One day, my son Mose came home from preschool upset that no matter how he chased after another boy, the kid ran away. “How can I make Che play with me?” he asked. I suggested that most people don’t like being chased, and that, while Mose probably couldn’t make Che play with him, perhaps if he found something fun to do on his own Che might join in. “Thanks for explaining people to me, Mommy!” Mose replied cheerfully.
Although friendship is the subject of countless picture books, it’s incredibly difficult to “explain people” to a young child in an authentic, convincing way, and with all the friendship books out there it’s even harder to find a new lens through which to explore the subject. These three books accomplish just that, in lovely and surprising ways.
Jane Godwin’s FOUND YOU! (Charlesbridge, 40 pp., $17.99, ages 5 to 9), illustrated by Sylvia Morris, opens with a group of kids playing hide-and-seek. A boy named Archie struggles to come up with a hiding spot, eventually settling into a cupboard. The quiet pages that follow build suspense; the reader hides alongside Archie, who feels his heart beating, hears sneakers squeak on the stairs. Godwin’s text is visceral and lyrical. Archie’s “whole body listens. There’s a bird, a car, a rattle in the wall, music somewhere far away, a lawn mower.”
The tone shifts as Archie’s thoughts turn to more worrisome things, like spiders and being forgotten by his friends, while on alternating pages Morris’s art provides a warm, comforting backdrop that shows the other kids looking for him. There’s an existential quality to this moment, as if it’s Archie’s first encounter with the wonder and discomfort of solitude. When he’s finally found, he’s elated that he hasn’t been forgotten after all.
“Found You!” is a thoughtful examination of how powerful it can be to spend time by ourselves and recognize our autonomy, but also how important it is to know we’re never truly alone.
The post 3 Picture Books That Capture the Essence of Friendship appeared first on New York Times.
