FOUR FRIENDS TOGETHER

What could be better than reading a good story? Sharing it with good friends, of course. Mary Clare has fallen asleep with book in her lap while Seymour, the sheep, Rachel, the rabbit, and Florentina, the big flowery bear, wait patiently for her to wake up. Seymour and Rachel pass the time amused by Florentina’s attempts to sit in a very small chair in lieu of her blooming large armchair, occupied by the snoozing Mary Clare. Their reader awakens to the pleas of her companions, eager to listen and see the pictures, scrambling from one chair to another, and all finally settling in the most comfortably accommodating seat in the house. Heap’s simplistic telling of a common storytime concern is nicely complemented by her acrylic childlike drawings depicting expressions of impatience, mild distress, and contentment in predominating pastel hues. Pleasing and reassuring. (Picture book. 3-5)