Henry And Amy: (Right-Way-Round And Upside Down)

Henry and Amy: (Right-Way-Round and Upside Down)

From BooklistFirst published in Australia, this is a joyful story of friendship between opposites. Henry can't get things right. When everyone around him looks up, he looks down. He ties his shoelaces together and butters the wrong side of his toast. Then he bumps into Amy, who gets everything right. Amy shows Henry what she knows: he learns his right and his left, his front and his back, that the sky is up and the ground is down. And yet, Amy doesn't know it all. The spelled-out message is unnecessary ("Deep down, Amy wished everything she did wasn't so perfect"). In fact, all along, the playful, squiggly ink-and-watercolor pictures have shown that there's fun in disorder, in looking around corners, in not going along with the crowd. Henry teaches Amy about back-to-front and topsy-turvy, and together they learn how to fly. Children will giggle at Henry's bumbling and will understand the discoveries a friend can bring. Hazel RochmanEven though they are very different, Henry and Amy are good friendsFrom Publishers Weeklyoverlong overcoat, Henry can't do anything right. Every time he tries to draw a straight line, for example, "it turned out wiggly." Amy, on the other hand, does everything right; she can even write her own name. But there's the rub: "Deep down, Amy wished everything she did wasn't so perfect." When Henry and Amy bump into each other, they become fast friends. King's (A Special Kind of Love) premise, that opposites attract, is a sound one, but Henry and Amy seem like abstractions, not real children. Amy is said to teach Henry that "the sky was up and the ground was down" and shows him "his front from his back"; Henry reciprocates with lessons in "back-to-front and topsy-turvy." The illustrations show Henry and Amy as button-eyed, spindly-limbed figuresAthey would be right at home in a Joan Walsh Anglund composition. Ages 3-6.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.From School Library JournalPreSchool-Grade 1This simple charmer celebrates individuality. Henry is a child who struggles: when he tries to draw a straight line, it squiggles; when everyone else looks up, he looks down; and when he thinks it will be picnic weather, it rains. One day, he bumps into Amy, who is as different from him as night from day: Amy could do everything right. Henry is impressed and Amy helps him get things straight. When they build a tree house together, her skills keep it balanced while his make it interesting. When Amy says she wishes she werent so perfect, her pal helps her out. The text is clear and reassuring. The expressive pen-and-watercolor cartoons are filled with energy and movement. Double-page spreads show the two friends flying paper airplanes at the seashore or playing in their tree house with all sorts of contraptions hanging from nearby branches. A smaller illustration set against white space reflects Amys feelings during a moment of self-doubt. This delightful story reminds children that people who are different can learn from one another and become good friends. Although numerous books explore the concept in a variety of ways, this one does it more successfully than most.Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York CityCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Kirkus ReviewsPLB 0-8027-8687-1 From Australia comes the story of a jolly friendship, newly discovered between two mismatched friends. Henry and Amy are individuals--each the other's opposite. While Henry gets things wrong, Amy does everything exactly right: ``She never tied her shoelaces together, or buttered the wrong side of her toast.'' Henry is spontaneous; Amy's a planner. Henry is a squiggler; Amy always stays within the lines. How the two happily complement each other is the story line for this tale of a twosome. Amy properly instructs Henry in distinguishing left from right and front from back, but Henry offers wearing clothes that don't match, turning topsy-turvy handsprings, and rollin