Publishers Weekly
09/30/2013
A boy and a girl are fast friends: “Together they played and ran and danced and told each other secrets.” When she moves away, the boy “took a deep breath, counted to ten,” and sets out on an arduous journey to reunite with her. Using the hand-painted tissue paper collages that have been his signature for nearly five decades, Carle (The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse) composes the core of the book impressionistically, employing the boy’s literal and emotional viewpoints (while leaving the boy himself entirely unseen) as he crosses a wide river and a tall mountain, sleeps beneath skies filled with stars and clouds, and tries to remain steadfast in a forest, where “Dark shadows danced around him. E-e-e-k!” The images are beautiful and evocative, but there may not be enough in this story to hold every reader. Although the boy reappears in the final pages (he emerges from a flower garden bearing a bouquet for the girl, whom he marries), very young readers may wonder where he went, while older ones may yearn to see him in action. Ages 3–5. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Friends:
“This story of love and determination is illustrated with Carle's extraordinary signature artwork. For anyone who would cross rivers and scale mountains for a beloved friend, this warmhearted story will create an emotional response. Young readers will learn the value of friendship and its many challenges.” —School Library Journal
“Often dynamic and quite beautiful, these colorful illustrations of the river, the meadow, and so on are abstract in style and show up well from a distance. A picture-book tribute to the strength of childhood friendships.” —Booklist
"The images are beautiful and evocative." —Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal
09/01/2013
PreS-Gr 2—A boy describes his devoted affection for a friend with whom he plays, dances, and shares secrets. Then she moves away, and he is all alone. He misses her terribly and vows to find her. Readers will cheer his bravery as he crosses a swift river, climbs over a steep mountain, and travels through a dewy meadow and shadowy forest to find her. Ultimately, he stumbles across a flower garden. With a bouquet in hand, he finds his friend, reunites with her and (playfully) marries her. Both are humorously shown in oversize adult apparel, holding hands. The concluding page shows a scanned photograph, taken in 1932, of the author and a long-lost friend at age three. This story of love and determination is illustrated with Carle's extraordinary signature artwork. Layers of tissue paper and acrylic paint create a unique blend of colorful images. For anyone who would cross rivers and scale mountains for a beloved friend, this warmhearted story will create an emotional response. Young readers will learn the value of friendship and its many challenges.—Krista Welz, The North Bergen Public Library, NJ
Kirkus Reviews
2013-09-15
Carle revisits the timeless topic that he explored with Kazuo Iwamura in the bilingual animal journey Where Are You Going? To See My Friend! (2001); this time, a boy yearns for the girl who moved away. Readers first see the pair frolicking in small vignettes against a white background. When the girl departs, the protagonist counts to 10 before disappearing into glorious spreads. The hop-along narrative conjures up We're Going on a Bear Hunt: "The boy landed in a broad meadow. It was a hot day. The grass was dewy, damp and cool…A-h-h-h." Six additional double-page spreads depict a river, a star-filled sky, a mountain, a rainstorm, a forest and clouds. While familiar collage images dominate some scenes, suggestive abstract paintings comprise others. The forest is a dense world, with layers of liquid green and black on a distant yellow. The river creates a different mood with casual swirls of brightly lit blues and greens. A happy reunion leads to a dress-up marriage; in a slightly disorienting turn-of-the-page segue, Carle provides a photo of his 6-year-old self and the never-seen-again friend who inspired the story. Some may see this as an abrupt change, a jolt of reality after the fantasy ending. Nevertheless, children will identify with the longing to be with distant loved ones and will revel in the sheer joy of Carle's forms, colors and textures. (Picture book. 3-6)
