I Won't Give Up My Rubber Band

[I Won't Give Up My Rubber Band], translated from the original Japanese, captures the glorious imaginative play that ignites in the type of child who collects odds and ends and sees them as amazing. . . . Yoshitake's artwork is, as usual, minimalist and childishly simplistic. . . . The plot, spare though it is, includes sweet messaging about how treasure is personal, no matter one's age.

A message to savor, delivered with a light touch and contagious glee. 

All that glitters is not gold in a comedic picture book about childhood agency and small delights. Finding a humble rubber band next to a wastebasket, the eager child narrator asks their mother for it. Wish granted, the child's eyes grow wide with the thrill of solo ownership: "I have a rubber band! This is my rubber band!" Subsequent spreads envisage the possible adventures of child and elastic, in the present day (baths, co-sleeping), in the future (gathering hair and love letters), and in more speculative scenarios (capturing baddies, saving the world). These plans lead to musings about others' attachments, then reasoning about how "everyone always seems to be looking for something." Throughout, dot-eyed characters, portrayed with paper-white skin and brown-toned hair, interact with various objects, and one spread offers a visual accounting of pocket-size treasures: key chains and toys, a tuning fork and an acorn. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder in this gently philosophical love letter to the quotidian, but Yoshitake (I Can Be Anything) cleverly elevates the simple joy of having "something that's just mine." Final art not seen by PW. Ages 3-5. (May)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 1--A small child of no obvious gender finds a rubber band and claims it a treasure. With their rubber band they imagine all sorts of adventures they will have and all of the uses for the band, from normal hair tie to saving the world. The text is very spare, standing out clearly from the illustrations, with basic and repetitive vocabulary employed. Complementing the text and in service to the story are Yoshitake's illustrations, which show off the adorable and zany antics of the child in bright colors and accessible images. These convey the inner world of the child as well as some particularly hilarious facial expressions. Overall, Yoshitake has created a story that takes readers into that dynamic chaos of a child's mind, and all with a simple rubber band. VERDICT A winsome read-aloud that shows the expanse of a child's imagination, this is not an essential purchase but it is certainly an endearing one.--Margaret Kennelly

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.