Where is My Friend?

by Simms Taback

Wow, this blog is really languishing. I've just been very slow at reading Working. In the meantime, however, I've made the happy discovery that the new-to-me public library branch has a huge selection of board books, so we've been bringing them home in piles. The little one will run over when I say "let's read a story. Go get a book!" and pull one out of her bottom shelf. This is one of her favorites lately.

Where is My Friend? has, like most baby books, a simple premise. On each spread an animal (usually looking dejected) asks where is my friend? then you turn a flap, his face becomes a smile or surprised expression, and a second animal is revealed standing next to him. I like that the animal pairings match their environments: the zebra has an ostrich friend, the hippo a flamingo, the seal is with a penguin, kangaroo with a koala, moose with a turkey (who looks cross for some reason). As a final pair we meet a little boy who has a dog friend, and at the very end all the animals march across the page together. It's cute, but I don't really care for the artwork. It just doesn't appeal to me. However, my daughter really likes turning those flaps to find all the different animals, so for her it's a good book.

Rating: 3/5 ........ 16 pages, 1984