Are You My Friend Today?

Explores the many feelings of friendship experienced by young children--from the pleasures of a slumber party and the comfort of a pretend friend, to the sadness and fear brought on by a fight with a friend and the thrill of birthday parties

PreSchool-Grade 1-- This disjointed effort offers a hodgepodge of cuddly animals and cherubic children vaguely celebrating the joys of friendship. While Fujikawa's illustrations have a brightly colored child appeal, the composition is so jumbled that on one page readers find a child in a snowsuit skiing over a blazing summer sun, and on another, a child on a swing appears to be suspended over water and just about to strike an unsuspecting swimmer. The less-cluttered pages fare better, but unfortunately, the text offers nothing but sentence fragments and pseudo-poetry. Preschoolers may enjoy the cheerful pictures, but for a book with child appeal and substance, stick with Aliki's We Are Best Friends (Greenwillow, 1982). --Lori A. Janick, Parkwood Elementary School, Pasadena, Tex.
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