MY BEST FRIEND IS A BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Alex forms a fierce attachment to a butternut squash that once grew in Grandpa’s garden.

This versatile buddy morphs into an assortment of imaginative playmates. “When my butternut squash is not a baby, he’s my twin.” Reich’s gentle but lively gouache and colored-pencil art depicts Alex interacting with the squash as he transforms into a pirate, a fairy, and a doctor—he’s an all-round companion. Alex’s tolerant parents play along; tucking Alex and the squash in at night, Dad remarks, “Night night, little buddies.” Smith’s perceptive text subtly hints at Alex’s insecurity about joining playground activities, with the squash acting as a shield to protect the child from perceived bullies. Then sympathetic classmate Trudy approaches and immediately accepts the squash as a friend, commenting that her best friend was an alarm clock until it broke. Smith conveys both tender humor and an acceptance that Alex may not need the squash forever as the protagonist exclaims, “Someday my butternut squash will be compost,” to which Trudy cheerfully replies, “At least he’ll go naturally.” But until that day, in a sweet and sensitive conclusion, the squash remains a friend to both, and sometimes they pretend he is an alarm clock. Alex is tan-skinned; Trudy is brown-skinned.

An engaging tribute to the value of best friends no matter what shape they take.