There are some nice sentiments as the magic candies of the title help a Korean kid span some communication gaps he doesn't seem aware he has, but the artwork is created with miniatures and photography, giving it a stop-motion animation look that's a little too creepy and off-putting for me. I might enjoy this more if it were actually an animated movie.

(Another project! I'm reading all the picture books and graphic novels from NPR's Books We Love 2021: Kids’ Books list.) ( )

Tong Tong buys some new "marbles," but they're actually candies - and when he eats one, he can hear a voice. A red and yellow plaid candy is the couch's voice, telling Tong Tong that the remote is stuck between its cushions, and please also could he tell his dad to stop farting? A bristly gray one is Tong Tong's dad's voice (I love you I love you I love you), a pink one is his (dead) Grandma's, and white and brown speckly one is his old dog's (it's not that I don't like you, it's just that I'm so old and tired all the time). At last, a clear candy doesn't speak at all, and Tong Tong realizes he must speak first, to make a new friend.

The surreal and supernatural is found often in middle grade and YA but less so in picture books; this one has an appealing flavor. ( )

intriguing and unique; translated from Korean ( )