirri Chirra in the Tall Grass, 2017). The children each pick two balls of yarn and bicycle to a weaver's, where they fall asleep as their yarn is woven into scarves. Following the faint sound of their names, they bicycle to "a beautiful house," where they are welcomed in for soup. Lest children fear that the wee adventurers have become terribly prosaic, in the house's garden they find parent birds who welcome them to a party celebrating their new babies. There is no danger in Chirri and Chirra's worldjust welcome and delight. Doi employs her characteristic smudgy style, rounded, flowing shapes surrounded by soft borders of white that reinforce the cozy feel. Most shops' signs display Japanese characters, but the town's denizens exhibit a variety of racial presentations; the protagonists have pale skin, rosy cheeks, black pageboys, and blue dot eyes.Darling. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.