Nut and Bolt

July 15, 2015
Nut, a mouse, and Bolt, a donkey, enjoy a beautiful friendship. Kind of. Readers will be forgiven for thinking that it is a very one-sided one, as Nut seems to be doing all the work. She grooms him, brings food (carrots and sugar cubes), entertains him, and otherwise apparently sees to his every whim. De Cock places her line-and-watercolor characters artfully on white space, giving them just a few props to heighten the ludicrousness of the situation. Nut perches at the top of a ladder that's braced against Bolt's nose, industriously brushing away at the donkey's teeth in one picture; in another, tiny Nut strains to hold a shade-granting branch above the slumbering ass. The list of Nut's duties is occasionally punctuated by a refrain: "real friends would do anything for each other!" After pages of murine selflessness, Nut doesn't seem to be demonstrating any impatience, but readers will be, and the text senses this: "but what does Bolt do for Nut?" A close-up of the donkey's ear on a moonlit night finds Nut curled up inside, fast asleep. She looks quite snug, but really, is this friendship? It's a pity de Cock genders her characters as she does, as the story feels a lot like a 1950s marriage in which the wife goes to extraordinary measures to keep her husband comfortable in exchange for a place to live. Not since The Giving Tree has self-sacrifice been so celebrated. (Picture book. 3-5)

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December 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 2-True friendship is blind. So goes the story of a donkey named Bolt and a mouse named Nut. Nut does everything for Bolt, from brushing his teeth to braiding his tail to listening to his problems, because "real friends would do anything for each other." Are they real friends? True friendship is also selfless, so what does Bolt do for Nut? A final illustration shows Mouse contentedly sleeping within the soft interior of Bolt's large, furry ear. Whether offering a sleeping spot is enough of a balance in the relationship is something children may want to discuss. Soft line and watercolor illustrations tell this endearing story of friendship and selflessness. VERDICT The simple storytelling and beautiful illustrations make this book a fine addition to large picture book collections.-Betsy Davison, Cortland Free Library, NY

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