Children's Book Review: You Will be My Friend! by Peter Brown

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316070300
• ISBN-13: 978-0316070300
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.5 x 11.2 inches

Summary:

Lucy the Bear from Peter Brown's Children Make Terrible Pets returns in YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND! Lucy is determined to make a new friend—but it's turning out to be much harder than she thought. She ruins the giraffe's breakfast and is much too big for the frog's pond. But just when she's about to give up, an unlikely friend finds her. This is such an adorable story, and Lucy's hapless and ultimately endearing efforts can't help but make me laugh. Peter's beautifully illustrated book offers a unique take on the all-important theme of friendship.

My Thoughts:

What a great story to read to young ones who are entering pre-school or kindergarten and ask you how to make friends, or tell you they are having trouble finding friends.  Through this beautifully illustrated book by Peter Brown, we follow Lucy as she is on a mission to find a new friend.  At first she thought it would be an easy task and that everyone wanted to be her friend, but after several attempts at befriending other animals in the forest, she realizes it is harder than she thought.  As a result, she gets frustrated and mad and then begins to demand that the animals she encounters in the forest be her friend.  But, she then realizes how crazy she is acting and begins to calm down.  Then, it hits her -- be yourself!  As soon as Lucy realizes this, she comes across a friend in the forest.  What a great moral to the story -- be yourself!  Young children may become frustrated with the notion of making friends, but through the use of this book and talking with them, they will realize that if they be themselves, then others will come around and like them for who they really are.  This is how friends are made and kept.

I will definitely be reading this book again to my daughter when she gets older and begins socializing more and making friends.  Right now, she is too young to understand the concept of making friends and being yourself.  She is more captivated in the cute illustrations of Lucy and the forest animals she meets.  I highly recommend this book to any parent that likes wholesome stories for children, which teach a valuable lesson.

About the Author:

Peter Brown writes and illustrates books for young whippersnappers. He grew up in Hopewell, New Jersey, where he spent his time imagining and drawing silly characters. He studied Life Lessons at the School of Hard Knocks, and then got his B.F.A. in Illustration from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

After college Peter moved to Brooklyn, New York and spent several years painting backgrounds for animated TV shows. And then in 2003 he got a book deal to write and illustrate his first picture book FLIGHT OF THE DODO, which is a story that involves bird poop...in case you're into that kind of thing. Since then he's written and illustrated three more picture books, and illustrated several other books for young whippersnappers. His books have been adapted into plays and animated short films, they have been translated into a dozen languages, and they include the 2010 E.B. White award winner, Children's Choice Award winner, and New York Times bestselling book THE CURIOUS GARDEN.

Peter's fifth picture book, CHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS, hit bookshelves in September 2010, and is Peter's second NY Times Bestseller.

Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher in order to write up an honest review.  The views above are mine and mine alone.