Review by Booklist Review
Two young bibliophiles face a dilemma in the stacks when both want to borrow the same library book. Red-haired Sunny, a robot enthusiast, and wavy, dark-haired Aarush, who likes to pretend to be a mouse, have their own compelling reasons for needing Factory Friends. Told entirely through speech-bubble dialogue, the children's passionate reader responses highlight how a favorite book provides pleasure, escape, and comfort. For Sunny, whose mother is in the hospital, "having a nice, familiar best friend along makes being alone less scary," while Aarush, who lives in a big, noisy household, is transported to a "quiet world." Each child's efforts to persuade the other to choose a different tome are in vain, but a bookish epiphany brings about a shared happy ending for all. Sprightly digital illustrations capture the bustling activity in a public library, with families gathering for storytime, students studying, and people of all ages browsing the shelves. Check out this sweetly astute story about the deep connections readers make with books and with kindred readers.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This all-dialogue picture book from Robinson (No One Returns from the Enchanted Forest) opens with two kids--one with pale skin, red hair, and big glasses, and one with brown skin and dark wavy hair--reaching for the same robot book on the library shelf. Each claims the book as their respective BFF, asserts possession based on passion for an element of the story, and tries to wave off the competition with an alternative title. But within a few pages, the children each reveal that the book is a critical source of solace: one child's mother is in the hospital, and the title is a "nice, familiar best friend" that "makes being alone less scary." For the other, the book offers "a quiet world" amid a bustling household that includes twin infant siblings. As the kids suggest alternate titles for each other, empathy and friendship blossom, and the two realize they can share the book during their library visit. Earnest and moving, with thin-lined scenes in green, orange, and teal that affirm the variously diverse library-going community, the story underscores the many roles that books can play, including modeling compassion, understanding, and connection. Ages 4--8. (Jan.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3--Two children with enormous stresses in their lives--the brown-skinned black-haired child has an elderly daadi with a long gray braid who seems to have her hands full plus new twin siblings at home, and the lighter-skinned redhead has a mother hooked up to machines in a hospital bed--bicker politely over a book, Factory Friends, about robots that they both declare is their "best friend." They can each back it up with wonderful reasoning; they both offer the other decent substitutes. Continuing glimpses of their home lives show readers why this one book is so exceptionally important. Robinson, in words and art, shows the children taking apart just how the book makes them feel, and through communication, they discover that the friendship at the heart of the book is something they can share in real life. This sigh-worthy ending is one that every reader will cheer for, and the illustrations, showing absolute wall after wall of bookshelves, are an endless delight. VERDICT The comfort of books is well known but perhaps never tackled so resolutely. The children here are relatable and never precocious, keeping the argument civilized, sincere, and for readers, too, win-win.--Kimberly Olson Fakih
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A picture book about books--and, of course, BFFs. A light-skinned, red-haired child and a South Asian child both reach for the same book in the library. Turns out both kids consider Factory Friends their best friend. As the children explain to each other why they each love this book so much, they offer little glimpses into their worlds as well as the one in the pages of the story they have befriended. One child finds the book makes them feel less lonely, especially when they spend hours in the hospital because of their mother's health issues. For the other child, who has a large and often loud family, the book is a way of disappearing into their own world. Each kid tries to recommend different books for the other, but that doesn't quite work…until they find a deeply satisfying solution as they spark up a friendship. At times, the text veers toward overexplaining the children's emotions. However, the gracefully composed illustrations--peppered with speech bubbles, rendered in a muted palette, and alternating effectively between full spreads and vignettes--tell more of the story, offering warm looks at the two characters' worlds, which are so different and yet each child is seeking the same thing--a friend. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A tender reminder of what books offer--comfort, escape, and connection. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
