Kondo & Kezumi Visit Giant Island (Kondo & Kezumi #1)
by David Goodner (Author) Andrea Tsurumi (Illustrator)
In this colorful and fun adventure, best friends Kondo and Kezumi find a map that leads to the wonders of the unknown, perfect for fans of Ivy & Bean and Mercy Watson.
Kondo is big. Kezumi is little. They lived on an island with fruit trees and berry bushes and flitter-birds and fluffle-bunnies. When a surprise bottle washes ashore, they discover a map with a mysterious message: WE ARE NOT ALONE. Kezumi wants to follow the map and explore the world. Kondo wants to stay home and pick fruit from the fruit tree and berries from the berry bushes. But once Kezumi builds the perfect boat, the best friends set sail together to see . . . well, they don't know! So begin the adventures of Kondo and Kezumi, where islands of cheese and giant mountains await.
Rising stars David Goodner and Andrea Tsurumi team up for this illustrated chapter book series filled with charming quirks and unexpected discoveries. Get ready to set foot on uncharted territory with classic themes of friendship, community, and exploration.
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School Library Journal
Gr 1-3 - Best friends Kondo and Kezumi, who live on an island, differ in many ways. Kondo is big and cautious. Kezumi is small and adventurous. When they find a bottle with a map inside, Kezumi wants to build a boat and embark on an adventure. Faithful Kondo is scared but willing to go with his friend. They encounter sea jumpers, islands made of cheese and lava, and eventually a giant anthropomorphized volcano named Albert. As Kondo and Kezumi grow homesick, Albert claims their boat blew away. After Albert confesses he caused the wind, Kondo and Kezumi build another boat and promise to come back to visit their new friend. In the spirit of an animated cartoon, lively color illustrations depict this story of friendship and adventure. VERDICT Recommended for readers who are transitioning to chapter books and who are fans of animated adventure television shows.
Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Publishers Weekly
After she finds an intriguing map in a bottle, adventurous Kezumi-a small orange island dweller-persuades her much warier and larger companion, yellow Kondo, to build a boat and explore. One of the islands they find is made of cheese, another is dark and frightening, and the third is the home of a friendly volcano named Albert, whose loneliness requires deft handling. (When they discover that they can’t leave the island because their boat has disappeared, Kezumi suspects Albert: "IT DID BLOW AWAY... BECAUSE I BLEW IT AWAY," the landmass confesses.) In prose that’s both simple and dynamic, Goodner offers a realistic sequence about boat building: "They had to make it float. Then they had to make it sail. Then they had to make it turn." Food-gathering and other foraging scenes add fascinating survival elements, and smooth, polished artwork by Tsurumi features monster-esque characters with expressive faces as well as luxuriant flora and fauna. The personal relationships, various environments, and building projects provide multiple points of engagement to keep new readers motivated. Ages 6-8.
Copyright 2019 Publisher’s Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
ALA/Booklist
The action transpires over 10 brief chapters, with short sentences and plenty of dialogue to support newly independent readers ready to adventure into longer books.
Review quotes
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
