A Japanese child's desire to get things just right for her grandmother's birthday becomes a lesson in what truly matters in Seo's quietly heartfelt story. Wanting to make "the perfect sushi" for her sushi-adoring grandmother, perfectionist Miko--who "always paints inside the lines"--begins rolling rice balls, but finds that, despite her practice, "not a single piece" passes muster. Asking her grandfather for help and tying on a hachimaki, she follows his lead, but her result remains lopsided. The result? "She steams up like a rice cooker" and goes in search of perfect sushi elsewhere. As step-by-step text replicates onomatopoeia ("kuru kuru kuru... koro koro koro"), Moriuchi's fetching cut-paper and gouache collage is in keeping with the handmade-is-best theme--though the sharp-edged style reproduces sushi to a mouthwatering degree, its charm lies in its imperfections. A glossary and recipe conclude. Ages 4--9. (Apr.)

K-Gr 2--Miko (black hair, light brown skin) is a perfectionist, so of course she wants to make her grandmother's favorite dish, perfect sushi, for Babi's birthday. With hand-painted, textured-paper collage and a bright but peaceful color palette, the illustrations show a familiar and comforting home: laundry basket, stuffed animals, house plants, paints. What might be less familiar to some is sushi and, while the text allows for readers to seamlessly absorb Japanese words like Babi, Jiji, and Koroko, and sounds--gyu fwa gyu and koro koro kuru--it never really explains sushi and nigiri. "She takes a slice of fish and places it on top. She adjusts the topping." Does topping referring to the fish or to something unseen in the illustration? "Something doesn't look right," but readers will not understand why it isn't perfect. The sushi in the illustration looks great. Six pages later Jiji shows Miko how to make the sushi, and when it still turns out "lopsided" readers learn what the problem has been all along. Still, the message of family and food and the importance of doing something from the heart is loud and clear, and the illustrations are so lovely, few readers will have such qualms. A recipe at the end offers further interactions and more about sushi. VERDICT A solid purchase, and one that will look great on display. --Hillary Perelyubskiy

A young Japanese girl learns an important lesson while making sushi. Miko, who has perfectionist tendencies, decides to hand-make sushi for her grandmother's birthday. As she forms a ball out of rice and adds the fish, Miko realizes that her sushi doesn't look right. She asks her grandfather for help, to which he replies, "Kokoro" (defined in the glossary as heart). Together they go through the steps, with Miko copying her grandfather. But her movements don't look or even sound the same as her grandfather's, and her sushi still comes out lopsided. Miko leaves and finds a shop, where she buys perfect sushi made by a robot. At the birthday party, Miko's grandmother tastes the guests' various homemade dishes, touching her heart each time--except when she tries the robot-made sushi, and Miko realizes a dish doesn't need to look perfect; it needs to have kokoro, and she runs to get her homemade, imperfect sushi. This delightful story imparts a much-needed message: It truly is the thought that counts. Miko's actions and emotions, especially her frustration, will strike a chord with little ones struggling to do new things. The story deftly incorporates elements of Japanese culture, such as language. The collage and acrylic artwork is colorful and vibrant, engaging readers and giving more context and cultural references. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A sweet story that reminds readers to always put their hearts into whatever they do. (sushi recipe, author's and illustrator's notes) (Picture book. 4-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.