A Better Best Friend

PreS-Gr 3–One morning, a squirrel is out walking and happens upon a mushroom best friend: “Usually, all I find are pinecones, but this is definitely a best friend. At least I think he is. I’ve been wanting a best friend for a long time. Anyway, he looks like one.” He waits all day for his new friend, Pock, to speak. When Pock finally smiles, “He has a real best friend face.” With offbeat, deadpan humor, the squirrel goes about ensuring best friend status. As rich forest greens yield into yellow and orange and then the grays of winter, denoting the passing of time, their friendship deepens. But with the arrival of spring comes a challenge: another friend...and then another. Expressive eyes (reminiscent of Jon Klassen’s work) do much to convey emotion in this clever examination of an existential question: is it possible to have more than one best best friend? Tallec’s charming, child-friendly story captures an ever-present concern of many readers, young and old, and offers an open ending that invites discussion.