Friends

The beguiling pair introduced in Snake and Lizard now share a burrow and are business partners, too. They bicker constantly; still, the outcomes are fair, reasonable, and often capped with a delightfully ironic twist. Their unobtrusively philosophical debates are nifty blends of fact, hearsay, and comic misconstruction. Bishop’s colorful spot art nicely reinforces the affectionate characterizations and the humor.

The beguiling pair introduced in Snake and Lizard (rev. 11/08) now share a burrow and are business partners, too, "Helper and Helper." Different as their habits and appetites are, their relationship involves the ongoing negotiation that gives this chronicle much of its humor. They bicker constantly; still, the outcomes are fair, reasonable, and often capped with a delightfully ironic twist -- such as when Snake, who, after overcoming her fear of the cobweb Lizard treasures (snacks!), finds that spiders may be harmless but aren't all that tasty. Their unobtrusively philosophical debates are nifty blends of fact (they do get the mechanics of the "life cycle" right); hearsay ("but your mother didn't know everything"); and comic misconstruction (the derelict bike they imagine represents the life cycle "has two round things" because "We're both right!...There are two true stories!"). More satirical is the sanctimonious celebration of a "hero" rabbit who ended "flatter than a shadow" when he tried to halt the "monsters" (cars) in the "River of Death" -- "an absolute idiot," the friends finally agree. In the last scene, a balloon inspires a myth that honors both their traditions: "This was a story, they both knew it, and yet the story contained so much truth..." So does this wise and funny book. Bishop's colorful spot art nicely reinforces the affectionate characterizations, and the humor. joanna rudge long