Once Upon a Friend

February 26, 2024
Middle grade author Gemeinhart makes his picture book debut with a familiar-feeling story of connection that springs up between a child reader and the creaturely protagonist of the child’s favorite series. Moon draws book character Meego, this story’s pensive narrator, in crisp lines and soft colors: the purple creature sports rosy cheeks, a raccoon-like tail, and a hat topped with a white flower. Though Meego frets between readings, there seems little cause for immediate alarm, since the child, portrayed with brown skin, insists on regular rereads (“Again!!!”) as well as on toting the book during various milestones. “My covers opened less and less” as the child matures, but one day Meego is taken from “dust and shadows.” It’s an earnestly told work best directed at readers in the throes of object attachment. Ages 3–6.

May 1, 2024
In middle-grade author Gemeinhart's picture-book debut, a young reader and their favorite book character journey through life together. Meego, who narrates, has been best friends with "my reader...from the very beginning." Rosy-cheeked and expressive, Meego is a large gray furry creature with a raccoon tail, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli's Totoro, while the young reader is brown-skinned with cropped hair and freckles and described with they/them pronouns. "Again and again," the two go on exciting adventures and support each other through different milestones, from the child's first day of school to their mutual loss of loved ones. But their escapades slow to a halt as the child grows older and stops reading about Meego...until one day when they return as an adult to introduce Meego to their own child. Moon's illustrations, rendered in gentle bubble gum hues and soft textures, add charm to the tale, and the reappearance of childhood toys and books in a weathered state later in the book is a nice touch. The idea that book characters wait "in the darkness," "lost in dust and shadows," in between readings may evoke pangs of guilt or concern from young readers. Still, the narrative serves as a warm and nostalgic call to revisit favorite stories with the children in our lives. A sweet ode to the stories and characters we love. (Picture book. 3-6)

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May 1, 2024
Preschool-Grade 2 "Once upon a time, I met my reader," begins this story about the abiding connection that characters in books and their young readers can have. It's narrated by Meego--the fictional lead character from Meego and Me, the book within this book--who looks like a giant purple plushie with a floofy tail. Meego's life begins when a young child and their mother take Meego and Me down from the bookshelf. The child demands rereadings and takes Meego everywhere. Meego is with the child on big days like the start of kindergarten, on sad days, and on thrilling, imaginative adventures. Eventually, though, Meego is put away more and more, until Meego lives entirely within the closed book. The illustrations convey both Meego's joy at being read and sorrow at being shelved--that is, until the child, who has grown into a parent, opens the book again with their own child. Beautiful and poignant.

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