My Best Friend [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary Ann Rodman (Author), E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2007 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

It?s summer, and lily spends lots of time at the community pool, where she sees tamika. lily decides that tamika will be her new best friend. only, tamika already has a best friend, and no matter how hard lily tries, she can?t seem to impress tamika. but without tamika, who will be lily?s best friend? with beautiful watercolor art and poignant text, this author and illustrator create a timeless story about the difficulties of finding a friend.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 1-3–Six-year-old Lily longs to be best friends with seven-year-old Tamika. For weeks she pines over the friendship that she believes they would share if not for Lily's babyish bathing suit or Tamika's distracting friend Shanice. In the end the youngster gives up on wanting a buddy who doesn't want her and finds someone even better with whom to share her summer. Rodman's honest text captures the girl's heartbroken disappointment and makes it real for young readers, and Lewis's shining, sun-drenched illustrations convey both the harshness and warmth of the bright days at the pool. This simple but powerful picture book speaks to the yearning outsider in every child. Consider it a first purchase for friendship-themed storytimes, bibliotherapy, and for its gorgeous, almost palpably liquid art.–Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr.2. In this elemental friendship story, Lily, six, wants to be best friends with Tamika, seven, and tries everything to get the older girl's attention. But one year makes a big difference, and Tamika and her best friend are mean to Lily. They call her "baby," but mostly they just ignore her. Even when Daddy teaches Lily to dive, they don't seem to care. In the end, Lily gives up, and she reluctantly accepts Keesha, also six, as a best friend. This is more situation than story, but the setting makes things special. The action takes place during the weekly playgroup at the neighborhood pool, and Lewis' beautiful, realistic double-page watercolors convey everything--the longing, the meanness, and the fun--through the body language and the splashing action of little African American girls in sunlit water and at the poolside. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (June 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142408069
• ISBN-13: 978-0142408063
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.2 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #611,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sparse Words Speak Volumes About a Child's Social Life, July 18, 2005

By 

Genetta Adair - See all my reviews
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This review is from: My Best Friend (Hardcover)

I love Mary Ann Rodman's insight into childhood in this book. Her sparse words speak volumes about a child's social life. In her seemingly simple story, she shows a depth of emotion that will help children cope with callous and unkind kids.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss it, February 8, 2006

By 

Tracy Barrett (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Best Friend (Hardcover)

Understated and never preachy, MY BEST FRIEND delicately portrays the heartbreak of fickle friends and the importance and joy of finding true ones. The text of this award-winner (Ezra Jack Keats Award for best new picture book, Charlotte Zolotow Award for best text for a picture book) is beautifully complemented by its illustrations, which capture the essence of childhood and summer.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars we loved it, April 26, 2010

By 

cambridge reader "cambridgearea" (cambridge, ma United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Best Friend (Mass Market Paperback)

my 4 y o daughter adores this book, wants it read over and over. I think she can really relate to the friendship dynamics that go on between a group of girls in the book, and I know we have all experienced those moments in childhood: "oh if I just had a different bathing suit everything would be better!" The illustrations perfectly capture the heat of summer. I like the father-daughter interaction (father teaches Lily how to dive), and the mom's values (no buying a new suit if your old one still fits!).