Best Friends

Best Friends

A collection of eighteen poems celebrating friendship, by writers such as Ruth Krauss, Langston Hughes, and Jack Prelutsky. From Publishers Weekly These poems do just what they're supposed to: They make you say, "Yes, that's the way it is." In Kathleen Fraser's "Wrestling," boys whose playfighting just yesterday led to tears sheepishly start in all over again. Or in Dorothy Aldis's "Bursting," hysterical children can't remember why they're laughing. The 18 poets include Jack Prelutsky, Judith Viorst, Ruth Krauss, Myra Cohn Livingston and Hopkins himself; a few, such as Lois Duncan, are better known for other literary work. Watts's color cartoons beautifully capture children in varied moodseating the night away at a slumber party, sulking in loneliness, making contact on the telephone. A winner. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 4 The subject of friendship, with all its ups and downs, occupies a generous amount of time in the lives of most children, and no doubt these poems will mirror familiar experiences. Who, for example, hasn't "laughed until my cheeks are tight. /We've laughed until my stomach's sore. /If we could only stop we might /Remember what we're laughing for" ("Bursting" by Dorothy Aldis)? The poetry is collected from an impressive roster of poets, including Langston Hughes, Myra Cohn Livingston, Carson McCullers and Jack Prelutsky. The dozen and a half poems are, without exception, readable and most appealingly illustrated with four-color pastel drawings. Caught within the simplicity of the poetry are fresh turns of language: "The sky is grouchy gray" ("Since Hannah Moved Away" by Judith Viorst). There is gentle humor throughout in reflections about wrestling, getting one's own way and sharing special adventures. Anger is also there, as well as sadness when a friend moves away. Best Friends should enjoy a wide readership. Lee Bock, Brown County Pub . Libs . , Green Bay, Wis.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.