Customer Reviews

The Friend

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This award winning husband and wife team (The Gardener and The Library) has created a beautiful, moving tribute to "all the people across the world who have saved the lives of children by paying attention when others did not." Stewart's lyrical rhyming tale is apparently an ode to the African-American housekeeper, Ola Beatrice Smith, who took loving care of her as a child when her parents were too busy to give her the devoted, day to day, loving attention she needed and wanted. Small's gorgeous, colorful watercolor illustrations reveal the playful, loving relationship between the slight, red-haired young Belle and her strong, hardworking, loveable caretaker Bea. A visual delight, they perfectly illuminate the close relationship between two by showing Belle "helping" Bea with her household chores, as well as their late afternoon playtimes at a stunning beach. Criticism directed at the stereotypical rich white child taken care of by an African American servant whose outside life is completely ignored should be considered in light of the book's autobiographical and historical context. (Small's illustrations suggest the post WWII era). Recommended for all children aged 4 to 8 and highly recommended those who spend significant time in the care of caretakers other than their parents.

"The Friend" is author Sarah Stewart's salute to a childhood friend who was a surrogate parent - a 'stand-in' for a too-busy mother. It is the poignant story of little Belle's friendship with housekeeper Bea, and of a painful void being filled 'way beyond duty.(How could anyone be paid adequately for love that transcends pity and paycheck?)

This sweetest story is written for children AND adults, and may we all learn about valuing the beautiful varieties of friendship. The ocean's healing grace is evident when each day "Belle and Bea, by the sea, hand in hand" grow in friendship and reliance on one another.

But then the day comes when little Belle challenges the ocean with her own bravado and audacity. David Small (husband of the author) paints the rescue: a scene that sums up the author's gratitude for life, for friendship.

This lovely story makes me want to be a pretend librarian and gather adult friends in a circle for story-telling. I would tell how Sarah Stewart's words and David Small's paintings grab my heart. Memories surface as I see the picture in the locket and I have a renewed appreciation for the blessedness of my own childhood.

*REVIEWER mcHAIKU* suggests you 'give yourself up' to the tears as well as the laughter in this lively, loving poem that is matched by exquisitely imaginative illustrations.

This is a charming story told in rhyme about a little girl (Belle) who's parents are too busy for her, but her caregiver (Bea) always has time for her, despite the numerous chores around the house. Each day of the week is given two full page spreads--the first layout is devoted to describing verbally what that day holds, and how Belle makes Bea's day a little brighter, just by being a little girl. The second layout is always a sweeping view of the beach, ocean or house, and how Belle and Bea are enjoying their playtime there. The story ends rather abruptly, but readers are left thinking about that special adult they had in their life when they were children. The illustrations are colorful and detailed (I love Belle dancing with a broom), and readers will sense all the emotions the words are conveying in the drawings. A book that should appeal to the adult reading it as much as the child.

Friendship is an enormous issue in elementary school...kids form cliques and do their best to fit in and feel like they belong. Opportunities to have dialogues about what true friendship means are few and far between. This book is the perfect opportunity. The Friend will show children what a good friend is and how valuable friendship can be. Tears came to my eyes at the end of this story and I don't doubt that you'll be touched by this semi-autobiographical tale as well.

My three year old loves this story! The story is about a little girl, Belle, who is cared for by the house keeper because her parents are too "busy." It describes their day to day lives that are full of fun for Belle. Then one day something terrible almost happens. Bea rescues Belle. It teaches a wonderful lesson of not going near water alone. My daughter is fascinated with Belle being submerged and then being pulled out. It opens up a great opportunity to discuss water safety with kids. I make a point to do that after every read. But besides that it is a great touching story.

This is a wonderful and touching story! It reminded me of my childhood and gave me peace to know someone had written about it in such a caring way. This book has become one of my favorites!

The illustrations are delightful, I agree. But, I have reservations. First, unlike the plethora of books sharing the theme: Mommy-loves-you-even-though-she-has-to-work-and-leave-you-in-others'-care, this little girl's parents are rich gadabouts who don't give a hoot about wasting time on "mundane" chores and quality moments with their child. Why plant that seed of doubt in a your child's mind? And, readers are supposed to believe that Belle doesn't even CARE about her own parents' neglect and indifference; she has this wonderful NANNY to take their place, see? "Caregivers" are apparently interchangable.

The book starts out "telling," rather than showing, Belle's odd personality and character; telling is one of the author's primary narrative techniques. The rhyme and meter are pedestrian, with twisted syntax, strained and inappropriate rhyme. The best thing in the story is Belle'S near-drowning incident; it may convince children NOT to try to go off and swim by themselves.

As for the gorgeous illus, which in fact convey most of the beautiful and "touching" aspects of the book, children are inundated with IMAGES, tv, movies, cd's, computer, videos. They need to be exposed early to examples of excellent LANGUAGE, I believe. Book publishers know that the average parent is too busy to educate himself about children's literature. Parents, on average, buy books by the illustrations; they haven't time to read through all the books in the store. Riveting pictures are easy to absorb and relate to; words, on the other hand, exercize a child's mind and broaden his horizons as well as give him a lifelong advantage in school and the real world. I posit that images, accesible as they are, encourage developing brains to become lazy when they are expected to speak and understand complex language and, especially, to learn to READ it. Children right from the start need WORDS, well-chosen, well-used, WORDS that create memorable images and memorizable poetry, WORDS to stretch imaginations and enable intelligent thinking. WORDS! And it's never too early to begin exposing a baby to the BEST of children's literature. After all, today's BABIES are no different from the babies born thousands of years ago; get them interested in WORDS before they are bombarded with those irresistible images. If you start early, you won't have difficulty later presenting a wonderful book with gorgeous WORDS and minimal gimmicks or illustrations. Only you can give your young child WORDS; he'll absorb plenty of images without your even trying.