Review by Booklist Review
A squirrel who lives in the forest tells of longing for a best friend and finding one. It isn't easy, for "best friends aren't like pine cones. They don't just fall from trees." And, Squirrel discovers, even after finding one, conversation may initially be awkward. After Squirrel meets Pock, a mushroom with a pale body and a large, dark-brown cap, they sit quietly together for hours. Then Squirrel takes his new best friend to his favorite places in the forest, as autumn leaves fall. In spring, Moo (an amiable flying insect) sits down beside them, and the next morning, Gunther (a mouse) joins them. Squirrel feels distressed about choosing one best friend, but the feeling fades as he begins to enjoy his widening circle of friends. Tallec's illustrations reflect the quietly amusing quality of the text while giving each character a distinctive look and creating a beautiful forest backdrop with stately trees, filtered light, and seasonal changes of colors. The idea of finding a friend will resonate with many children, and Squirrel's first-person narrative reads aloud well.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3--One morning, a squirrel is out walking and happens upon a mushroom best friend: "Usually, all I find are pinecones, but this is definitely a best friend. At least I think he is. I've been wanting a best friend for a long time. Anyway, he looks like one." He waits all day for his new friend, Pock, to speak. When Pock finally smiles, "He has a real best friend face." With offbeat, deadpan humor, the squirrel goes about ensuring best friend status. As rich forest greens yield into yellow and orange and then the grays of winter, denoting the passing of time, their friendship deepens. But with the arrival of spring comes a challenge: another friend… and then another. Expressive eyes (reminiscent of Jon Klassen's work) do much to convey emotion in this clever examination of an existential question: is it possible to have more than one best best friend? Tallec's charming, child-friendly story captures an ever-present concern of many readers, young and old, and offers an open ending that invites discussion. VERDICT An outstanding read-aloud for adults and children, bursting with humor and warmth. Recommended for all collections.--Rebecca Kirshenbaum
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The squirrel protagonist and narrator encounters a mushroom sitting on a log and declares, "This is definitely a best friend. At least I think he is." With this conviction in mind, the squirrel sets out to mold the mushroom, Pock, in its image of a best friend, showing him "the tree I like most, my secret places in the forest, things you wouldn't show anyone except a best friend." The two spend a few seasons together in quiet but content companionship, and Pock's best-friend status seems secure, until "spring arrives, and so does Moo," a dragonfly. As the squirrel discovers shared hobbies with the insect, it wonders whether Moo, not Pock, is actually its best friend. This leads to a crisis of decision-making, hilariously expressed: "Moo...Pock...Mo...Mock...Poo...Po...Aaarrrgh!" Just when it seems things can't get more confusing, yet another new friend appears: Gunther the mouse. Through a distinctive first-person narrative voice that sometimes verges on stream of consciousness, this book explores the question of what makes a best friend and whether it's possible to have more than one. Tallec's earth-tone illustrations imbue the pages with an ambience befitting the whimsical forest setting. The characters' simply drawn faces are evocative, their expressions rendered humorously hyperbolic through their stylized cartoonlike eyes in this funny picture book. Shenwei ChangMarch/April 2024 p.77 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A single-minded journey through best friendship. An unnamed squirrel is excited to find a best friend while walking through the woods. "His name is Pock," he is a squirrel-sized white mushroom, and "he has a real best friend face." "Pock doesn't say much," and it's unclear how he feels about being press-ganged into accompanying a squirrel who wants to show him "things you wouldn't show anyone except a best friend." When a fly named Moo arrives, the squirrel isn't sure what to do and shouts, "I want ONE best friend! Not TWO! ONE!" Then a mouse named Gunther arrives, and the concluding sentence--"The (Better) End"--shows all four playing a game of cards, indicating that one can in fact have multiple best friends. Translated from French, the occasionally clunky sentences have a pleasant stiffness to them, reminiscent at times of Jon Klassen's work. The surreal nature of the mammal/insect/fungal friendships--presented entirely from the perspective of the squirrel, who seems to have a rather selfish view of such things--raises more questions about the nature of relationships than it provides. It's either a simple story hiding more complex ideas or a complex story disguising a very simple idea, depending on how readers interpret the eventual four-way bond. A somewhat existential storytime experience. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
