A giggly lady from Japan chases a rolling rice dumpling and is captured by a fearsome oni. 1973 Caldecott Winner
read full description
reviews
Mar 28, 2010
Josiah
rated it: 
This is definitely an entertaining story, with some comical moments that readers of any age truly will be able to appreciate. The funny little woman of the title isn't really bad or good, yet her unusual journey will intrigue readers and keep them wondering how it will all end.
Chasing a wayward dumpling into a crack in the ground, the woman finds herself in an underground passageway that is lined on either side by statues of the Japanese gods. These statue gods warn her that a dast More...
Chasing a wayward dumpling into a crack in the ground, the woman finds herself in an underground passageway that is lined on either side by statues of the Japanese gods. These statue gods warn her that a dast More...
Nov 04, 2011
Sarah
rated it: 
The Funny Little Woman and a story retold by Arlene Mosel. This is a non- fiction book about a Japanese woman that chased her dumpling all around town. This book is not fiction because it can’t be true. There are monsters in the book and monsters are not real. There are a lot of pictures in the book and a lot of colors. Children would love this book because the pictures are so creative and children would be able to use their imagination while reading this book. I think this book is good f
More...
Apr 02, 2011
Jose
rated it: 
After reading "Funny Little Woman", I found the story to be entertaining. The woman in the story loses her dumplings and attempts to get them back but falls into a hole on the ground. The illustrations in the story also got my attention where the main focus of the story is in color (the lady underground and dealing with the onis), whereas the less focus of the story is in black and white (the lady's house above the ground). As the story progresses, the seasons changes and you can see t
More...
Sep 06, 2011
Kylie
rated it:
The Funny Little Woman is about a little woman who lives on a hill and loves to cook. One day while she is coking dumplings one of them falls down the hill and she goes running to find it. At the bottom of the hill she goes down a tunnel and she is surrounded by statues of the gods. She sees all of the different Jizo's (gods) and they warn her about the wicked Oni. The funny little woman does not listen and continues down the tunnel looking for her dumpling. in the end she runs into the Oni
More...
Feb 09, 2008
Jade
rated it: 
I loved this book when I was girl, and my children have enjoyed it too. It's a great story read aloud with an animated voice. Be creative in your storytelling, your children will love it.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 21, 2010
Lindsey
rated it:
CALDECOTT MEDAL (1973)
Format: Picture book
Age level: Elementary
Protagonist: A Japanese woman
A traditional Japanese tale
Brief Summary: This is a story of an old Japnese woman who loses a rice dumpling and chases it underground. She meets some guardian spirits and gets captured by the evil Oni. After escaping, she returns home with a magic paddle that helps her become rich from making rice dumplings.
This book is from 1972, but I read it becau More...
Format: Picture book
Age level: Elementary
Protagonist: A Japanese woman
A traditional Japanese tale
Brief Summary: This is a story of an old Japnese woman who loses a rice dumpling and chases it underground. She meets some guardian spirits and gets captured by the evil Oni. After escaping, she returns home with a magic paddle that helps her become rich from making rice dumplings.
This book is from 1972, but I read it becau More...
Jul 10, 2011
Tracy
rated it:
Long ago there lived a funny little woman in Old Japan. She loved to laugh, "Tee-he-he-he," and make dumplings out of rice. One day a dumpling rolled away. As the funny litle woman chased the dumpling, the earth gave away and she tumbled onto a most unusual road lined with statues of gods. As she asked to gods if they had seen her dumpling, they would tell her it went by, but beware of the wicked oni. The funny little woman just laughed and continued on. This Caldcott Medal book sh
More...
Sep 03, 2011
Shinji
rated it:
One day, a dumpling rolled and rolled until it rolled down a hole and the funny little woman also tumbled and drop into the hole. She met a wicked oni and he took her to oni's world. She must cook rice for them there, but she got a magic paddle. One afternoon, she dicided to return to her house with the magic paddle, and she became the richest woman in all of Japan!
The woman is a little weird, but it's hard for me to hate her. She is always laughing, "Tee-he-he-he-he." Oni is a s More...
The woman is a little weird, but it's hard for me to hate her. She is always laughing, "Tee-he-he-he-he." Oni is a s More...
Jan 22, 2012
Alana
rated it:
If I had to think of a lesson this book taught me it would be: a little risk could bring a big reward. The little funny woman kept searching for her dumpling although she knew there might be a severe consequence, as the Jizo warned her. She went through a little trial and tribulation but in the end she got (stole) a magic paddle which eventually made her into the richest woman in all of Japan.
I liked this book but, to me, there just wasn't enough depth and although the monster kidna More...
I liked this book but, to me, there just wasn't enough depth and although the monster kidna More...
Jan 18, 2012
Tawny
rated it:
The Funny Little Woman was a bit different for me. The illustrations were great through out the book. Would definitely allow for children's imaginations to run wild. I liked that the dumpling ends up falling down the hill and she runs after it. Then the Little Women having to cook for the Oni I think added a lot more to the story. As she escapes and eventually becomes the richest woman in Japan, she laughs the entire time! I love the laugh!! "Tehehehe" is great! I have a former employe
More...
Sep 11, 2011
Chelsea
rated it:
I liked that the plot of this book was also well done, as well as of course the pictures. The plot was very interesting to me, and I have never read any other childrens book like this one. The woman leaves her house to follow a dumpling she makes, becomes a servant to these creatures down below her house, steals the magic wooden paddle, and then goes home and becomes rich from all of the rice dumplings she could make and sell. I don't quite understand the moral that children should get from this
More...
Sep 04, 2011
Kate
rated it: 
I have extremely fond memories of my mother reading "The Funny Little Woman" to me when I was little, and I have no doubts that it had at least some influence on my present day interest in international folk tales. It's a wonderful children's book with the type of whimsy and repetition that make it easy for little ones to follow along with the story. It's also beautifully illustrated, with demons (Oni) that are just scary enough, but don't fall over into nightmare fuel territory. This
More...
Aug 21, 2011
Heather
rated it:
1973 Caldecott Medal Winner
Ink and watercolor again, I think. Kind of cool--the watercolor doesn't completely stay in the lines, and what's going on above ground is done in black and white whereas the underground events are in color. I'm definitely not a fan of the 70's colors, though... mostly greens, browns, and orange. Blech.
It's kind of a lame story... an old Japanese woman in a kimono who constantly laughs "Tee-he-he-he" gets kidnapped by some oni (demon More...
Ink and watercolor again, I think. Kind of cool--the watercolor doesn't completely stay in the lines, and what's going on above ground is done in black and white whereas the underground events are in color. I'm definitely not a fan of the 70's colors, though... mostly greens, browns, and orange. Blech.
It's kind of a lame story... an old Japanese woman in a kimono who constantly laughs "Tee-he-he-he" gets kidnapped by some oni (demon More...
Feb 03, 2012
Sarah
rated it:
This folktale from Japan tells of a woman who loves to laugh and make dumplings. She must really love those dumplings because when one rolls out of her house, she puts herself in danger trying to catch up with it. Happily, her great sense of fun gets her out of a bad situation. The illustrator uses black and white line drawings and full color paintings to show the little woman's location relative to the rest of the earth. For example, when she's in the underworld, the underworld is colorful. Whe
More...
Dec 04, 2010
Carey
rated it:
The Funny Little Woman was making dumplings when one fell down a hole. When she went after it, she was captured by the oni. The oni gave her a magic paddle, and had her cook rice for them. The Funny Little Woman always had her laughter, tee-he-he-he, through it all. When she got lonely and ran away, her laughter saved her from the oni.
This book showed The Funny Little Woman's positive attitude and perseverance--in her good situations and bad. This is a good lesson for children.
This book showed The Funny Little Woman's positive attitude and perseverance--in her good situations and bad. This is a good lesson for children.
Jun 09, 2008
Maria
rated it:
This story is about a woman who chases her rice ball through a hole in the ground and gets captured by the wicked oni that live underground. The pictures are interesting. The artist directs our focus by coloring in the parts closest to the action and leaving the other parts black and white. As the little woman travels underground we are still able to see her house, above ground, in black and white. We are also able to see the actions of other people and the seasons change above ground. The
More...
Dec 02, 2010
The funny little woman is about a little woman in Old Japan who liked to make dumplings. She was making them one day when the ground split and the dumpling rolled down the hole. She folloewed it down and ran into the oni who haver her make rice with a magic paddle. One day she escapes and goes back to makes more rice and becomes the richest woman in all of Japan. Fun for children to have this book read to them, it has quite different illistrations.
Mar 01, 2010
Dolly
rated it:
This is a funny little story, tee he he he, about a little old woman who outsmarts some wicked oni. It's an interesting story, and thankfully the illustrations do not portray the oni as being too scary. Otherwise, it might not have been a good choice to read at bedtime. Our girls liked the story, especially how the old woman laughs all the time.
Dec 11, 2011
Katie
rated it:
This is an interesting tale of a little old Japanese women who finds everything in life funny. Until one day a dumpling she was making gets away from her and as reaches for it she is sucked into an ancient world where she is forced to make dumplings for an evil monster. This book can be used to teach children that good things can sometimes come from bad situations.
Oct 01, 2009
Sandy
rated it:
This is a Japanese folktake about a "funny little woman" who find herself in a bit of trouble after she decides to chase one her rice dumplings that rolled away out of her kitchen one day. As I started to read the story, I thought is was going to be a different version of "The Gingerbread Man" but it turned out to be quite different.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 20, 2012
Debbie
rated it:
The kids loved this one! We made a lot of connections to other fairy tales and they loved trying to create mental images of the evil characters before they actually saw them and what the strange house would look like. And all my first and second graders were running around saying "Tee hee hee hee" to each other. How fun.
Nov 27, 2011
Japanese fairy tale about a woman who makes dumplings and is chasing a dumpling that rolls away and ends up kidnapped by the Oni. She has to think quickly to escape. Great for a social studies lesson when talking about Japan or when talking about myths and fairy tales from around the world.
Mar 30, 2011
Kayla
rated it:
Arlene Mosel wrote a very funny and quirky story. Children will love reading this novel and connect with the little woman's ability to laugh in tough situations. Readers can get enthralled in the gloomy pictures of brown, blacks, and greens. Overall, a funny and pretty good read.
May 19, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
A cute little book bout a funny little woman who chases a fallen rice dumpling down under the earth, into the the place where the wicked Oni live. She is captured and forced to cook for them, but she eventually escapes, and even takes with her their magic paddle.
Nov 02, 2010
Jill
rated it:
you'd think the ogres in this story would be scary and evil, and granted it's not nice of them to force her to stay with them but all they have her do is make dumplings for them which she likes to do anyway! not so bad, really! good villains for a children's story.
Oct 06, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
I found this caldecott winner from 1972 an odd little story, in fable or fairy tale style with no discernable lesson. But the little woman from Old Japan is pleasant and plucky, the gods and monsters she encounters are novel, and it has a happy ending.
Apr 08, 2011
Jayna
rated it:
This is another story about Oni. In this one, a little woman who loves to laugh chases her dumpling through a crevice in the Earth's surface. She follows a road lined with statues of the gods and does not heed their advice to beware of the Oni.
Dec 28, 2009
Nancy
rated it:
I love the illustrations in this Caldecott Award winning book. Have read it many times since it first came out in 1972. Created a collage poster for it many years ago when I used to work in the children's department of library in Columbus, Indiana.
Jul 10, 2009
Stephanie
rated it:
One of my favorite books from when I was a child. Anyone woman who loves food so much that she is willing to pursue a dumpling into the underworld is right up my alley! I love the gods of the underworld and their awesome underground palaces.
