Friendly day

PreS-Gr 2-When Cat, dinner plate with lemon slice and silverware in hand, catches Mouse, she is the polar opposite of friendly. Intent on saving his skin, Mouse says, "Put down that plate and see the date. It's Friendly Day today/a day for sharing, a day for caring, when everyone is nice,/when Frog reads Snail a fairy tale/and cats do NOT eat mice." Cat is so taken with the idea that she leaves Mouse alone and goes off to tell Dog. Together they imagine all the wonderful things that happen on Friendly Day. They are so excited that they tell Bear, who loves the idea, but must break it to them: "I must insist, it doesn't exist./It is a lovely lie." Cat and Dog are so sad that they cry. Then Cat has a plan-"We'll put the world to rights./We'll make them see how things could be,/if only no-one fights." And down the road Cat, Dog, and Bear go to spread the word about Friendly Day. The rhyming text alone is a joy to read aloud, but the addition of Fuge's illustrations kicks it up a notch. The attention to detail, expressions, and clarity is superb. The artist's realistic depictions of animals in the most unrealistic situations-a cow caring for an ailing crocodile, a fox singing to geese, a knitting rhino-are hilarious yet sweet. Perfect for all libraries, it will be especially appreciated at story time.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Vivacious illustrations carry this unlikely tale of a captured mouse's ploy that inspires three predatory animals to wage peace. When Cat nabs Mouse by the tail, the quick-thinking rodent immediately tells him it's Friendly Day: "a day for sharing, a day for caring, / when everyone is nice, // when Frog reads Snail a fairy tale / and cats do NOT eat mice." So eloquent is the mouse that the dazzled feline marches off to persuade Dog and a less credulous but tenderhearted Bear to join paws and set out to make the holiday a real one. Expanding the central cast into a burgeoning gallery of wild creatures from all over, Fuge illustrates Kelly's bouncy rhymes with a series of harmonious gatherings. These range from the aforementioned frog and snail to a tiger lounging familiarly against a (knitting) rhino, a fox serenading dancing geese, baboons handing out balloons and a cow pouring medicine for a bedridden crocodile. All are expressively posed and rendered in sharp detail (with occasional anthropomorphic tweaks) and with fond smiles. "It is a lovely thought," opines Bear, "to think that we could ever be, / as kindly as we ought." Impossible to disagree. (Picture book. 6-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.