Alicia's Best Friends

by Lisa Jahn-Clough

Overview

Alicia has four friends, and her friends are great, but when she decides to throw a best friends party, they all want to know which one of them is her best friend. Is it Mitchell, Charlotte, Henry, Lucy, or Alicia’s dog, Neptune? They say she has to choose, but Alicia doesn’t know whom to pick. How can she, when each one of them is uniquely special to her? With characteristic emotional honesty and a little creativity, Alicia finds her own wonderful way of solving the happy dilemma of being blessed with not one, but many, best friends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547344867
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/24/2003
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	34 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lisa Jahn-Clough has written and illustrated a number of books for young children, including Alicia Has a Bad Day; My Friend and I; Missing Molly; Simon and Molly Plus Hester; On the Hill; and Country Girl, City Girl. She has taught at Maine College of Art and the Vermont College Writing for Children and Young Adults program. 
 

Editorial Reviews

The star of Alicia Has a Bad Day, Missing Molly and more returns in Alicia's Best Friends by Lisa Jahn-Clough. The bespectacled do-gooder finds herself in a pickle when she throws a "best friends party" and they all want to know which of them is her "best" best friend. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 1-The author of Alicia Has a Bad Day (Houghton, 1994) explores another real-life challenge for her carrot-haired, bespectacled heroine whose friends demand she select a favorite among them. As she takes turns enjoying each highly qualified candidate, including her dog, the girl always realizes how much she misses Mitchell, Charlotte, Henry, or Lucy. Jahn-Clough's childlike, multicultural cartoon paintings prove highly successful in using color to evoke mood. Unfortunately, her diplomatic resolution of declaring each friend a "best" for a particular activity probably will not work well when readers actually experience this type of dispute. Still, the book will be useful when discussing conflict resolution with the younger set.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

The inimitable Alicia grapples with the problem of jealous friends in this wise tale from Jahn-Clough (Alicia Has a Bad Day, 1994). Alicia adores all of her friends; she plays soccer with Mitchell, paints with Charlotte, laughs with Henry, and explores entomology with Lucy. To demonstrate her powerful affection for these buddies, Alicia decides to throw a "best friend" celebration. However, her guests of honor demand to know which one of them is really Alicia's best friend. Frustrated by her quandary, Alicia declares her dog, Neptune, to be her closest pal. However, she soon discovers the companionship of a canine falls short of human friendship. Jahn-Clough presents a familiar childhood dilemma with compassion and honesty. Readers struggling with this issue will find humorous relief in Alicia's exploits and salvation in her ingenious solution to the problem. After much internal debate, Alicia declares each one of her friends to be a best friend in a particular category, declaring one to be her best soccer friend, while another is her best painting friend, diplomatically acknowledging each individual's special attribute. The brightly hued illustrations sparkle with the energy and vivacity of Alicia's personality. The cartoon-style paintings reveal Alicia's turmoil while retaining a healthy dose of humor. Alicia handles a thorny issue with her usual panache; readers will rejoice in the return of this spunky, bespectacled heroine. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

The brightly hued illustrations sparkle with the energy and vivacity of Alicia’s personality…Reader’s will rejoice in the return of this spunky, bespectacled heroine.” Kirkus Reviews

“Jahn-Clough’s childlike, multicultural cartoon paintings prove highly successful in using color to evoke mood.” School Library Journal

“Jann-Clough, author of several previous books about friendship, once again presents a complex aspect of friendship in a way children will understand.” Booklist, ALA

From the Publisher