Accident! by Andrea Tsurumi

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Andrea Tsurumi's debut picture book, Accident! is absolutely fantastic - both for the detailed, action-packed, adorable, animal filled illustrations AND the superb message at the end of the book. Every page of Accident! is a treat to read and pore over, her artistic style, color palette and skill at character creation is pure delight.
You can see the accident coming before the story starts and the suspense is exciting and (if you are an adult who ha tried to have stain-free furniture) excruciating. When Lola the armadillo spills juice on the nice, white comfy chair, she decides to hide out in the library until she is an adult. As she races to hide, she is joined by friends who have also been the cause of accidents.

As the friends try to escape the messes they have made, readers are treated to accidents happening all over town. Tsurumi has a superb sense of humor and it is a joy to pore over every single page of Accident! There is a bull in a china shop, a puffer fish baker who expands when a sheep lands in his cake, a narwhal pushing a baby in a stroller who pops the baby's balloon with her horn and many many more. Finally, a little, red bird tells Lola that she had an accident and now it's time to return make it better. When Lola finally returns home, the consequences aren't are dire as she feared. In fact, her parent even has an accident of his or her own in the final pages of the book, which rings so true for me. Yes, little kids are clumsy and careless and not as skilled as adults in every way, but, something I felt as a parent (and witnessed over years of working in the children's department of a bookstore with a cafe) is the truth that adults are almost as likely to be the ones doing the spilling and having the accidents as kids are! Thank you to Andrea Tsurimi and her stellar picture book debut Accident! for reminding us of this!

Source: Review Copy

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