Oliver

PreS-Gr 1—A rhythmic narrative introduces bespectacled Oliver, a child who "felt a bit different" and prefers the company of his stuffed animals, puppets, and a mouse to that of other children. He and his "friends" have grand, imaginary adventures together, often oblivious to the many other people around them. Even so, his solitude is underscored when he swims in the pool alone and when he discovers that his pretend companions aren't necessarily interested in listening to him play the piano. Then, Oliver's tennis ball, which he hits against the wall of his house, bounces into the neighbor's yard where he meets Olivia, also "a bit different." The two children discover the pleasure of lobbing the tennis ball to each other over a clothesline-and the "best adventure" of Oliver's new friendship begins. Whimsical pencil illustrations, digitally colored in a palette of subdued greens, blues, lavenders, and browns, evoke Oliver's surroundings and his own idiosyncrasies in humorous detail. While the story line starts out engagingly enough, Oliver's development into a more companionable youngster is thin and rather arbitrary. Still, paired with Peter Reynolds's I'm Here (S & S, 2011), this picture book could be a useful tool to engender discussion about human differences and the satisfaction of friendship, especially for those who are shy or feel "a bit different."—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT