Good-Bye, Chunky Rice: 04/09/16

Good-Bye, Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson is a darker, edgier version of the same tale told in Ollie and Claire by Tiffany Strelitz Haber. It's the age old tale of best friends, one who is a homebody and one who has wanderlust. Their relationship is put to the ultimate test when the restless one decides to leave.

Here the one with wanderlust is a turtle named Chunky Rice. The homebody is a mouse named Dandel. Sometimes, though, the friend who stays behind comes to second guess the decision and wishes he'd gone along in the first place. So much of this story is the near misses as Dandel tries repeatedly to find Chunky Rice, while Chunky Rice tries to come to terms with his new life on the sea.

There are other characters and plots too, all themed around second guessing BIG decisions. Though it appears to be a simplistic book at first glance because of the cartoonish drawings, it really isn't. There's a lot going on and there's plenty to think about.

Four stars

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