"Breathtaking silkscreenlike spreads created by the design collaborative Icinori (designers Mayumi Otero and Raphael Urwiller) are the book's big draw; the artists use vermilion, warm yellow, and blue for bold, stylized images that pay homage to visual images of postwar Japan." --Publishers Weekly
"You rarely find such a meticulous combination of stunning art and melodic text as located here. Adapted from a Japanese folktale, Issun Bôshi by Icinori is a stunner. Regardless of whether or not you collect fairy and folktales, you need this on your shelf. Stat. Issun Bôshi, I am happy to say, never disappoints. It skips, it hops, it dives, it sings. It entertains fully and leaves the reader wanting more. It does not, therefore, ever come across as anything but one of the finest folktale adaptations you've ever seen. High praise. Great book. Must buy." - School Library Journal
"...the lively text reads aloud well. There are few picture-book versions of this traditional tale, and children will enjoy the plucky hero and the vivid, eclectic illustrations." -Booklist
"The arrestingly unusual illustrations will draw creative audiences, and the smooth retelling of a tale rarely heard by American kids will enliven readaloud sessions and provide a counterpoint to tiny European folktale heroes." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January 2015