“Chu’s Day” by Neil Gaiman: Nothing to sneeze at
Got a Neil Gaiman fan on your holiday gift list? Here’s a $17.99 solution to your problem, thanks to Gaiman and illustrator Adam Rex. This slight picture book, written in a Chinese tea shop whilst Gaiman was visiting the native habitat of giant panda bears, tells about a little bear with an explosive sneeze.
In one of Gaiman’s “Sandman” books, this might be part of a quirky character’s backstory. Here, the little panda stands front and center, with hovering parents worriedly watching for the sign of a sniffle until they’re distracted by a circus.
Publicity materials from HarperCollins describe “Chu’s Day” as illustrating the idea that “even the smallest child’s actions can be very powerful,” which parents of newborns with explosive diarrhea know to be all too true. I do not mean to imply that “Chu’s Day” is anything but a charming little tale, only to note again that marketers should all be required to wear a specific kind of hat that bears the “Cap’n Obvious” insignia.