A light and breezy view of an inclusive, perfect world in which everyone can be friends.
Neal’s (Kinship, 2013, etc.) latest picture book presents an idealized view of universal friendship.
Neal’s first children’s book references the I Have a Dream Elementary School and conveys an understanding of Martin Luther King Jr.’s hope, expressed in his speech of that name, that the time would come in America when people of all backgrounds would be joined “in a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.” Neal expresses this vision through the narration of Christopher, a dog and “friend to all of mankind,” who invites readers to consider various types of friendship. Beginning with real and imaginary friends, he then covers diversity of hair and sleeping arrangements before moving on to body type, likes and dislikes, disabilities and animal friends. No matter the differences, Christopher says, all his friends “are friendly, in their own special way!” Also touched upon are friends who speak different languages or live in different types of housing; friends who use wheelchairs or are deaf, sick or blind; and those who live in a home with two parents of the same gender. The diversity of these friends’ ethnic backgrounds is further revealed in colorful digital illustrations. Christopher concludes with claims that friends are never bullies, and they should always be friendly and estimable. The final lines demonstrate the book’s overly optimistic view of reality: “It takes all types of friendships to / make the world go around. / Friends are really special people, / that are very easily found!” The fact that the narrator is a dog doesn’t seem to matter much; there’s no story, and very few of the images actually contain a dog. Similarly, despite the book’s summery tone, it offers no guidance for finding friends or tackling the challenges of friendship.
A light and breezy view of an inclusive, perfect world in which everyone can be friends.Pub Date: June 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-1500156183
Page Count: 30
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 8, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
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