Friendship

The Year Of Secret Assignments

The Ashbury-Brookfield pen pal program was designed to bring together the “lowlife Brooker kids” (as they’re known to the Ashburyites) and the “rich Ashbury snobs” (as they’re called by the Brookfielders) in a spirit of harmony and the Joy of the Envelope. But things don’t go quite as planned. Lydia and Sebastian trade challenges, like setting off the fire alarm at Brookfield. Emily tutors Charlie in How to Go On a Date with a Girl. But it’s Cassie and Matthew who both reveal and conceal the most about themselves — and it’s their secrets and lies that set off a war between the two schools.

Finn’s Search

Although he is afraid of Andrew Aldie, twelve-year-old Chris Cooper agrees to help his friend Finn Lochlan look for a way to stop Andrew’s father from opening a gravel pit near their Scottish village.

Wait For Me

Mina is the perfect daughter. Bound for Harvard, president of the honor society, straight A student, all while she works at her family’s dry cleaners and helps care for her hearing-impaired little sister. On the outside, Mina does everything right. On the inside, Mina knows the truth. Her life is a lie. At the height of a heat wave, the summer before her senior year, Mina meets the one person to whom she cannot lie. Ysrael, a young migrant worker who dreams of becoming a musician, comes to work at the dry cleaners and asks Mina the one question that scares her the most. What does she want? Mina finds herself torn between living her mother’s dreams, caring for her younger sister, grasping the love that Ysrael offers, and the most difficult of all, living a life that is true. With sensitivity and grace, An Na weaves an intriguing story of a young woman caught in the threads of secrets and lies, struggling for love and finding a voice of her own.

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom

Kids of all ages are always asking Joe Hayes, “How can it snow tortillas?” Now they’ll know where to find the answer: at long last, Joe’s signature book The Day It Snowed Tortillas is appearing in a new bilingual edition. Bloomsbury Review listed the original English-only edition as one of their fifteen all-time favorite children’s books. This bilingual edition has all the original stories as they have evolved in the last twenty years of Joe’s storytelling. It also has new illustrations by award-winning artist Antonio Castro. Storytellers have been telling these stories in the villages of New Mexico since the Spanish first came to the New World over four hundred years ago, but Joe always adds his own nuances for modern audiences. The tales are full of magic and fun. In the title story, for instance, a clever woman saves her silly husband from a band of robbers. She makes the old man believe it snowed tortillas during the night! In another story, a young boy gladly gives up all of his wages for good advice. His parents think he is a fool, but the good advice leads to wealth and a royal marriage. The enchantment continues in story after story—a clever thief tricks a king for his kingdom and a prince finds his beloved in a house full of wicked step-sisters. And of course, we listen again to the ancient tale of the weeping woman, La Llorona, who still searches for her drowned children along the riverbanks.

Featured in Volume I, Issue 4 of WOW Review.

Yo! Yes (Caldecott Honor Book)

With a mere 19 words (yo appears twice, yes six times) the author/artist of Charlie Parker Played Be Bop presents a spirited conversation on a city sidewalk that is, in itself, a complete drama. Two boys meet as strangers. One hails the other, who is cautious. The first persists. The other responds. Gradually they begin to talk and end up as friends. Full color. 1994 Caldecott Honor Book.

Little Beauty

With his hyper-realistic artwork full of striking detail, the award-winning Anthony Browne tells a story of an unlikely friendship.Once there was a very special gorilla who had almost everything he needed. There was only one thing he didn’t have: a friend. With no other gorillas at the zoo, the keepers try something new. Will the gigantic ape strike a bond with another sort of creature, one as tiny and innocent as a kitten? Sparked by the story of a real gorilla who learned to sign, LITTLE BEAUTY is a celebration of a most surprising friendship.

Artie And Julie

Artie was a happy little lion, and Julie was a happy little rabbit—until one day Julie was sent to the grassland to eat grass, and Artie was sent to the grassland to eat . . . rabbit! Distracted from their destinations, they both discover a delicious jellyberry patch. Driven by a sudden storm into a nearby cave, they become friends before they know they are meant to be enemies. Each returns home with a new friend, a tuft of each other’s fur as a keepsake, and a surprising story to tell their parents. A unique design adds depth to this clever tale—when Artie and Julie are apart their parallel stories are told on separate split pages, but when the two become friends the pages join together as well. Filled with playful art that adds a whimsical tone, this amusing story encourages young readers to overlook differences and demonstrates that fear should never be an obstacle to friendship.

Featured in Vol. I, Issue 4 of WOW Review.

Melrose and Croc: An Adventure to Remember

Melrose has planned a wonderful birthday for his best friend, Croc: a vacation at a villa right by the ocean. Melrose wants everything to be perfect, especially the gift, so he decides to take a boat out on the sea to catch Croc a birthday fish. But when a blustery storm rolls in, Melrose is in danger. It’s up to his loyal friend Croc to come to the rescue—but can he get there in time?

Super Guinea Pig to the Rescue

Little guinea pig is obsessed with his favorite TV show and with its star, Super Guinea Pig. Every day he tunes in to watch Super Guinea Pig save the world from evil and terrible disasters. And every day he ignores his friends—an old hound dog, a yellow bird, and a plump goldfish—to watch his hero. When they start making fun of little guinea pig and asking why his new best friend never visits him, he dresses up as Super Guinea Pig to teach his friends a lesson. Leaping and acting like his hero, little guinea pig gets himself into a bit of trouble and calls upon Super Guinea Pig for help. His real friends save him the day.