Do You Want to Play: A Book About Being Friends - Softcover

Kolar, Bob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0606211535 ISBN 13: 9780606211536

Publisher: Demco Media

Synopsis

Two friends visit Friendship Park, where they explore the ins and outs, the ups and downs of friendship and discover the many things they can do together.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Where Dave Ross's and Laura Rader's A Book of Friends (p. 537) faltered, Kolar's big, gregarious book succeeds; it's the ideal size for covering the giant topic of friendship. The pages are rife with drawings, while the text is a collage of tips, captions, and declarations. The spreads show a pageant of the things friends do: bike-riding, dancing, sending messages, and playing musical instruments. The downside of friendship shows up, too, for fights break out and sometimes people just need to be alone. Such general concepts are the playground for Kolar's parade of silly pictures. ``Check me out!'' says a checker board, doffing his hat, while on another page a flower explains, ``My friends picked me.'' The endpapers are alive with stick people, juggling, sweeping, and eating gigantic ice cream cones. A board game breaks up the text by contributing concepts about friendship, e.g., ``Stick out your tongue at someone/Lose a turn,'' while a separate tale within the pages offers children a mini-storytime. The book is so bright and full of drolleries that children may pore over it for hours, and will return to these pages often. (Picture book. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 4-In this unusual picture book, two pals enter "Friendship Park" and discover the complexities-good and bad-of interacting together. Readers then follow along on a visual and narrative hodgepodge. Double-page collage spreads are filled with zany geometric characters, accompanying captions, and numerous activities. One spread features "Good Friend Instructions" with a diagram. Another offers a board game. Scattered throughout the pages are jokes, stories, and boxed "Friendly Tips" that range from helpful ("Quiet friends can have a lot to say if you give them a chance") to bland ("Don't you love getting a turn?") to silly and sophomoric ("Pick your friends, not your nose, and never pick your friend's nose"). Overall, the effect is very uneven. Parts of the book are clever and unique; others are confusing and cluttered. The "Where's Waldo" generation may enjoy the game elements, exploring the pictures, and discovering the jokes. However, for most readers, the theme will probably be overwhelmed by the layout unless introduced by an adult.
Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Demco Media
• ISBN 10: 0606211535
• ISBN 13: 9780606211536
• Binding: Paperback