FICTION

You Can Be a Friend

by Tony Dungy
978-1-41699-771-9.
COPY ISBN
Gr 1—4—Jade likes to play with her brothers but is pleased when a new girl moves in next door. Hannah is her age and uses a wheelchair to get around. As they become friends, Jade wonders whether to invite Hannah to her birthday party at the water park. To better include her, Jade asks her parents to move the party to the zoo instead. Most pages have several paragraphs of text and realistic paintings of a close-knit, African-American family. The final page includes a note from the authors ("Jade's parents helped her to get to know Hannah because that's what God wants us to do. He loves everyone, and He wants us to love everyone, too.")—Julie R. Ranelli, Queen Anne's County Free Library, Stevensville, MD
Jade, overcoming her initial prejudice, forms a friendship with Hannah, a new neighbor who is in a wheelchair. Having Hannah for a friend makes Jade reconsider her planned birthday celebration at a (non-accessible) water park. The wordy text's moralizing is abundantly clear--"God made everyone, and we are all special in His eyes." Warm-hearted illustrations accompany the story.
Reviewed by Julie R. Ranelli , Apr 01, 2011

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