Sunday, May 6, 2012

Book review: Meet Mameshiba!

My rating: 4.5/5

"Mameshiba" is Japanese for "bean dog," which is what these adorable little characters are.  Each mameshiba is a different type of bean, and each has its own personality.  Their whole reason for being is to show up in people's food and relay obscure trivia. And they are hilarious.

The mameshiba appeared in a series of short commercials in Japan, which is where I first discovered them.  You can see all of them (with English subtitles) commercials here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjsZbnTNB8c

This little book is a great introduction to all of the mameshiba, and it is entertaining. I wish it were a little longer, and maybe even a little funnier, which is why I didn't rate this a straight five.  But I still very much recommend this book, and to pretty much anyone; it would be appropriate for even a young audience.