Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Saltzberg (Crazy Hair Day) handily captures the difficulty of making a friend--even one that's right around the corner--in this brief interlude. Though "Dog was fine being alone," he sometimes wishes for someone to walk with; though "Rabbit was fine being alone," he sometimes wishes for another. "How hard can it be to find a friend?" they both wonder, looking up at the sky. When Dog sees Rabbit peering into his own house, he thinks "the bunny would be a nice friend." But Rabbit is so distracted by the potential pal he sees hanging out on Dog's refrigerator (readers will recognize that it's a magnet) that Rabbit jumps away every time Dog offers a smile. Undeterred, both continue to moon over their targets, until Dog invites Rabbit in and reveals himself to be a friend worth waiting for. Repetition features heavily throughout, connecting the animals' experiences; though window peepers may not always prove to be friendship material, Saltzberg's reprised phrases and art, in smudgy greens and blues, are likely to reassure young readers feeling uncertain about making a new acquaintance. Ages 3--7. (Oct.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--Dog and Rabbit each spend most of their time in solitude, and neither one minds it. Even still, they sometimes wonder: What would it be like to have a friend? One day, Rabbit comes by Dog's house and sees a friend through the window, but it isn't Dog--and the friend, who turns out to be a silhouette of a bunny on dog's refrigerator, doesn't do anything. Eventually Rabbit finds a friend, but it isn't the one he expected. The easy-to-read text is divided into four chapters: Dog, Rabbit, Friend?, and Friend. Each illustration, done with Kyle brushes in Photoshop, sits against a white backdrop, and the text is written in bold black font. Saltzberg shows the characters' loneliness by putting each illustration on a single page, using spreads as the connection between the two begins to solidify. Up until the last section there is one sentence per page, which nicely balances the simple but subtle details in the illustrations. The plot of this book has a complete arc, and is best followed with attention paid to each illustration. Although this is a picture book, it is a solid choice for newly independent readers. VERDICT A good friendship story for one-on-one sharing, but not an essential purchase for most collections.--Liz Anderson, DC Public Library
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A conversation starter for preschoolers.Dog and Rabbit are fine on their own, but they each want a friend. Pleasantly square pages contain softly edged illustrations mostly separated by negative space, emphasizing the emotional and physical distance between the animals. Chunky, black, handwriting-inspired type contrasts with the negative space and balances the gentle blues, greens, and browns that make up the bulk of the color palette. Brown, floppy-eared Dog eventually notices Rabbit and wishes for friendship, but gray Rabbit is fixated on what he believes is a bunny inside Dog's house. Even as Dog is thinking about Rabbit on one of the rare double-page spreads, Rabbit looks up at the same evening moon thinking about the unreachable bunny. But once Rabbit wanders into Dog's house to discover that the bunny is a refrigerator magnet, the pair quickly settles into an amicable friendship. The duo's contentment is fortunate, for no other potential matches seem to exist save for a few fleeting glimpses of a red bird. The colors, sparse illustrations, and predictable plot make this a satisfactory beginning book about friendship for young children. Grown-up readers may go down rabbit holes of their own, wondering whether Rabbit is settling for Dog and about the merits of waiting around for others to arrive at their own realizations.An odd-couple friendship story with a focus on perception and patience. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
