A Friend for Hope by Amie White

Happy Sunday! Today's read slides into this blessed day with a tale about hope and friendship. I'm not really sure where this one will go but assume it will rotate around a girl finding a friend in a furry dog. I hear whispers that there are some other good messages as well, so I'm eager to jump in and see what it's about. Oh, and the 47 pages for a picture book also has me a bit curious to see what's going on...longer than what is usual for that category.

Let's just open it up and find out!

A FRIEND FOR HOPE

Trailing Fireflies

by Amie White

Illustrated by Olena Oprich

Noctilune Publishing

Picture Book

47 pages

ages 4 to 6

Nine-year-old Zoe Meadows is the new kid in Ivy Creek. For homeschooled Zoe, every day starts the same: breakfast, then to the living room where Miss Ellis awaits. Only today, Zoe can't focus—not when she notices neighborhood children playing outside, children she's yet to meet. Watching all this unfold, Zoe's parents decide it's time for a companion—the furry kind, to be precise.

Everything changes when Zoe meets Hope at the dog shelter for the first time. The two girls form an inseparable bond over the following months and find in each other the one thing they both craved for a long, long time: a forever friend.

GOODREADS    /     AMAZON

MY TIDBITS

Dealing with loneliness, patience, and friendship meld together to form a warming read.

Zoe is homeschooled and stares daily out of the window, wishing you had someone to play with. Her loneliness begins to even disrupt her studies with the tutor. Deciding it's time to get a friend, her parents take her to the local animal shelter, but choosing a pet isn't that easy.

This is a gentle read about friendship, giving others space, empathy, patience, and handling loneliness. And it swirls through these themes wonderfully. Zoe is a kind-hearted girl, who immediately wins readers over with the simple desire to play. Later, her love for animals and careful handling of them touches the heart even more. The story flows smoothly and is engaging the entire way through. This isn't a read for younger picture book enjoyers as much as it is for those who are nearing or in kindergarten and beyond due to the longer tale. Young readers are sure to enjoy this one, while older ones might wonder why Zoe is so lonely and why her parents believe a furry friend will fill this gap, especially since one scene has neighborhood kids playing right outside her window. As a homeschooling mother, this baffled me. But as said, young readers probably won't notice, and there is tons of goodness in these pages otherwise.

 It also works as a read-alone for the readers who are very sure of their words and are slowly sliding into chapter books. This also would be a lovely addition to themes surrounding animal shelters and pets, since it does a good job at showing some of the difficulties (on a superficial level) of bringing a dog into the household.