Book Review: We Are (Not) Friends by Anna Kang, Illustrated by Christopher Weyant

DAY 18

Image via Goodreads

Genre: Picture Book
Series: You Are (Not) Small #4
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Recommend to Others?: Yes

ABOUT: Two fuzzy friends are having a fun playdate when a new pal hops in. As the day continues, each friend feels left out at times. It isn’t so easy to figure out how to act when everything seems to change. With humor and heart, the beloved characters from Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner You Are (Not) Small navigate a friendship triangle as only they can.

 

What happens when a two-friend group becomes three? I really liked this book because friendships change and grow or cease to be as you get older, and this can be a hard life lesson to cope with and navigate. You can see how the main characters have a difficult time playing altogether with a third fuzzy friend. They feel sad, unsure, and left out. But things come together nicely in the end. I like how much movement there is to the illustrations. The art is fun, delightful, and expressive. A good addition to a kid’s personal library.

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More by Anna Kang

You Are (Not) Small
You Are (Not) Small (#1)
I Am (Not) Scared (#2)

Book Review: I Am (Not) Scared by Anna Kang, Illustrated by Christopher Weyant

DAY 17

Image via Goodreads

Genre: Picture Book
Series: You Are (Not) Small #2
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Recommend to Others?: Yes

ABOUT: Two fuzzy friends go to an amusement park. They try to convince each other that there are much scarier things than the roller coaster. Hairy spiders! Aliens! Fried ants! They soon discover that sometimes being scared isn’t as “scary” as they thought. With expressive illustrations and simple text, this giggle-inducing tale about (not) being scared features the endearing characters from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner You Are (Not) Small.

 

Our two fuzzy friends don’t want to admit they’re scared to ride a roller coaster. Right away I connected with these two because roller coasters scare me. I will (maybe) go on very small ones (maybe). Sometimes it’s easy for the mind to blow our fears out of proportion. I like how the two friends work through their fear together, discovering that it’s okay to be scared, which is a nice message for young readers to learn. As simple as they are, I really like the illustrations, especially when they are on the roller coasters. Overall, a good read.

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More by Anna Kang

You Are (Not) Small
You Are (Not) Small (#1)

Book Review: “You Are (Not) Small” by Anna Kang, Illustrations by Christopher Weyant

Image via Goodreads

Genre: Picture Books, Children’s Fiction
Rating: 2 out of 5
Recommend to Others?: No

 

ABOUT: Two fuzzy creatures can’t agree on who is small and who is big, until a couple of surprise guests show up, settling it once and for all!

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My Review:
I’m a big fan of the illustrations but not as much with the story. I like the idea of the story but think it could’ve been clearer. I think kid-me would have been confused. The illustrations are adorable. Who wouldn’t want to read a book about such fuzzy cuddly-looking creatures?!