Big Friends

October 12, 2015
In a story first published in the U.K. as On Sudden Hill, Birt and Etho have an idyllic friendship, their lives centered on pretend-play adventures that involve two cardboard boxes on a big hill. “Birt loves their two-by two rhythm,” writes Sarah (Mi and Museum City). But when a boy named Shu shows up with a box of his own, it’s too big a change for Birt, and he withdraws from the hill. With idiosyncratically named characters and simple but emotionally profound language, Sarah captures the joys and pain of a camaraderie that seems exquisitely perfect—until it isn’t. She wisely doesn’t lay blame on one individual, and she introduces the opportunity for a new “three-by-three rhythm” when Birt is wooed back into the fold with a new cardboard contraption. Davies (I Thought This Was a Bear Book) makes the story sing from beginning to end with lovely drawings that feel sturdy and resolutely optimistic, even when Birt is at his lowest. Surely, the images suggest, three boys with such powerful imaginations can work things out. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agency: Bright Agency.

September 15, 2015
For those few blighted souls out there who are unaware of this fact, cardboard boxes are a kid's answer to pretty much everything. Birt and Etho are a couple of mites with a couple of nice-sized boxes that can launch friendships-and lots of other ships: pirate, flagships, and submarines. Each day they drag the boxes up Sudden Hill and become kings, astronauts, naturalists watching the world go by, ant by ant. Sarah is not goopy with the language, though its pleasing atmosphere can get somewhat filigreed: "Birt loves their two-by-two rhythm." As will happen, "one Monday morning (it's cramping cold) they meet another box-carrier." Etho is ready for a comrade, Birt not so. Indeed, Birt retreats home one night and jumps on his box until it's flat as an album cover. Birt ignores Shu and Etho's entreaties to come and play, until...they arrive with a box contraption built for three. It's a crazy Rube Goldberg device, clattering, careening, crashing: it's Mr. ClimbFierce or sometimes a Monster-Creature-Box Thing. Of course it is. Birt "loves their three-by-three rhythm. / It's new. And it's good." Davies' alluring rustic-looking artwork with just the right slants of light salve this story considerably. Excellent, believable advice, with boxes-what could be better than that? (Picture book. 4-8)

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January 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-Birt and Etho are best friends. Each day, they bring two large cardboard boxes up Sudden Hill to play. Sometimes the boxes are their pirate ships, carrying them over choppy waters. Sometimes the boxes are spaceships, launching the little astronauts into a wide, unknown universe. Between adventures, they sit on the tip tops of their boxes to watch the sky. On a cold Monday, they meet Shu, a tiny boy who has observed them from afar and wants in on the fun, too. He has a box of his own and a nice warm hat, so Birt and Etho welcome him into their fantastic world of imagination and fun. Soon, though, trouble brews. Missing the way things were when there were just two boxes, Birt becomes angry, smashes his box, and stays inside for days at a time. Lost and lonely without their third friend, Etho and Shu stop by to see Birt with no luck, until...they use their boxes to create an enormous, creature-esque box on wheels for all three friends to enjoy! Excited to take to the hill once again, the three reunited friends race up the hill in "Monster-Creature-Box-Thing." With courage and kindness, the three friends find a rhythm of their own, forming a strong new bond of friendship. Charming artwork graces each page, complementing the perfectly paced flow of the story, which is written as a free-verse poem. Whimsical, endearing illustrations make this picture book an even more charming and tender tale. VERDICT A simple yet powerful parable of two friends who have the courage to become three.-Natalie Braham, Denver Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2015
Preschool-G *Starred Review* Best buddies Birt and Etho haul two big cardboard boxes up the hill every day to play pirates, astronauts, and kings. Other times, they just sit and look out over the valley. Soon a smaller boy named Shu gathers his courage, drags his carton uphill, and asks to play. Though Etho welcomes him, Birt feels out of sorts. One day, he stops climbing the hill. When Etho and Shu knock on his door, he avoids them. Undeterred, they bring him such a magnificent, multibox, four-wheeled contraption that Birt can't resist joining them. Soon they are three best friends, loving their time together. From the outset, Sarah's spare, evocative words and phrases create an idiosyncratic mood and draw the audience into the story. While the text often focuses on the boys' activities, their personality differences and their emotions come through in understated remarks as well as expressive pictures. Sometimes amusing and occasionally poignant, Davies' beautifully composed artwork shows up especially well from a distance. For the many kids who don't adapt easily to shifting circumstances, this appealing picture book offers the possibility that even unwelcome changes can turn out well. Best of all, it captures the pleasure of spending time with a good friend (or two).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)