BEST FRIENDS, BUSY FRIENDS

An ode to friendship.

Two siblings, presumed twins since they are in the same class and (spoiler alert) share a birthday in the end, go about their day and meet all kinds of friends. An animated tempo carries them through. With a yawn and stretch in the morning (“Our friends, best friends / those who wake us up friends!”); playful classroom antics in between (“Singing friends, dancing friends / hopping, skipping, jumping friends”); and a stop in the park after school (“Furry friends, feathered friends / lots of very hungry friends”), these two tots have a busy day. True to life, not all aspects of friendship are positive: A recess spread shows one child snatching the ball from another (“Funny friends, silly friends / sometimes not so kind friends”), but the rhythm bounces merrily along past any small squabbles. While not discrediting the good intentions of the text, the laundry list of friendship doesn’t add much to the conversation. The illustrations, however, show a peek into a truly varied and diverse set of friends. Children of many races are represented, along with one child of color in a wheelchair (throughout the entire story) and another child of color using a white cane. Even the adults, in various teacher and parent roles, show a wide representation. The protagonist pair have olive skin and straight, black hair, in contrast with their White-appearing dad. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.8-by-19.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 19.4% of actual size.)

A fun read-aloud beat, but the illustrations shine.