Friends Everywhere (Aladdin Angelwings) [Paperback]

Donna Jo Napoli (Author), Doron Ben-Ami (Illustrator), Lauren Klementz-Harte (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Aladdin Angelwings

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

The Little Angel of Friendship is the most popular angel around. He's pretty sure it won't take much for him to earn a few more feathers and get his flying wings. But there's a tough task ahead of him. He has to help a girl named Patricia make new friends.

There's nothing wrong with Patricia. It's just that she has a different way of talking than most children. Plus, she's just moved to a new town. The girl down the hall wants nothing to do with her -- she thinks Patricia is a baby. If Patricia doesn't speak up soon, there'll be one unhappy Little Angel of Friendship -- he needs those wings to fly!

Have you made a friend today?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This strained tale launches Napoli's (Crazy Jack, reviewed below) Angelwings series, in which young angels must help a youngster with a problem in order to earn their wings. Taking a cue from It's a Wonderful Life, the author explains, "Every time a little angel earned wings, a bell rang." Here, the Little Angel of Friendship's "tall task" is to help Patricia, a deaf child who has recently moved from a farm to a city apartment, to make new friends. The chapters alternate between what's happening in Patricia's world and forced, preachy interludes (called "Angel Talk") between the Archangel of Friendship and the little angel. Patricia's initial attempt to play with her neighbor, Lynsey, and another girl ends in disaster (Patricia watches in frustration as their mouths "moved and moved"). Readers find out why in the "Angel Talk" that follows: the little angel causes havoc when he blows on Lynsey's cheek ("I thought it might make her realize how confused and left out Patricia felt"), and the draft compels Lynsey to wrap a blanket around Patricia and stick a pacifier in her mouth so she can play the baby while the others play adults. Eventually, the little angel's bell does ring, but Napoli's uncharacteristically uninspired prose and flimsy story line fail to get this series off the ground. Ages 7-10. (Oct.) FYI: The publisher promotes an "Earn Your Wings!" essay contest at book's end.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-This new series, capitalizing on the current interest in angels, is ostensibly aimed at newly independent readers. The plot centers around a deaf girl named Patricia, who is coping with a move from a family-run farm to a new life in an apartment in the city. The chapters alternate between her story and that of the Little Angel of Friendship, who is trying to earn his wings by helping troubled earthlings. The characters remain undeveloped and one-dimensional, neither of the dual story lines is particularly original, and the device of the alternating chapters is confusing and distracting. A disappointing debut.
Linda W. Tilden, Cherry Hill Library, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068982694X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689826948
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,349,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For all information about Donna Jo Napoli (books, events, biography, awards, contact information), please go to http://www.donnajonapoli.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart warming series, May 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Friends Everywhere (Aladdin Angelwings) (Paperback)

The little angel of friendship only needs a few more feathers before he has the daring high flying wings he has waited so long for, but the task he has been assigned to is harder than he thought. He has to help a young girl named Patricia make friends in the new city that she and her family have moved to. Patricia is deaf, so she has to use her hands to talk and the other kids are treating her like a baby because of it.

This the first book in a series of angel wings books. It was just published in 1999 and there are 13 books in the series already. Children will find it enjoying to read the book themselves. The black and white pictures help to show more what Patricia's life is like.

I found this book to be very heart warming. It helped me to realize that even though someone is different on the outside we are all the same on the inside.

Ashley @ MyShelf.Com