Friendship is a funny thing because it is unpredictable and sometimes it can develop between two people (or characters) who really are nothing alike; on the outside that is. That's the thing though, isn't it? Two characters may seem very different on the outside, but deep down a connection forms that is special. This is what happens between the characters in today's picture book.
Stick and Stone
Beth Ferry
Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015, 978-0-544-03256-9
Stick and Stone are both alone and lonely, and for both
of them being alone is just “no fun. Then one day they are both at the park
playing on the swings when Pinecone comes along and he makes fun of Stone when Stone
falls off his swing. Stick cannot just stand by and let this just happen, so he
steps in and tells Pinecone to “Vanish!”
Pinecone walks
off in a huff, and Stone is really touched that Stick “stuck up” for him. Stick
explains that that is what Sticks do. It is also what friends do, and that is
what Stick and Stone become: the best of friends. Together they have a grand
time playing, wandering and exploring. They “laze by the shore” enjoying the sun
and the sea air and watch dolphins frolicking in the water. What they never
expect is that in the very near future they will be ripped apart and once again
they will be alone.
In this
wonderful picture book we meet two characters who discover the joys of
friendship, and who stand side by side through good times and bad. With its delightfully
expressive illustrations and a minimal rhyming text, this book will charm
children and their grownups and it serves as a tribute to the power of
friendship.