Friends

September 1, 2012
The time-honored odd-couple pairing of predator and prey does a star turn in this sweet tale of friendship. The protagonists here are Cat the cat and Bubble the goldfish. Cat knows he has a good life, as he can wander the big city whenever he pleases. His best friend Bubble, however, is confined to his little tank, swimming round and round and sighing. One day, Cat locates a transparent bucket and, after convincing his friend to jump in, shows him potential new homes: increasingly larger bodies of water in the form of ponds, rivers and the ocean. Offering the fish freedom, Cat is surprised when Bubble declines, pointing out that while there is a wide world out there, here he has a friend. The two then spend their days exploring their own little world, "From here... / ...to the rainbow's end." Foreman's singular watercolors give his images an inner glow that shines brightest in the artist's glorious two-page panoramas. In terms of the characters themselves, readers will have little difficulty believing in their friendship, food chain or no food chain. More to the point, here's a nice lesson of finding the wide world close to home. A warm, welcoming book with a taste and tone of its very own. (Picture book. 4-8)

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September 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 1-Friendship takes precedence over adventure in this story. Cat wishes that his goldfish friend shared his freedom to wander, but because Bubble is confined to a fish tank, all he can do is swim "round and round, down to the bottom, up to the top." When the feline turns an empty bucket into a portable home, they are able to wander together, and Bubble's world becomes much bigger. He enjoys the views in the park and schools of fish swimming in the sea. Cat and Bubble decide to nurture their relationship by spending time together instead of living their lives apart. Large watercolor images reflect the gentle mood of this story. The humorous scene at the end of the book will have softhearted readers sighing with relief. These two unlikely friends will be together "to the rainbow's end."-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2012
Preschool-G Picture books about unlikely friends do not get much sweeter than this story about Cat and Bubble the goldfish. Cat is free to explore the world, while Bubble is confined to a small tank, monotonously swimming round and round, down to the bottom, up to the top. Heartbroken by his friend's limited existence, Cat finds a way to take Bubble exploring with him, via a beach bucket that he obligingly carries in his mouth. Bubble's horizon is suddenly limitless, yet when given the chance, he chooses friendship over freedom. The world that Cat and Bubble explore shifts from metropolis to bucolic paradise at the turn of a page, which makes the setting hard to placethough where they are is not really the point. Through minimal text and expansive double-page spreads, Foreman reveals a world that is too good to miss. The watercolor illustrations are rendered in rainbow-hued pastels and washes of cool blues, emphasizing the tenderness of the tale. It's a fact: life is a journey best shared with a friend.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)