Lottie's New Friend: With Audio Recording

by Petra Mathers, Petra Mathers (Illustrator)

Overview

Who does Lottie like best?
Herbie wonders when an exotic new neighbor befriends his best friend. That question -- familiar to children everywhere -- is answered with extraordinary warmth, humor, and insight in Petra Mathers's new picture book treat about Lottie and Herbie.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481442701
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	03/03/2015
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	480L (what's this?)
File size:	35 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Petra Mathers (1945–2024) was the author and illustrator of many picture books, including her beloved Lottie series. Lottie’s New Beach Towel was Book of the Year for Parenting Magazine, and Lottie’s New Friend was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and won the Silver Medal from the New York Society of Illustrators. Petra and her husband, author and photographer Michael Mathers, lived in Astoria, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

This tender, funny sequel to Lottie's New Beach Towel has all the charm and quirkiness of the original tale about this winsome chicken--and, because it has a more linear plot, it may prove even more accessible and appealing to children. This time Lottie's best friend, Herbie the duck, takes center stage. Arriving at Lottie's for his customary morning visit, Herbie is discomfited by the unexpected presence of Dodo, a new neighbor. Believing that Lottie prefers Dodo, Herbie entertains mildly vengeful fantasies (wishing Dodo would get seasick when they all take a boat ride; imagining that no one would care if he were dead) and starts acting out (blowing bubbles in his lemonade; donning a flimsy disguise in hopes that Dodo won't recognize him). However, while Lottie is out of town, it is up to Herbie to help Dodo out of a tight spot, and the emotional logjam is broken. Aided by a few well-chosen words from Dodo, Herbie realizes that his place in Lottie's heart is secure and that there is room enough for Dodo, too. Mathers offers a wise look at the often contrary and confusing dynamics of close friendships. Humor abounds in both the droll text and the tidily boxed art--particularly irresistible are images of the self-pitying Herbie in his ridiculously transparent false-nose-and-mustache getup and, in a fit of pique over Dodo's stylish new glasses, dramatically marching with eyes closed and arms outstretched, as if blind. Mathers's insights into friendship are lightly though surely delivered. Ages 3-8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In a starred review of this sequel to Lottie's New Beach Towel, centering on Herbie the duck, PW said, "Humor abounds in both the droll text and the tidily boxed art. Mathers's insights into friendship are lightly though surely delivered." Ages 3-8. (Feb.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-K-Lottie the chicken and Herbie the duck, introduced in Lottie's New Beach Towel (Atheneum, 1998), have their friendship put to the test when Dodo, a bird who hails from Germany, comes to town and Herbie begins to feel left out by the camaraderie that Lottie and Dodo seem to enjoy. The glamorous, worldly, and resourceful bird provokes some petulant and uncharitable emotions in an insecure Herbie until he has the opportunity to come to her aid. Dodo sings his praises and repeats some kind words that Lottie has also spoken about her friend. This tender scene paves the way for a successful relationship among the three birds of a feather. This predictable, comforting story has a message of hope for children learning to deal with the sometimes thorny issues of friendship. While the plot lacks some of the whimsy and humor found in the previous story, this reassuring tale offers its own simple pleasures. Boxed, uncomplicated watercolor illustrations are loaded with child appeal. The basic shapes, lively coloration, and winsome details of the visual narrative successfully expand on the text. This title should convince the picture-book crowd that three can be company.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA

School Library Journal

Petra Mathers's wonderful illustrations speak volumes...The story contains just the right amount of words for an early picture book: not very many. Lottie's New Friend sets the stage for more books about the adventures of these three now-fast friends. More importantly, it begins to answer a qustion many children will ask themselves over and over on the road to adulthood: "What on earth does she see in him?"
— Riverbank Review

Betsy Thomas

Although it appears to Herbie the duck that he's been displaced in the affections of his sidekick Lottie (Lottie's New Beach Towel) by Dodo, a new neighbor with an exotic accent, he needn't fret. Dodo assures him in the end "zat you are ze apple of her eye." Tall, mauve, elaborately crested, Dodo looks intimidatingly elegant next to Herbie's dumpy figure in Mathers' small, delicate paintings, but she puts on no airs, and the newly-minted trio of friends is last seen motoring companionably off to a meal of meatloaf and gingersnaps. A brief, understated take on a common worry-not confined to childhood-with enlivening touches of wit and charm.

Kirkus Reviews