Best Frints at Skrool

June 4, 2018
In their second outing (following Best Frints in the Whole Universe), alien best friends Omek and Yelfred are pink and purple, with reptilian tails and pincer arms, and they “go to skrool, just like here on planet Earth.” Also like on Earth, meeting new friends at skrool can lead to hurt feelings. In bright, gestural cartoon characters, Portis depicts Yelfred as he has fun with a new “frint,” a red, cube-like alien named Q-B, leaving Omek watching dejectedly from the sidelines, antennae drooping. At “yunch,” Omek is once again alone, but when an epic food fight (“Everyone is sharing!”) leads Omek to team up with Yelfred and Q-B, they become a tight threesome: “On Boborp, what makes things the most fun... is a best frint and a best best frint.” With humor and tenderness, Portis explores the uncertainty and unexpected joys that come with navigating childhood friendships. Ages 4–8.

June 1, 2018
Omek and Yelfred have weathered friendship difficulties before (Best Frints in the Whole Universe, 2016), but can their relationship survive Yelfred's picking Q-B as his new best frint?Skrool on Boborp is similar to school on Earth, with rules, learning, and bloox to read, though Portis' pictures and text hilariously contradict each other. "When the bell BLANGS the stroodents sit quietly." In the picture, they bite and kick, and across the gutter, they yell as they "learn to listen when their skreecher spleeks." At recess, "childrinx make new frints," and this is where the trouble starts for poor Omek, whose best frint, Yelfred, has a new best frint, Q-B. Omek's frown deepens and their shoulders and head sag ever more as Yelfred and Q-B grow close and leave them out of their fun. But some lunch sharing ("Spewd flight!") gives Omek the opening he needs. Portis' illustrations, done with pencil, charcoal, and a Cintiq drawing tablet, once again use a brilliant palette and digital textures to great effect, bringing to vivid life this alien world. The characters are diverse in color, shape, size, and numbers of eyes, tentacles, and appendages. Endpapers add to the fun (and help decipher the Boborpian language) with a glossary of terms, the numbers from one to 10, and directions for playing eye ball in the peedle pit. Gurm's company, but threep doesn't have to be a crowd when it comes to starting school and making new friends. (Picture book. 4-8)

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August 1, 2018

K-Gr 2-We all have a best frint-one that we go to skrool with, read bloox with, and even share healthy spewds with. But what about sharing that best frint? The newest picture book from Portis explores this question in a zany, fun-to-read manner as best buds Omek and Yelfred meet Q-B. After Yelfred and Q-B zoom away together, Omek is left wondering if he will ever get his best frint back. Only after a rousing game of "eye ball in the peedle pit" does Omek realize that more frints are better! Bold, colorful illustrations accompany the equally bold narrative. VERDICT An excellent and engaging read-aloud with a smart, timely message. A perfect selection for the beginning of school that will be requested all year long.-Amanda C. Buschmann, Carroll Elementary School, Houston

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