Tuesday Storytime: Friendship

Two new ones, and one that I read somewhat recently, but I like it, and it's short, so I read it again.

Very Special Friends
Jane Chapman  (I'm Not Sleepy, Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip, Bear Feels Sick)
ISBN: 9781561486
Soft-edged woodland creatures in a sweet whimsical gentle woodland world.

Jane Chapman is a gifted illustrator, and her stand-alone books show that she has sweet whimsical stories in her repertoire as well.  She nearly always centers in on the emotional world of children where emotions are primal and happy times seem to last forever, and friendships are the linchpin of the world.  This one is no exception: Mouse heads to the riverbank to wait for her special friends, and is joined in her vigil by Rabbit, Frog, and Turtle.  At the end of a lovely day of visiting and waiting, Mouse announces that she's heading home, and her companions demur, saying that she should keep waiting for her friends.  Mouse answers that she's been with her special friends all day!  Just a smidge on the saccharine side for me to truly adore, but it's sweet and the illustrations are so gentle and happy.


The Story of Fish and Snail
Deborah Freedman
ISBN: 9780670784899
Reviewed here.

Still love this cute story of friends working through their differences (and a nice rip-roarer of an argument) and compromising and growing in order to stay together.  As a thought, it would go very well with Brigitte Weninger & Eve Tharlet's similarly conflict-resolving book, Why Are You Fighting, Davy?


The Very Lonely Firefly
Eric Carle (Mister Seahorse, )
ISBN: 0399227741
Carle's signature illustrations follow a firefly through the night - the last page has battery-operated lights inside a swarm of fireflies.

Carle is always fun.  Here we have a lonesome firefly, just born, seeking out the lights in the night for companionship.  There are all sorts of lights that are NOT fireflies first; porchlights, candles, flashlights, headlights, animal eyes gleaming, fireworks (no lightning tho) before the persistent little creature finds the company they've been searching for.  I never noticed until this reading that the firefly is never gendered during the story, which is always a nice touch.