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Summary
Summary
From building forts, to sharing secrets, to sitting together on the bus, best friends do everything together. So what do you do when your best friend moves away? Will you ever have fun again? Is there any hope of having a new best friend? Or will you be bored and lonely for the rest of your life? Perfect for coping with those best-friend-moved-away blues, Nancy Carlson's wise and heartfelt story will ease the pain of saying good-bye, while reassuring young readers that they can make new friends even as they keep the old ones close to their heart
Author Notes
Children's author and illustrator, Nancy Carlson was born and raised in Edina, Minnesota. Ever since kindergarten she knew that was what she wanted to do. She attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where she majored in printmaking.
Nancy has written and illustrated over 40 titles. Some of her titles include the Louann Pig series, Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come, How to Lose All Your Friends, and It's Not My Fault. They address some of the challenges faced by kids and how to positively deal with them.
In recognition of her works, Nancy has earned several awards including the Children's Choice Award from the International Reading Association and Children's Book Council and the Minnesota Children's Museum Great Friends to Kids Award.
Nancy currently resides in Minnesota.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-A best friend moves away, leaving the narrator to recall all they've shared. From soccer plays to chicken pox, kindergarten to arguments, readers will understand that this is one friend who can't be replaced. Luckily, by list's end, the new next-door neighbor and her dog approach the forlorn girl and her hound, and the foursome begins a friendly game of chase. Carlson uses bold, bright colors to illustrate this friendship in all its moods. The book will be useful for the recently lonely, as well as for sparking discussion of what makes a friendship unique.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
At first, the narrator is bereft because her best friend has moved away, but by book's end, another child her age moves in. The story suffers from both predictability and a generic quality (e.g., the characters aren't named). The colorful illustrations are likewise unsubtle: they have a colored marker heaviness about them, and the characters' expressions are almost entirely limited to smiles or frowns. From HORN BOOK Fall 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Carlsons (Hooray for Grandparents Day!, 2000, etc.) first-person narrator is lucky: she has a best friend. She is also devastated: her best friend has moved away. Readers see her desolation in the boldly colored illustrations of subsequent pages. Her yellow dog accompanies her upstairs as she totes a photo album to her room, dejection in even the dogs paw. The images anchored in the album date from babyhood; the living memories of starting kindergarten together, hanging out in their tree fort, exploring galaxies in a cardboard box, and playing soccer are bubble-framed dreamscapes. Life ahead promises only boredom. There are memories of fights, but those are balanced by making up. Misery needing space, our heroine leaves her room to sit on her front step, there to relive other good memories as the new neighbors moving van is unloaded. Who will she tell shes sorry? Or share things with? Except the new family has a dog and toys and someone who looks my age! The new girl also knows what to do with a soccer ball. (Our heroine is sufficiently savvy to know that her old best friend will make new friends, too.) An expressive tribute to the pain of farewellsand the joys of hellos bolstered and enriched by good memoriesthis is sure to empower not only kids who move away, but also those who stay behind. (Picture book. 3-8)
Booklist Review
Ages 3-5. A little girl recalls the good times and bad times she had with her next-door neighbor before the family moved away. Feeling a little lost and sad, she wonders if she'll ever have a best friend again. Colorful, somewhat stylized illustrations show the two children side by side at school, at play, and even quarreling. The story ends with the arrival of an amiable new girl next door--clearly best-friend material. The neat, optimistic conclusion may seem unrealistic to kids who have just lost a friend, but this cheerful treatment does offer hope of better times ahead. --Carolyn Phelan
