Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

A wordless musing on the nature of disagreements and friendship.Two children, of differing skin tones, one with a shock of black hair and the other with a shock of light, draw lines on the ground. Loops and folds curl round each other until—amid a smack of violet watercolor backdrop—the lads bump into each other. Rueful surprise turns into pure glee when the children realize that if they connect their lines they can pick them up and play. Otoshi's landscape-oriented spreads make expert use of the book's gutter, each child on either side, with only the line allowed to cross. Emotions change when one child accidentally knocks the other over (the angry violet cloud appears again). Each tenaciously grabs hold of the line and pulls mightily. This fierce tug of war causes a crevice to appear in the gutter, feeding on anger, growing larger and larger. Clenched fists and taut muscles seethe with rage. But then, silence. The line they had been holding is now the horizon, with a spot of bright yellow peeking through the violet. One moment is all that is needed to choose to let go, mend rifts, and walk into future possibilities with a friend. Otoshi's fluid watercolors are sheer loveliness, surpassed only by her ability to communicate big concepts with no words. A simple, beautiful concept whose reach grows with each rereading. (Picture book. 4-8)

School Library Journal Starred Review

PreS-Gr 2 Two boys have their backs to each other as they draw lines on the ground. When they run into each other, they decide to join their lines. One boy picks up the line, which has turned into a string, and starts playing with it. The other boy thinks this is funnyuntil the string gets caught around him and yanks him off his feet. Then he is angry, especially since the other boy laughs. He gets up and deliberately tugs on the string, yanking the laughing boy off his feet. The string starts to fray as the conflict between them escalates. As the boys yank back and forth on the string, the fraying part gets bigger and bigger until a chasm has opened up between them and the string has hardened. The boys yell at each other for a minute and pout, which causes the space to get even bigger. Eventually, the antagonists calm down, and one boy decides to let go of his anger. He walks back toward the narrower end of the abyss and the other boy follows. He kneels down and draws a bridge over the narrowest part of the cleft, which leads the other boy to kneel down; soon, the children are working together to close the distance. This wordless book uses symbolism to beautifully illustrate the damage that conflict can cause. The growing chasm, along with the mixed colors that clearly capture the boys' feelings (yellow for happy, purple for unhappy) as they fluctuate, is striking. VERDICT This beautiful analogy of conflict resolution is a must-have for all libraries. Heidi Grange, Summit Elementary School, Smithfield, UT

ALA Booklist

Otoshi packs a powerful message into a short series of wordless images. Two young boys with differing skin tones peacefully draw lines on the ground. Coming from opposite directions, they back into each other. Realizing neither meant harm, they join their lines and magically lift them off the ground, turning the lines into a rope. Conflict erupts, however, and the rope frays, then splits, and then opens into a deep chasm. The more the boys argue, the larger the distance between them grows. Eventually they come to a place where they are able to bridge the gap, but must actively work together to do so. What looks like pastels and watercolors are used throughout the simple illustrations to reflect changes in mood and emotion. When the boys are happy, hints of yellow surround them. Purple, which darkens to black, emphasizes their anger. While young children can easily follow the straightforward message about conflict resolution, older children and adults will find discussion material about the difficult issues that can divide friends, families, groups of people, or even countries.

Horn Book

Two boys drawing lines on the ground accidentally back into each other, which sparks the idea to join forces. Their merged line enters three-dimensional space, becoming a rope, leading them to a game of tug-of-war that threatens to undo their bond when a chasm opens up between them. This potent wordless allegory is illustrated in black and white with moody color accents.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

A wordless musing on the nature of disagreements and friendship.Two children, of differing skin tones, one with a shock of black hair and the other with a shock of light, draw lines on the ground. Loops and folds curl round each other until—amid a smack of violet watercolor backdrop—the lads bump into each other. Rueful surprise turns into pure glee when the children realize that if they connect their lines they can pick them up and play. Otoshi's landscape-oriented spreads make expert use of the book's gutter, each child on either side, with only the line allowed to cross. Emotions change when one child accidentally knocks the other over (the angry violet cloud appears again). Each tenaciously grabs hold of the line and pulls mightily. This fierce tug of war causes a crevice to appear in the gutter, feeding on anger, growing larger and larger. Clenched fists and taut muscles seethe with rage. But then, silence. The line they had been holding is now the horizon, with a spot of bright yellow peeking through the violet. One moment is all that is needed to choose to let go, mend rifts, and walk into future possibilities with a friend. Otoshi's fluid watercolors are sheer loveliness, surpassed only by her ability to communicate big concepts with no words. A simple, beautiful concept whose reach grows with each rereading. (Picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Otoshi (Beautiful Hands) uses a simple charcoal line to tell a tale of conflict and resolution. Two boys-one with light skin and dark hair, the other with dark skin and light hair-discover that the lines they-re drawing on the ground can be picked up like rope. The urge to tease overtakes them, then the desire to hurt back. Soon they-re tugging on opposite ends of the line (and on either side of a spread) as a chasm opens between them. But the chasm is an illusion: when one boy, idly experimenting, finds a way to close it, the two reconcile in a moment of warm spontaneity. Otoshi-s slightly wooden figures act and move against a backdrop of empty white-the story could be happening anywhere. The pages are lit with splashes of golden yellow when things are going well, shifting to purple when the strife intensifies. The action is clear and, because the story is wordless, understandable to very young children. Otoshi suggests that if those in conflict stay open to the possibilities, resolution can be found in unexpected places. Ages 3-6. (Oct.)