Can We Be Friends? Unexpected Animal Friendships from Around the World
Words and art by Erica Sirotich
Published 2020
Can We Be Friends is cute and fun, and also 100% non-fiction!
Told in a mix of rhymes and side block text, it is informative while still keeping young readers engaged.
There’s 8 lines of rhyme on a full page spread that introduces the unexpected friends. That is followed by another page spread that includes more detail on where they live and how and why they’re a pair.
Among others, we get to learn about turtle and hippo buds and a dolphin/dog duo that love to swim together.
Maybe it was growing up with let’s read and find out books, but I have a soft spot for narrative non-fiction at this level. There’s onomatopoeia and bouncy rhymes and gotta-turn-the-page bits of tension to learn about each friend pair. And each page is great to look at, the art captures of the joy of friendship that the animals share – it makes you want to smile.
This is definitely a book that does double duty. It works just as well as a snuggly story time book as it does for an animal study for K-3rd.
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