Forever Friends [Hardcover]

Carin Berger (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2010 | Age Level: 2 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Seasons come, seasons go. But a little brown bunny and a graceful blue bird discover that friendship, true friendship, lasts forever.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1—A blue bird and a brown rabbit frolic together through spring, summer, and fall. By late autumn, the bird announces that it must fly south but promises to be back once the weather warms up again. The rabbit spends the cold winter months missing its friend, while the bird longs for the bunny. Before long, spring returns and the two are reunited. The succinct prose touchingly expresses the value of friendship between these two very different creatures. Although they must spend a portion of the year apart, there is still the promise of more good times to come, which shows young readers the value of patience. The cut-paper collages created from paper products range from old books to ticket stubs. The effect is enchanting, giving each detail a unique design. The color scheme is also indicative of the various seasons, where spring is most represented by bright green, summer deep blue, fall golden brown, and winter soft lavender dusted with white.—Donna Atmur, Los Angeles Public Library
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From Booklist

Fans of Berger’s The Little Yellow Leaf (2008) may recognize the stars of this early picture book, which touches on migration and seasonal change, separation, and the lasting nature of true friendship. In this tender, simple story, an invitation to play in the spring sunshine turns a bluebird and a brown bunny into fast friends. The sprightly pair continues to frolic from spring to summer to autumn, until the cold air of winter approaches and the bluebird migrates south. The winter months are lonely ones for both friends, but finally, as the seasons come full circle, the two are joyfully reunited. Berger’s superb, stylized cut-paper collage illustrations, constructed from lined and graph paper and magazines, depict sylvan landscapes with graceful curves and airy compositions that echo the simplicity and gentleness of the tale. A reassuring, poetic story that will give young children much to ponder any time of the year. Preschool. --Kristen McKulski

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061915289
• ISBN-13: 978-0061915284
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #512,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Book, May 28, 2010

By 

Beth Spencer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forever Friends (Hardcover)

The artistic beauty of this book is breathtaking. Each page turn reveals a true work of art. But beyond that, the honesty about friendship is astounding and welcome in a book for young children. True friendship grows between rabbit and bird as they find ways to play together despite their differences -- a lovely and timeless theme in picture books. FOREVER FRIENDS goes deeper, though. The friendship is tested by separation: the bird flies away for the winter, leaving the rabbit lonely in the forest -- we see their separate experiences of winter, apart, in parallel and almost wordless scenes. The anxiety of the question "will my friend return" is one every child suffers, usually as silently as little rabbit does here. When bird soars onto the next page, the delight, relief, and pure happiness that transform rabbit (and somehow the entire gorgeous springtime forest) were echoed in my son's face as we read it together. Probably in my own, as well. What a beautiful gift this book is.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This whimsical tale of a "forever" friendship will delight young children!, May 31, 2010

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Forever Friends (Hardcover)

Winter was just about gone and a little blue bird sat on a branch looking down at a hollowed out log where a little brown bunny was sleeping. Spring had begun. The trees were blossoming and little slivers of grass were starting to grow and a whimsical dragonfly was flitting above the log. The little bird began to call to the bunny singing, "Hello! Come play!" He extended a blossomed branch to the bunny who reached up for it. Before long they were fast friends.

The little brown bunny hopped and bopped around as the blue bird swooped down to play with him. They played among the flowers and the bird sat on a red polka dot mushroom as the bunny peeked out from under its cap. Soon summer arrived and they played by the pond in the dark, trying to catch fireflies as they lit up the sky. When fall came around, they played with acorns and oak leaves. Soon the bird said to the little brown bunny, "Now I must fly south." He had promised to come back, but would the little brown bunny's forever friend return?

This whimsical tale of a "forever" friendship will delight young children. The story was very simple, but very appealing as the two forever friends played though the seasons. It is a tale of separation at the end, but of course the friends were eventually reunited. The lovely collage is quite well done, so much so that with the exception of graph and lined paper, it looks as if the pages were painted. This is a lovely quaint tale that your little one will ask for time and time again, one that you may wish to add to your collection!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Season of Friends, July 27, 2010

By 

Catherine W. Hughes (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Forever Friends (Hardcover)

As the spring buds blossomed, a bunny and a bird embarked on a friendship. They played all spring and all summer, straight till the end of fall. Then, the bird had to migrate for winter. The lonely bunny missed the bird through the cold winter months, only to wake to the bird's beautiful song come spring. This delightful story of friendship, paired with mixed media illustrations, will be a favorite for children ages 3-6.