BOOK REVIEW: Lily Takes a Walk by Satoshi Kitamura

BOOK REVIEW: Lily Takes a Walk by Satoshi Kitamura

Scallywag Press
September 2021
Hardcover, $22.99
Reviewed by Steph O’Connell

Children’s Picture Books / Modern Reprinting

55% Rocking

When Lily takes a walk with her dog, Nicky, she notices many lovely things. But poor Nicky only sees monsters lurking at every turn… 

A charming book for children who want to be a little scared. Monsters large and small pop up at every turn as Lily takes a walk with her dog, Nicky. But Lily isn’t afraid; she has Nicky to protect her. Full-color illustrations.

 

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Apparently this is a reissue of a 1980’s picture book classic, which probably goes some way to explaining why this comes across as a rather simplistic story, the words don’t really give away what is going on, so you have to look closely at the pictures.

Kids are bound to have some fun spotting the various faces and shapes and hidden monsters as they work their way through the book.

It’s full of cute illustrations of Lily making her way through the streets with a happy-go-lucky mindset, while her poor dog, Nicky, sees monsters EVERYWHERE.

But there is something that just misses the mark a little in this reviewer’s opinion.

Is this meant to make kids look closer at the situations around them, meant to highlight how different people (and beings) see different things, or is the poor dog just overly neurotic and fearful of everything?

A cute little book, it just seems to be really lacking a resolution, clear meaning, or proper twist to put the whole book into perspective… but at least it’s likely to encourage discussions with younger readers, about how we all see the world differently, and how maybe the difference between the experiences of Lily and Nicky on the same walk, seeing the same sights, explains why dogs are so constantly on high-alert?

Category: Book Reviews