WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND?

Tafuri’s latest has the brisk, clipped tone and clear progression that will make it an ally of any child beginning to read. Bird and Bunny share a tree as their house: Bird up in the branches and Bunny at the base. Bunny would like to be friends, but Bird is painfully shy. A squall that soaks Bird’s place brings the two creatures together in Bunny’s hollow. The next day, with Squirrel and Chipmunk, they rebuild Bird’s ruined nest. Bird answers this display of friendship with a special song of thanks. The kindness of strangers is exactly that: a little gesture here, a little comfort there, and in affable, limpid artwork, Tafuri creates a world that shelters readers from the storm. (Picture book. 4-7)