FICTION

Not Friends

by Rebecca Bender
illus. by Rebecca Bender. 32p. Pajama Pr. Aug. 2017. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9781772780260.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—In this follow-up to Giraffe Meets Bird and Don't Laugh at Giraffe, Giraffe and Bird are still having difficulties getting along. The two continue to increasingly irritate each other, escalating to the point where each goes his separate way. But once apart, each realizes he is lonely and has no one to pester. The two soon make up only to start fighting again. The ending indicates that the audience knows better than to think these frenemies can't stand each other, but it's unclear why they are friends in the first place, since there do not appear to be any positive qualities in the relationship. The illustrations, done in acrylics, depict the discordant friendship in a way that is presumably meant to be humorous but mostly makes the characters seem mean and at times even violent.
VERDICT With so much negative energy, the message about working at friendship gets lost, and the story fails to offer any kind of examples of getting along or compromising. An additional purchase.
Reviewed by Jessica Marie, Salem Public Library, OR , Aug 01, 2017

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