Todd Parr's Friendship Bundle

August 4, 2000
K-Gr 2-In Friends, children read about both human and animal pals. The text and illustrations are equally funny: "Best friends will forgive you even if you step on their paw" faces an illustration of a yowling dog with a bandaged foot. In Zoo, "Do go to the movies with a skunk" is accompanied by a picture of a skunk in a theater with three friends. "Don't make her mad" features the malodorous skunk seated all alone. Children will laugh out loud at these tongue-in-cheek efforts. The bold colors and silly stick figures outlined in black will capture their attention and clarify the texts. The books' small size may make them difficult to share with large audiences, but consider them for more intimate storytimes.-Olga R. Barnes, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, NC

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2000
Looking like doodles colored-in with fluorescent markers, simple, smiley illustrations accompany declarations that vacillate between almost touching--"Best friends will find you even if you get lost"--and supremely silly (though sometimes rather lame). "Zoo Do's and Don'ts" stays firmly in the silly camp, with tongue-in-cheek advice such as "Do play games with a leopard. Don't play connect-the-dots."

(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)