Friends - Hardcover

Lewis, Rob

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805066918 ISBN 13: 9780805066913

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2001

Synopsis

Oscar the rabbit discovers that friends -- in whatever form they come -- are full of nice surprises.

Oscar just moved to a new house with his mother.
He was looking forward to making lots of friends.
"I hope they like to swim," Oscar said to his mother.
"Because that's what I like doing best."
Oscar headed down the path.

When Oscar moves to a new part of the woods, he wants nothing more than to make some friends and go swimming. Much to his dismay, all the potential friends have their own interests. And there's no one just like Oscar: one is too noisy, one is too wild, one is too smart, one is too bashful. But after returning home alone and disappointed, Oscar realizes that the best friendships require a little give and take.

This playful picture book explores the meaning of friendship with subtlety and charm.

About this title

About the Author

Rob Lewis is the author and illustrator of numerous books for children. Rob lives with his family in a small town in Wales, where he finds inspiration for his stories in the mountains and moorland that surround their home.

Reviews

reS-Gr 1-When Oscar and his mother move to their new home, the bunny looks forward to meeting lots of new friends who will join him in his favorite pastime, swimming. But as he encounters the rabbits in the meadow, he dismisses each one: Ernie likes playing in the junkyard and is too dirty, Zoe is too wild, Maisy is too noisy, and so on. At the end of the day, he tells his mother about his frustration, but she encourages him to join the others in their activities. The next day he plays with his meadow-mates, and then, in the afternoon, they all go swimming. The bright, cartoonlike acrylic illustrations depict rabbits of different colors and genders, one that wears glasses, and some in charming attire. While a few of the illustrations seem stiff, this book still has appeal for group sharing and discussion. Pair it with Leo Lionni's Frederick (Knopf, 1967) or Ellen Stoll Walsh's Hop Jump (Harcourt, 1993), two other titles in which animal characters learn to celebrate differences.

Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

When young Oscar, a rabbit, moves to a new house, his quickness to judge others makes establishing friendships in his neighborhood difficult. Lewis, a native of Wales, knows exactly how a child especially an insecure one can be brutally honest in sizing up peers: Ernie, who likes to play with junk, "didn't smell very good"; Charles, an intellectual sort, is discarded because "Oscar didn't like anyone who was smarter than himself." The hero walks home alone, a small, solitary figure in what seems a very lonely world. But Oscar's mother offers some good counsel: "If you want to make friends, then you will have to join in with what they like doing." Oscar sees the truth in her advice as he watches the other rabbits playing with one another, and his new willingness to meet them halfway gains him companionship in the thing he likes to do most: swim. In his prose and his tableau-like acrylics, Lewis never shies from depicting the pain of feeling left out. In the soothing tone of his narrative and serene vignettes, he shows that making friends can be easy and fun ("He played ships with Ernie in the junkyard. He built a train with Charles"). That makes Oscar's emotional turnaround and the joyful conclusion in the swimming hole feel authentically uplifting. Ages 3-6.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Ages 3-7. When he moves to a new house, little rabbit Oscar discovers it's hard to make new friends. While exploring the countryside, he meets other young rabbits, but no one seems compatible: Ernie is too smelly; Zoe is too wild; Maisy is too noisy; and so on. Oscar wants to swim, but he can't find anyone to join him. "Everyone is different," counsels his mother. So, Oscar joins the others in their activities, and by day's end, everyone jumps into the swimming hole together. The text flows easily, with short sentences and basic dialogue that is just right for beginning readers. But it's the illustrations that are really noteworthy. The rabbits' green, richly textured world contrasts with the simply drawn characters, who shine with personality. Despite the story's heavy message, listeners will relate to Oscar's troubles and embrace the irresistible young rabbits as friends of their own. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805066918
• ISBN 13: 9780805066913
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32