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The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home, 1, by Konami Kanata, 2015, New York, NY: Vertical Comics. 480 pages. ISBN: 978-1942993162.
Series: Chi’s Sweet Home
Age/Interest Level: 7-12 years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: Impish newborn kitten Chi becomes lost from her family. She’s taken in by Yohei and his mother, but problems abound as their apartment complex does not allow pets.
Plot Summary: Chi, a newborn kitten, is taken for a walk one day by her family when she decides to roam around on her own. She soon becomes list, and is found by Yohei and his mother who wants to keep her but their apartment has a strict policy against pets. They giving her away but ultimately keep the kitten in secret. Chi struggles with life amongst a new family and combats feelings of wanting to return to her old family and wanting to train her new family.
Critical Evaluation: Chi is a lovable kitten, if sometimes a bit of a menace. The art style here really pushes the cuteness factor, particularly in the first few scenes of the series when Chi has become separated from her family and is feeling terrified. The large eyes almost look as if they are about to bawl through the experience. The story itself presents many complicated questions and readers are left to learn that there are often not easy solutions. Chi loves both her original family and the new family, so should stay or find her original family? The emotional complexity of issues is lightened by Chi’s antics, though this is still a work better suited for older readers looking to expand into manga territory.
Why Included: Manga is currently highly popular and this is one which does not include violence and other issues which parents might find objectionable. It is a rich world for readers that presents a lot of complicated questions for readers to ponder, but in a way that is palatable.
Series: Chi’s Sweet Home
Age/Interest Level: 7-12 years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: Impish newborn kitten Chi becomes lost from her family. She’s taken in by Yohei and his mother, but problems abound as their apartment complex does not allow pets.
Plot Summary: Chi, a newborn kitten, is taken for a walk one day by her family when she decides to roam around on her own. She soon becomes list, and is found by Yohei and his mother who wants to keep her but their apartment has a strict policy against pets. They giving her away but ultimately keep the kitten in secret. Chi struggles with life amongst a new family and combats feelings of wanting to return to her old family and wanting to train her new family.
Critical Evaluation: Chi is a lovable kitten, if sometimes a bit of a menace. The art style here really pushes the cuteness factor, particularly in the first few scenes of the series when Chi has become separated from her family and is feeling terrified. The large eyes almost look as if they are about to bawl through the experience. The story itself presents many complicated questions and readers are left to learn that there are often not easy solutions. Chi loves both her original family and the new family, so should stay or find her original family? The emotional complexity of issues is lightened by Chi’s antics, though this is still a work better suited for older readers looking to expand into manga territory.
Why Included: Manga is currently highly popular and this is one which does not include violence and other issues which parents might find objectionable. It is a rich world for readers that presents a lot of complicated questions for readers to ponder, but in a way that is palatable.