ΣούμοΚίτι

by David Biedrzycki, Giōta Livanē (Translator)

A hungry cat gets a job hunting mice at a sumo training center (heya), but once the mice are gone he continues to stuff himself until he is too fat to chase the mice that have returned--so he decides to train with the sumo wrestlers, and SumoKitty becomes a scourge of mice and an inspiration to the wrestlers.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Animals, Childrens, Sports, Humor, Japan

First published August 13, 2019

About the author

In his early years David created stories for his parents and friends. A commercial artist since 1980, his work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, book covers, billboards and even ice cream boxes. The supermarket is like a gallery of his work.

Now he has now returned to his first love of picture book storytelling. He has illustrated close to 30 books including self-authored and award winning Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective series, Me and My Dragon series and his newest series Breaking News Bear Alert, a Junior Library Guild Selection and winner of book the Illinois Monarch Picture Book Award and the Georgia State Picture Book Award. David travels the world extensively to over 100 schools a year sharing his digital book making process with aspiring young writers, illustrators and readers.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aug 26, 9am ~~ This book is adorable. I had ordered it on a whim when I was at my favorite online used bookseller getting a start on building a library of titles about sumo.

I knew this wasn't quite the type of reference book I was looking for, but the cover was so cute and the story idea was clever, so into the cart it went. I just had to see for myself how this stray cat found his perfect place in life!

I read it late last night and enjoyed every page. The artwork is beautiful, with lots of little details to discover, and the story is simple yet profound, as well as a lot of fun.

When I looked at the author's GR profile this morning I saw that he wrote a sequel called Sumo Puppy. Looks like I have a little more shopping to do!

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the right ratio of educational info and fun.

Learned about sumo wrestling, tied our tongues with some Japanese words and watched a kitty become a sumo wrestler.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SO ADORABLE!!! The artwork is GORGEOUS, the narrator is a CAT and the story is simple, yet poignant. 5, absolutely purr-fect, stars! Highly recommended to all!

[Moonkiszt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Hilarious! Delightful! SumoKitty is not to be missed! Hands down one of the favorites of the month. . .they would listen to this one and pour over the pages over and over! They were even chatting amongst themselves about him being purrfect for a Netflix movie! I agree. . .SumoKitty is at least as interesting as Pete, for sure!

If the Kitty doesn't intrigue you, the Sumo wrestlers might, and the art work which rises up and out of each page, beautiful scenes and colors of Japan-ish settings. My guys were wondering if they could talk their families into noodles and break out their chopsticks to use at the dinner hour. Now that's a successful read!

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stray kitty, looking for some food and longing for a home, finds a way to make himself useful at the heya, or training center for sumo wrestlers. But when his plentiful diet makes him a little chubby, and he can no longer catch the mice, out he goes again. Fortunately for our rotund feline, his special sumo friend Kuma lets him in again, and this kitty cat begins to train, eventually getting fit enough to restore his honor as a mouser. Kuma meanwhile, inspired by SumoKitty, manages to beat the reigning sumo champion, and become yokozuna himself...

SumoKitty is my first picture-book from author/illustrator David Biedrzycki, whose illustrative style reminds me a bit of Rob Scotton, the British creator of Splat the Cat. By turns poignant and humorous, the entertaining narrative here is paired with colorful and cute artwork that perfectly captures the spirit of the story. I particularly liked the droll expressions on both kitty and sumo wrestlers throughout. I also appreciated the use of various sumo terms, and that they were defined on the page, rather than at the back. Entertaining, amusing, and educational, this is a picture-book I would recommend, both to young cat lovers, as well as to any child interested in sumo wrestling.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sumo wrestling isn't a common topic for a picture book (at least, I haven't seen very many that incorporate the sport into the story). SumoKitty is about a cat who lives with some sumo wrestlers in exchange for keeping the mice at bay. But soon, weighed down by too much good food, he starts to lose his edge. And then he loses his job. He must persevere and try hard to win back his place... all while being inspired by his much larger human friend.

The message is lovely and the illustrations are adorable. Sumo terms are sprinkled throughout (along with pronunciations) so readers will also learn a bit about the sumo way of life as the story progresses.

Cat lovers will probably appreciate this one, but it's a nice choice for anyone looking for books about never giving up, as well as books set in Japan that focus on sumo wrestling.

Quotable moment:

[Jan Polep · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with the pronunciation of some of the Japanese words but oh my goodness, SumoKitty is so much fun to look at. This cat lives with Sumo wrestlers and has the job of catching mice in exchange for food and lodging. Let's just say he puts on a few pounds and I'll let you discover the rest of the plot. Fun one.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the art of sumo wrestling, told through the eyes of a cat. The author's artwork is stunning.





A treat for sports, AND cat fanciers.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pretty good read about a cat who catches mice at the sumo wrestlers dojo and becomes a sumo kitty. Be sure to check this book at your local library and wherever books and ebooks are sold.

[Woody Chichester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustration frames this fantastic tale of a stray cat who earns his keep (and plenty of tasty food) at the Sumo's heya as a mousecatcher. Eventually, the mice outsmart him and he needs to learn the ways of the Sumo if he wants to stay. Educational and fun story. I loved the cats expression in so many pictures.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the illustrations. I like seeing the translations of the Japanese words on most pages. I learned a few things about sumo wrestlers. Very interesting. Sumokitty is a cute, funny kitty with understandable challenges. I will look for more books by David Biedrzycki.

[Georgette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a raffle. I was delighted to read it, because the fat sumokitty does resemble my Sasha. It is an adorable and funny book and the illustrations are great!

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute and funny story of a stray cat that endears itself to a sumo wrestler and learns life lessons in the process. I enjoyed how Japanese proverbs were included, as well as vocabulary surrounding sumo wrestling with pronunciation guides. The illustrations were wonderfully done.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

He was just a hungry kitty looking for food when he met up with the sumo wrestlers. He'd sneak in and eat their leftovers after they finished their meals each day. Kitty was soon offered a job at the heya (training center) and he doesn't have to sneak around the heya any longer.

Kitty was good at his new job, actually he was very good and it began to have a negative effect on Kitty's appearance. It got to the point where it started to affect Kitty's job but he just couldn't do anything about it. Or could he? He's had an ideal opportunuty right in front of him this whole time yet he hadn't realised it until now. It might take some hard work and lots of disapline but within Kitty there lives a SumoKitty.

I learned a lot about sumo wrestling while reading this book, which was interesing and included more specific words than I realized. This story had some humorous moments which the ilustrations do an excellent job emphasizing. This was an entertaining read and I thought there were some great messages in the book.. The illustrations were fun and they definitely added to this story. 4.5 stars

[Lakynn Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really fun and interesting! The idea of a sumo wrestling cat is very unique in my opinion. The main takeaway from this book was about the life lesson of never giving up and conquering whatever life mountain you need to get over. Specifically for this cat he gave up when life started to get hard, thus resulting in him getting kicked out of where he was staying. For him to come back he had to conquer his mountain and try again at what he originally failed at. It's a really powerful and encouraging book for children - to show them that they can't give up during hard times and that they must keep trying!

[Elizabeth Mellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! My daughter picked this one out, and it had a cute kitty, some lessons about sumo wrestling (with pronunciations, which was great because I know nothing about it) and perseverance. Kitty wants to find somewhere to live and earn his keep by ridding the house of mice, but soon the good life makes him too out of shape to continue and he takes a lesson from the sumo wrestlers and becomes the titular sumo kitty.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book way exceeded my expectations. I assumed it would be a silly story, but it was super informative about sumo wrestling. I walked away knowing way more than I ever thought about sumo!!

I also learned that the romanized version of Japanese is super pronounceable which I guess is the point! Anyway, kind of a long read (lots of pages) but a totally acceptable amount of words per page. The illustrations are lovely and the cat story was pretty cute!

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an unusual and fun combination--cats and sumo wrestling! Don't miss the introductory story and illustrations before the actual story. They beautifully introduce Japan and Japanese art and style to the reader.

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

This kitty is adorable, so adorable it hurts. I love the story and to think that there really is a sumo kitty that the sumo wrestlers kept in their heya, where they trained and lived. And the kitty was so skinny when he first showed up at the heya. Awww, this book will melt you.

[Mark's wife Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sumo AND kitties?!! What could be better?!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

My childhood of passively consuming pro wrestling made this book extra fun for me.

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of Japanese sayings and vocabulary, this book is funny. I got a good laugh from it.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fall down seven times, get up eight

[Addie]

Author read to audience at KU Lit Conference

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pip of a picture book! Funny, with laugh out loud illustrations. For readers who love sumo wrestling and cats.

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute children's book with great pictures. Enjoyable for everyone.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story will teach you about the art and practice of sumo wrestling, as well as illustrate the saying "fall seven times, get up eight." The illustrations are adorable.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fine. I appreciated the effort to incorporate Japanese words and pronunciations, although the story itself was just okay in my opinion.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sumo Kitty by David Biedrzycki, PICTURE BOOK. Charlesbridge, 2019. $18. 9781580896825

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A homeless kitty finds his way into a sumo wrestling training camp, but it's soon found he's sneaking food, thus is thrown out again. The appearance of mice saves the day because one of the wrestlers, Kuma, is afraid of mice. If this Kitty can take care of THAT problem, he's home, and fed! Unfortunately, he doesn't follow the tough workouts that the wrestlers do, becomes a bit heavy, without energy. Learning the ways of the training makes a big difference and I had to cheer SumoKitty on to his success.
Despite the fact this is really about a Kitty, readers can learn so much about Sumo wrestling from David Biedrzycki's story. Also, instead of a glossary, he adds small asides that explain some of the vocabulary. For example, "Yokozun" (yoh-koh-zoo-hah) means "grand champion" and "rikishi" (ree-kee-shee) means "wrestler". Biedrzycki's illustrations keep the action exciting as he follows both Kuma's story and that starving cat who finally becomes "SumoKitty". Pages before the title page offer some sayings to live by, ones readers will see played out within the story. If you need a boost, post these words where you can see them each day: "Fall down seven times, get up eight."