Review by Booklist Review
In the second book about Little Red, a fox, and his gray dormouse friend, Hazel, readers will be charmed by the simple story of the deep bond of loyal companions. Stunning illustrations, reminiscent of Marjolein Bastin's nature drawings, are the highlight of this tale for very young children learning about friendship. Proietti's soft-hued pictures are charming, displaying texture and color and featuring sunny days filled with flowers, birds, and butterflies. Pictures of beautiful poppies, trees in spring bloom, and lush undergrowth are delightful to scrutinize. While Hazel hibernated over the winter in her teapot, Little Red made a new friend, a badger named Brock. As usual, Little Red plans a pleasant surprise for Hazel as she emerges from her sleep, but he is concerned the dormouse may feel "two's company, three's a crowd" and be offended by her pal having made a new friend in her absence. How the animals adapt to the introduction of a potential third playmate is comforting and may be reassuring to youngsters new to social situations. Visually enchanting.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3--Friendship is a complicated concept, and kids may need support in knowing how to develop and establish this relationship. Volpe takes on this task in a charming book that teaches children that having more than one close friend is okay and maybe, their friends can become friends with each other, too. Little Red the fox is best friends with Hazel the dormouse. When Little Red befriends Brock the badger, he worries that it will ruin his friendship with Hazel. Little Red begins acting strangely as they try to navigate both friendships. The illustrations are pure delight, sharply colored, and full of nature. The language and word choice is easy for kids to understand, but sophisticated in portraying the complexities of friendships, new and old. VERDICT This sweet, colorful, engaging picture book uses charismatic animals to explore friendship, and it's ideal for SEL shelves.--Tracey Hodges
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A fox frets that an old friend and a new one will shut him out if he introduces them in this follow-up to Before We Sleep (2021). Having made friends with Brock the badger over the winter, Little Red can hardly wait for his longtime bestie Hazel the dormouse to come out of hibernation so that all three of them can play together. By the time Hazel emerges from her teapot home, Little Red has had second thoughts. But when his strenuous efforts to keep the two apart come to naught, Hazel laughingly reassures him that she's not going to throw him over. Neither will Brock, as it turns out, and so all three gambol off--or, as Volpe puts it: "One, two, three, and they all started playing together, just as friends do." Sprays of lovely flowers and greenery give Proietti's misty, rolling woodland settings a sunlit, beguiling serenity…but along with, oddly, outfitting Hazel with trousers while leaving the other two animals au naturel, the artist cuts abruptly from spring to autumn with a page turn and finishes with an isolated view of Little Red looking disturbingly like he's about to pounce on, say, a juicy dormouse. Next to the previous outing's sensitive exploration of both the close relationship between Hazel and Little Red and the emotional stress of being separated (by impending winter), this all comes off as a mix of confusing visual missteps tied to a perfunctory bit of relationship chess. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A weak sequel run off literally by the numbers, with pretty but sometimes unsettling pictures. (Picture book. 5-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
