We’re Going to be Friends
Reviewed By Grasshopper2 June 5, 2018
Author Jack White. Illustrations: Elinor Blake
Distributor: New South Books
ISBN: 9780996401692
Publisher: Third Man Books
Release Date: February 2018
Website: http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au
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Friendship is such an important area of understanding for young children, that any discussion and impetus is welcome. This is a great opportunity to share this concept with a delightful, brightly coloured children’s picture book. Not only do we have the story, but also the option to download the video clip and song which is the same as the text.
Rhyming text is used and really designed to be sung, but works well to read out loud. It tells the story of a young boy and girl starting out for school. They walk together and together, they discover bugs, and many things of interest along the way. When they arrive at school, they need to clean up, and prepare for all the new and interesting things they will be doing and learning. There are “numbers, letters, learn to spell, nouns and books and show and tell.” So many interesting things to do together!
Then there is playtime. Being set in America, the chosen sport is baseball, and the children tackle the game with relish. After lunch it is back to the classroom, where the teacher measures each child’s height and records it. Next comes singing and one child is pictured as singing like a bird, the other is rather flat, and out of tune. But we are all different.
The illustrations are creative and combine a selection of photographs and images superimposed on them. The people who sing this story are shown in photos as well. The colour red is used predominantly throughout the book to give it a cheerful and stand out feel. The characters are drawn in cartoon style which suits the nature of the art work.
The text is a good size for following along with the song. It is either red, or black or white, so that it stands out from the page. This is quite a visual feast with the differing styles of art, and realistic sketches of bugs work well with enormous red and white lollipops, used as seats. The happiness engendered by this book is a lovely way to start a school day.