39 Uses for a Friend [Hardcover]

Harriet Ziefert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001 | Age Level: 1 and up

Friends are always there for each other, as flashlight-holders at late-night campouts, alarm clocks in the morning, and ladders when we can't quite reach. This is a quirky, endearing reminder of all the little things friends do for each other. The funny plays on words and delightful, straightforward message of friendship will appeal to everyone who's a friend.

Illustrated by Rebecca Doughty

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Backrest," "perfume sniffer," "hand warmer" and "phone buddy" are just four of Harriet Ziefert's 39 Uses for a Friend. The descriptive words and phrases accumulate in a heartfelt homage to best friends everywhere. Rebecca Doughty's deceptively simple line drawings vary the pacing, sometimes set in panels against bright, patterned borders and other times with four vignettes to a spread.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 4-Many of the ways friends can help one another are described and illustrated by naive drawings. Each page features a colorful paint-and-ink picture or two and a word or phrase. Friends are seen as "audience," "back scratcher," "hairdresser," "comedian," and "hand holder." The book is often punctuated by sly humor; one page reads, "napkin," and shows a child wiping his hands on his neighbor's shirt; another depicts two girls trying to pull a cookie jar down from a high shelf with the explanatory "accomplice." Friends of many races are depicted, and a few animal buddies are thrown in for good measure. Young children may need adult assistance to understand the full meaning of some of the words and pictures. Nevertheless, the paintings are charming. The book may be useful as a springboard for discussion about friendship.

Alison Kastner, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399236163
• ISBN-13: 978-0399236167
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,058,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harriet Ziefert was born in New Jersey. She grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University. "About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year. Ziefert's picture book A New Coat for Anna is about a girl in a bombed-out European city during the months just after World War II. Anna has outgrown her old coat, and her mother trades her few surviving treasures--a watch, a lamp, a necklace, and a porcelain teapot--in order to obtain wool and have it spun, woven, and finally sewn into a fine red coat for Anna. A Horn Book Magazine reviewer stated, "the simple text, based on a true story, carries the narrative along effectively." The book, which was illustrated by Anita Lobel, was chosen as one of ten books to be read aloud by former First Lady Barbara Bush as part of a program promoting reading. Ziefert was invited to the White House for the occasion. The reason Ziefert began writing easy-to-read books was that she felt "they were getting too hard for kids to read in the first grade." She says that she wrote easy-to-read books with seventy-five or fewer words, even ones with fifty or fewer words, "to see how much of a story" she could produce with that limit. She enjoyed the challenge, and cites her book Sleepy Dog as an example. "Sleepy Dog is the most successful book I've ever done, in terms of number of books sold." She's also been working on a developmental program with publisher Dorling Kindersley, made up of books for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Her book Pete's Chicken, which was illustrated by Laura Rader, was reviewed in the New York Times Book Review as "a simple, sweet 'Song of Myself' for children . . . [which] applauds the specialness of every child as it reminds parents of the healing power of just being there for children." Among her other books is a series of easy-to-read books, such as Trip Day and Worm Day, about an inventive science teacher and his rambunctious class of students. Ziefert's book Let's Get a Pet was named an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children by a joint committee of the National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council. . Ms. Ziefert lives in Maplewood, New Jersey and Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has two adult sons.