Rating: ***** 5 stars

David Mills, illustrated by Derek Brazell,
Mei Ling’s Hiccups.
Mantra, 2000

This is a must for early years classrooms - a wonderful, engaging story with superb illustrations which vividly capture the spirit and atmosphere conveyed by Mills’ words. I like the typefaces used for each script and their layout - uncrowded, easy to read and clearly matched to the illustrations. What makes this picture book stand out is the combination of believable characters from different ethnic backgrounds, realistically rather than stereotypically drawn and the way that children's own personal, cultural knowledge (of how to get rid of hiccups!) is so delightfully woven into the story. This is a gem of a book. Available in 21 other dual language editions.

Urmi Chana