CHOPSTICKS

This companion to the well-loved Spoon (2009) is equally charming.

When one member of a pair of chopsticks suffers an accident, both learn that friendship can benefit from separation. Full of visual and verbal puns, with a supporting cast of the familiar Knife, Fork and Spoon, the plucky chopsticks learn that sticking together sometimes requires venturing out alone. Encouraged by his injured friend to get out and go, the healthy chopstick discovers hidden strengths by joining in a game of pick-up sticks, helping Spoon with the pole vault, testing cupcakes for doneness and conducting a cutlery band. When the friend recovers (and “[f]eels fantastic(k)!”), the two find that being apart “had made each of them even stronger”—and furthermore they find many new things they can now do together. “Toasted” by their friends, they conclude with a rendition of “Chopsticks,” with Magoon’s clever drawings hitting all the right notes. Most picture books that deal with a separation between friends focus either on healing after an argument or getting by after a friend has moved away. This is refreshing in its lighthearted, upbeat treatment of the value of occasionally going one's own way.

Who knew there were so many lessons to be learned from a cutlery drawer? (Picture book. 4-8)