Endearing portraits of young children in animal attire will immediately win over readers in Mary Lundquist's debut tale of the ups and downs of friendship.
The endpapers introduce a cast of characters decked out as dinosaurs, quails, honeybees, giraffes and more (plus a cameo of a real kitten). At first, it's just Cat and Bunny, who "were born on the same day of the same month in the same year." The pencil-and-watercolor illustrations trace their bond from toddlerhood to tricycle-riding. Lundquist envisions a safe world of unsupervised play. Cat and Bunny pack up picnic lunches and make forts from bedsheets al fresco. "Friends forever!" says Bunny. "Just us!" cries Cat, as they transform into caped superheroes. In the park, they play "the Made-Up Game... and only they knew the rules to it." But one day, Quail asks, "Can I Play?" Bunny says yes, without consulting Cat, and a rift grows. As more children join in, Cat runs away. Lundquist's illustration captures Cat's disappointment as she discards a leaf and makes tracks. But the tables are turned when a kitten with a ball of yarn befriends Cat. Together they create their own "Made-Up Game," and soon others are asking Cat to join. "Of course!" says she.
Bunny brings Cat her leaf as a peace offering, and all is right with the world. Lundquist gets the dynamics of first friendship just right. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness