Cat & Dog
Michael Foreman
Andersen Press
We had an unlikely friendship between a cat and a fish in Michael Foreman’s Friends: unlikely friendship is again at the heart of his latest offering
When Cat leaves her kittens to go in search of their breakfast, little does she suspect that she’ll be carried off far away from her offspring.

Along comes a scruffy dog as the kittens huddle together to await the return of the fish van and with it, their mother. His first thought is “breakfast, lunch and dinner”; his second is that like him, the kittens are all alone in the world, so he beds down to sleep close by and before long, he and the kittens are snuggled up together. Morning comes and with it the van’s return and joy of joys, there is Cat in the driver’s arms. There’s a happy reunion but then Cat notices the old dog and turns on him.

The kittens tell her how he has befriended them and they settle down together to hear of Cat’s seaside adventure. Next time that van heads off to the sea, the fish man has some additional passengers aboard and their arrival is just in time to see a beautiful sunset which is followed by supper

and some fishy moonlit thoughts on the pier.
As ever, Foreman’s lyrical watercolours have that wonderful quality of luminosity; those seascapes are just glorious. I particularly like too, the scenes from below the city bridge with graffiti and the multitude of greetings in a whole gamut of languages from Hindi to Swahili and Hebrew.
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Andersen Press have also reissued an old Foreman classic from the 70s

Moose
Michael Foreman
Andersen Press pbk
Herein we meet the horned animal of the title who is disturbed by the shouting match between Bear and Eagle. Moose fails in his efforts to resolve the conflict but ends up constructing – with the help of others who had got drawn into the combat – a wonderful place where all can meet harmoniously. But what of Bear and Eagle? Well seemingly they never learn but perhaps one day …
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Bluebird
Bob Staake
Andersen Press pbk
With its New York City setting, this wordless picture book is a portrayal of a friendship that develops between a boy and the Bluebird of the title. Said bird watches the boy through his schoolroom window as he is taunted and shunned by his classmates, then follows him homewards.

They share a cookie, visit the park and sail a boat.

The boy is set on by a gang of bullies who attempt to snatch the boat, hurl a stick at the boy and kill(?)

the bird. Then a veritable host of birds of different colours fly down, lift the boy, who is still clutching his friend, bearing him skywards towards the clouds,

where we watch him release his blue friend to fly heavenwards, up, up, up …
It’s the feeling of hope that transcends all the other powerful emotions – loneliness, bullying, guilt, grief – embraced in this eloquent story told through moving, multi-framed pictorial sequences rendered in blues, greys, white and black. The total absence of words (other than streetscape signs) allows space for readers to bring their own interpretations to the nuances of the story.
Not a book for everyone; rather it’s one for individuals to peruse and ponder over, with new meanings and possibilities emerging with each reading.
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The Zebra Who Ran Too fast
Jenni Desmond
Walker Books
Triangular friendships are often tricky to sustain though Zebra, Elephant and Bird have done pretty well. Elephant would entertain Bird and Zebra with his curious facts; Bird made Zebra and Elephant laugh with his jokes and Zebra, the fastest runner, knew the best games. Then one windy day Zebra’s zest for life makes the others feel dizzy but he ignores their requests to stop.

Next day he is shunned. Zebra spends a hot, lonely time pondering on his pals and their pastimes and his behaviour until, along comes wise, kindly Giraffe. The two bond and by nightfall, Zebra is feeling better. His erstwhile pals meanwhile are frightened by the storm that has blown up and are missing their friend. Off they go in search of him and before long it’s a case of “Four best friends together.”

 

This beautifully portrayed story about the real meaning of friendship set in the African savannahs is a visual delight, particularly the range of expressions on the animals’ faces. The vastness of the African plain and sky with the gathering storm are so powerfully evoked one can almost feel the wind and hear the thunder.

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