Once Upon a Friend

by Dan Gemeinhart, ShinYeon Moon (Illustrator)

Overview

A wondrous, heartwarming tribute to the fictional friends we make in stories, the comfort and joy we find in them, and the delight of passing them down through the generations—for fans of Beekle, Toy Story, and Inside Out.

Once upon a time, I met my reader. . .

As soon as our young reader opens the cover of Meego's book, the pair are the best of friends. Side by side, they leap from the adventures in Meego’s stories to the adventures in the child’s real life. From courageously creeping into shadowy caves to weathering Very Big Days like the first day of school, the friends journey and grow together through thick and thin. Though seasons turn, just like pages, the friends and memories we make within stories always stay with us. Once Upon a Friend is an imaginative ode to the beloved fictional characters who we never leave behind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250384942
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	06/18/2024
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	44
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Dan Gemeinhart is the # 1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Midnight Children, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, The Honest Truth, Some Kind of Courage, Scar Island, and Good Dog. A former elementary teacher-librarian and lifelong book nerd, He lives with his wife and three daughters in a small town in Washington state.

ShinYeon Moon is a New York–based illustrator. She received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, where she has also taught. Her work has been recognized by various illustration publications. She is also the illustrator of Laolao's Dumplings.

Dan Gemeinhart is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of the middle-grade novels The Midnight Children, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, The Honest Truth, Some Kind of Courage, Scar Island, and Good Dog. A former elementary teacher-librarian and lifelong reader, he lives with his wife and three daughters in a small town in Washington state.

Shin Yeon Moon is a New York based illustrator. She received her MFA from the School of
Visual Arts, where she now teaches. Her work has garnered accolades from esteemed illustration
publications including Society of Illustrators and Communication Arts.

Editorial Reviews

02/26/2024

Middle grade author Gemeinhart makes his picture book debut with a familiar-feeling story of connection that springs up between a child reader and the creaturely protagonist of the child’s favorite series. Moon draws book character Meego, this story’s pensive narrator, in crisp lines and soft colors: the purple creature sports rosy cheeks, a raccoon-like tail, and a hat topped with a white flower. Though Meego frets between readings, there seems little cause for immediate alarm, since the child, portrayed with brown skin, insists on regular rereads (“Again!!!”) as well as on toting the book during various milestones. “My covers opened less and less” as the child matures, but one day Meego is taken from “dust and shadows.” It’s an earnestly told work best directed at readers in the throes of object attachment. Ages 3–6. (June)

Publishers Weekly

2024-04-05
In middle-grade author Gemeinhart’s picture-book debut, a young reader and their favorite book character journey through life together.

Meego, who narrates, has been best friends with “my reader…from the very beginning.” Rosy-cheeked and expressive, Meego is a large gray furry creature with a raccoon tail, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli’s Totoro, while the young reader is brown-skinned with cropped hair and freckles and described with they/them pronouns. “Again and again,” the two go on exciting adventures and support each other through different milestones, from the child’s first day of school to their mutual loss of loved ones. But their escapades slow to a halt as the child grows older and stops reading about Meego…until one day when they return as an adult to introduce Meego to their own child. Moon’s illustrations, rendered in gentle bubble gum hues and soft textures, add charm to the tale, and the reappearance of childhood toys and books in a weathered state later in the book is a nice touch. The idea that book characters wait “in the darkness,” “lost in dust and shadows,” in between readings may evoke pangs of guilt or concern from young readers. Still, the narrative serves as a warm and nostalgic call to revisit favorite stories with the children in our lives.

A sweet ode to the stories and characters we love. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews