The Garden of Words by Makoto Shinkai

The Garden of Words by Makoto Shinkai - 196 pages

Akizuki plays hooky every first period of a rainy school day.  He goes to the park and draws possible designs for shoes.  That is how he meets the mysterious woman who also plays hooky from work on rainy days to drink beer and chocolate in the park.  A connection is made between the two when she quotes a poem to him as she leaves the first day.  Will Akuzuki figure out the meaning before it's too late?

I picked this up as I was looking for something to read on my lunch break.  I didn't realize I would actually finish it on break.  It's a very quick read with sparse text and conversation between the characters.  It was an interesting story. I kind of wish there was a sequel to see how their meetings changed their lives in the future rather than just ending once they figure out who each other is.

The Deep Deep Puddle, by Mary Jessie Parker

 The Deep Deep Puddle, by Mary Jessie Parker, 40 pages

I was not a fan of this picture book.  So, it's sort of a counting book, and increasingly larger numbers of items/things/people keep falling into this deep deep puddle; but I kept thinking, are they drowning?  Am I supposed to suspend my disbelief about their abilities to survive underwater for these great lengths of time?  Did the taxis fall on the people in the puddle- are they laying at the bottom, being crushed?  Are the cats eating the squirrels?  What's going on down there?  Far too ambiguous.