Huck and Loona

K-Gr 2–Huck the bear and Loona the loon live in the great northwoods and are the best of friends. They play hide and seek, fish and watch clouds together. They want to hang out together every minute of every day which can be tricky when Huck wants to climb trees or Loona wants to dive to the bottom of the lake. Despite the obstacles they have always tried, until the day they decide to go on a great adventure, with very different ideas of what that meant. Their argument ends with “Maybe we shouldn’t be friends at all.” Doing their activities alone is nnot much fun. As an apology, Huck brings Loona a fish for them to share. They realize that liking exactly the same things all the time isn’t as important as liking each other, and “maybe it’s okay for friends to disagree sometimes.” Kilgore’s text is casual and clear in its story and message without being dogmatic. Its dynamic placement within the illustrations adds visual interest and helps visually move the story forward. Loona is depicted realistically while Huck is a bit more cartoonish. Weiser’s illustrations bring the northwoods to life as a third character. She gets it right, from the wonderfully reflective lake to the birch and pine trees and myriad flora and fauna. An author’s note discusses how it’s all right for friends to like different things, and has some scripts to practice.