REVIEW: Pikachu's Nighttime Adventure (picture book) by Rikako Matsuo

Pikachu's Nighttime Adventure is a fantasy picture book. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Pikachu invites Eevee and Dedenne over for a sleepover. Eevee scares Dedenne into thinking ghosts are around, but thankfully the creepy thing outside the window turns out to just be Mimikyu. Mimikyu wants to go to the top of Dark Sky Mountain but is too scared to go alone, so the whole group goes together, experiencing a few frights along the way that turn out to just be other Pokemon.

I was charmed by Matsuo's first Pokemon picture book, so when I saw Gengar on the cover of this one, I knew I needed to read it too. This time around, readers are presented with multiple nighttime scenes, first too dark to see anything but ordinary rocks and plants and then lit up to reveal the Pokemon hiding everywhere.

REVIEW: Pikachu's First Friends (picture book) by Rikako Matsuo

Pikachu's First Friends is a fantasy picture book. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Pikachu sets off on a journey to find the perfect place to live. Along the way, it meets several new friends and gets to know a little more about the island on which it has found itself.

The illustrations were, as expected, super-cute. Readers get scenes with Pikachu, Dedenne, Evee, Mime Jr., Smeargle, and Ludicolo, and cameo appearances from Wingull, Gyarados, Krabby, and possibly a few other Pokemon I don't know well enough to name. (Forgive me, I've only played a couple Pokemon games.)

In most cases, the various Pokemon could have been swapped out with just about anything else that might live in a similar environment and it wouldn't have made a difference. I was a little disappointed that the Pokemon didn't get more (or, in most cases, any) opportunities to show off their abilities. 

That said, I'll probably still read Pikachu's Nighttime Adventure at some point.