The word "parent" is not just a noun. It's also a verb.
In delicate drawings and without providing a single word, Sookocheff manages to give the book an interesting central figure; unfortunately, it’s not the central figure the book set out to have. This is a case where the supporting cat, steals the show.
On one particular night, a little firefly, struggling to learn to fly, happens to land on his hand. She has tried and tried to fly but has been unable to accomplish this goal. Seeing the little firefly in his hand, the boy confuses her for a star, and we soon realize that the story is in fact about this special little firefly.
Arlo the lion is exhausted, but just can’t fall asleep. As he struggles to sleep, he meets Owl, who shows him a beautiful song that she sings when she has trouble sleeping. Can that help Arlo? Does the song help him relax and prepare himself for bed?
By the end of the year, the kids realize that Ms. Gupta had been right. They made some great friends in class. But what about the next year? Ms. Gupta to the rescue again!
Primarily a lesson in friendship and patience, Will You Be My Friend? highlights the beauty and essential nature of simple play. Too often children are scheduled within an inch of their existence and play is abandoned in search of “more meaningful” activities. McBratney highlights how much simple play can accomplish in simple, unencumbered moments.
I want you to stop for a moment and imagine being a parent telling your eight-year-old that you’re about to send him on a journey that will take him to another country, mostly by foot, across hundreds of miles, across all sorts of terrains, in all sorts of weather, facing untold dangers, in search of a better life. Now imagine that you’re the eight-year-old.
I want more of this kind of book for my kids. Without making it mushy or unbelievable, Fajardo masterfully intertwines the stories of this precocious not-child and his not-adult brother into one of the sweetest narratives I’ve read in a long time. She allows them to be vulnerable and share a very tender bond that flies in the face of the machismo we’ve been told to expect, and to celebrate.
To say that 12 year old Santiago has had a rough life would be putting it mildly. His father out of the picture, his loving mom dead since he was 5, Santiago has bounced between the houses of his malicious and abusive relatives. His abuela, la malvada, is the worst. After being banished once again to her house, Santiago decides he would rather run away than return to her.
If the goal of reading books is to transport you to another world and to broaden your understanding of your own, this book is a hit.