Big Friends

PreS-Gr 2—Birt and Etho are best friends. Each day, they bring two large cardboard boxes up Sudden Hill to play. Sometimes the boxes are their pirate ships, carrying them over choppy waters. Sometimes the boxes are spaceships, launching the little astronauts into a wide, unknown universe. Between adventures, they sit on the tip tops of their boxes to watch the sky. On a cold Monday, they meet Shu, a tiny boy who has observed them from afar and wants in on the fun, too. He has a box of his own and a nice warm hat, so Birt and Etho welcome him into their fantastic world of imagination and fun. Soon, though, trouble brews. Missing the way things were when there were just two boxes, Birt becomes angry, smashes his box, and stays inside for days at a time. Lost and lonely without their third friend, Etho and Shu stop by to see Birt with no luck, until…they use their boxes to create an enormous, creature-esque box on wheels for all three friends to enjoy! Excited to take to the hill once again, the three reunited friends race up the hill in "Monster-Creature-Box-Thing." With courage and kindness, the three friends find a rhythm of their own, forming a strong new bond of friendship. Charming artwork graces each page, complementing the perfectly paced flow of the story, which is written as a free-verse poem. Whimsical, endearing illustrations make this picture book an even more charming and tender tale.