The Funny Little Woman is one of those books I remember from my childhood that I had to track down with only this description: "You know, that one with the dumpling...and the mud?"Since this was pre-internet, I was the bane of the bookstore clerks. Technically, I was the bane of myself, but that's a different story.
This book, too, was a Caldecott winner...but unlike In the Night Kitchen, this one makes me think that the Caldecott jury members might not actually be illiterate.
It's a good book, I like reading it to Miss, and I love hearing her talk about "the wicked oni". But that's not why I'm putting it on The Wednesday Bookshelf.
No, I'm telling you about it because I want Miss to tell you about it. Here goes:
"In Japan, there was an old woman. She wore a pot on her head and cried. And then she went fast fast fast after the dumpling. The end."
No joke. Now you have to read the book, just to see which parts of her version are true.
This was a buyer, for me, because of questionable nostalgia. It might just be a library pick for everyone else, but it's definitely one you should at least crack open once, however you get your hands on it.
