For childhood, I guess, and a time when I could more easily get lost in invented worlds. Maybe it’s because of the weird mood I’m in, but Chirri and Chirra: Underground made me feel intensely nostalgic. I believe there was an ice cream factory. We did a similar kind of drawing of creatures we invented called Bleeps that basically looked like balloons and lived underground in a large complex. My brother Devin and I would spend hours poring over detailed illustrations like this, for example the neighbourhood scenes in Richard Scarry books, picking out all the different characters and activities. The two-page spread of the peanut factory is something young me would have particularly enjoyed. It’s like a sophisticated, beautifully illustrated version of a story a child would invent. It hits all the notes that I would have loved as a child (and still love in fact): adventure, whimsy, beauty, cute creatures, and yummy food. They discover a peanut factory run by moles, a garden, an underground lake, and more.
In this one they explore a tunnel whose entrance appears mysteriously in their basement.
Chirri and Chirra is a series of picture books about two sisters who go on adventures, always on their bikes. So I’m actively seeking out things that bring me delight.Ĭhirri and Chirra: Underground by Kaya Doi definitely fits the bill. I’m having a hard time right now with the double-whammy of isolation that comes with chronic illness plus a pandemic. Recommended to anyone who has read and enjoyed other stories about Chirri and Chirra, and to those seeking magical picture-book adventures! Like its three predecessors, I found Chirri & Chirra: Underground - originally published in Japan, and translated for the English-language market by the marvelous Brooklyn-based Enchanted Lion Books - to be utterly charming! I love the matter-of-factly magical adventures these two sisters have - they always encounter animals doing unexpected things, and inevitably get to enjoy unexpected treats - and I love the beautiful illustrations. In their course of their journey they encounter an underground peanut farm, an underground flower garden, and meet a Badger family (whose three children were the aforementioned intruders) who take them to a beautiful underground lake. When those intrepid twins, Chirri and Chirra, hear something in their downstairs pantry, and see some legs disappearing into a hole in their cellar, they get their bikes and follow the intruders, leading to a magical underground adventure.
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