THE DANCE OF
UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIPS
“Good friends help you to find important things when you have lost them . . . your smile, your hope, and your courage.” – Dan Zantamata
“Friends are the sunshine of life”, according to John Hay, and realized by characters in many picture books. I am fascinated by stories of unlikely friendships. The characters in the books I chose to share with you are real, fantasized, inanimate or anthropomorphic. They are lonely at some point in their story, and journey toward friendship.
King of the Sky, written by Nicola Davies, and illustrated by Laura Carlin, was published in 2017. Ms. Davies dedicated this book “for all children who have to find home in a new place.”
A boy moves to a new country that looks and smells different than the home he left. No one spoke his language. He felt lost and alone.
The boy met Mr. Evans, who’s “face was crumpled and he could hardly walk, but when his bird flew, he smiled like springtime.” When Mr. Evans placed a pigeon in the boy’s hand, he could feel the tiny heartbeat. He named his pigeon King of the Sky. The friendship between the boy and Mr. Evans grew as they trained King of the Sky
to race long distances. The day of the race, the boy and the old man, together, hoped for a win. After many days of waiting and worrying, King of the Sky came home, where he belonged. The boy felt he was home where he belonged.
This story illustrates the sense of dislocation many new immigrants feel, and the process of making an emotional connection to their new home. (from the front book flap)
I enjoyed the descriptions of the characters and environment that the author and illustrator created. Nicola Davies described the environment: “Chimneys smoked and metal towers clanked. The streets smelled of mutton soup and coal dust.” The illustrations, of mixed media, were chalk-like smudges of shades of black and gray, brown and white. The only color was the boy’s yellow shirt and the old man’s red scarf. It seemed like more color was added as their friendship grew.
King of the Sky was The New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2017.
Nicola Davies has always been fascinated by animals, and as a little girl she coveted her binoculars. She has traveled the world studying animals. Her books reflect her knowledge, understanding and love for animals of the air, land and sea. In her stories we repeatedly encounter bears, birds, sharks and whales. Her non-fiction books are about animals: the toughest, most dangerous, monsters of the deep, growing your own monster, “talking” birds, parasites, big and little animals, and babies [animals] and their poo
Visit Nicola Davies’ website to view her plethora of fiction, non-fiction, picture books and new releases. Nicola-davies.com.
Laura Carlin graduated from The Royal College of Art. She is a London-based ceramicist and illustrator. You will recognize her illustrations in the picture books A World of Your Own, The Promise, and The Iron Man as similar to King of the Sky.
She was the first Brit in twenty years to win the Bratislava Children’s Book Illustration Award. She won the Quentin Blake Illustration Award 2 years in a row.
Two Bicycles in Beijing, by
Teresa Robeson, illustrated by Junyi Wu, is a story of two inanumate objects that are friends. Lunzi, a bright yellow bicycle, and Huangche, a zesty red bicycle, came out of the factory together, and watched the city of Beijing through the shop window 
side-by-side. One day a girl rode away with Huangche, the bright yellow sun to her sky. A delivery boy purchased Lunzi, and as they rode around his delivery route, Lunzi desperately hoped to find Huangche. Trying to reunite with his friend, he rides by many of the famous landmarks of Beijing.
The bicycle friends find each other leaning against the wall of a pastry shop.
This lyrical story is told from the perspective of Lunzi, the red bicycle. As he tours the city, the reader is treated to the beautiful sights and sounds of Beijing. Colored pencil sketches create soft, dreamy illustrations that are delicate and joyful.
Teresa Robeson, author of Two Bicycles in Beijing, was born in Hong Kong, raised in Canada, and lives in Southern Indiana. Her debut picture book was non-fiction, Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom. In 2020 she received several children’s non-fiction picture book awards and recommendations. A family trip to Beijing, the city of her cultural heritage, was her inspiration for Two Bicycles in Beijing.
The back matter includes a glossary of Mandarin Chinese Terms and a a list of sights in Beijing with a brief description.
Junyi Wu is a freelance illustrator and designer and graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in California. In her profle she writes that her passions are: pies, puns and puzzles. She lives in Orange County, California.
She works in colored pencil, gouache (opaque water color), and digital photoshopo, to create soft, layered illustrations with a dream-like quality.
She is the author and illustrator of the picture book Corgi Can, and has illustrated books such as Scary Stories for Young Foxes, Beatrix Potter, Scientist, and Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #28.
Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic.
-Albus Dumbledore
Trevor, written by Jim Averbeck and illustrated by Amy Hevron, is a gentle story about loneliness, kindness and friendship.
Lonely and bored in his cage, a canary notices another canary on a tree branch. Though this canary did not respond, Trevor continued his one-way dialogue. He offered him seed, and a cozy nest to share. They enjoyed warm sunny days together. Trevor and Lemon sang duets. Trevor sang chur weeeee chiddle chiddle, and Lemon sang the silences. 
A storm blew Lemon out of the nest onto a sunflower, whose seeds scattered. Trevor shared them with his many new friends. He never forgot his first shy friend “who gave him everything and asked for nothing.”
You don’t have to be two of a kind to be friends.
The illustrations are simple, and bright. The color yellow is comforting. Jim Averbeck uses acrylic and digital collage on wood, so the wood grain shows through, representing the trees in which the story is set.
Jim Averbeck is the author of many books for children. Picture books include One Word from Sophia and the Sophia series, The Market Bowl, Oh, No, Little Dragon, and In a Blue Room. A Hitch at the Fairmont is a middle grade book, and The Abraham Syndrome a young adult story. According to Jim Averbeck’s biography “he has eaten termites in the rainforest of Cameroon, drunk cobra wine while drifting down the Li River in Guangxi Province, and chased the moon’s shadow across Libya, China and North America.” He lives in the Rocky Mountains, eight miles west of the Great Divide.
Amy Hevron is an illustrator, graphic designer and author/illustrator of children’s books. She earned her BFA in Graphic Design from Texas State University and earned a certificate in Science Illustration from the University of Washington. She wrote and illustrated Dust Bunny Wants a Friend, and the Yellowstone Sprites. She illustrated Moon Babies. Keep your eyes out for three of her books to come: The Perfect Pet for You (fall 2021), The Tide Pool Waits, written by Candace Fleming (spring 2022), and The Longest Journey: An Arctic Tern’s Migration.’
The Old Man and the Penguin. A True Story of True Friendship, was written by Julie Abery and illustrated by Pierre Pratt. 
This is a lyrical, rhyming, true story of an unlikely friendship between a retired brick layer and an oil-soaked penguin.
Joao comes upon an oil-soaked penguin on the beach. “Joao must save this little guy. Without his help, he’ll surely die.” Joao takes care of him and names him Dim Dim. They develop a loving bond. Then instinct draws Dim Dim out to sea, “then four months pass – he’s back on shore, and waddles to his old friend’s door.” This cycle continues year after year, and they remain special friends.
The brilliant illustrations of sea and shore submerge the reader in the tropics with Joao and Dim Dim. The facial expressions, clothes, physique and actions of Joao are very realistic; he almost comes off the page.
The rhyme keeps us mesmerized and clearly expresses the love Joao and the penguin have for each other. In her Author’s Note, Julie Abery adds details to the true story of Joao and Dim Dim. She also includes information on the Magellanic penguin, like Dim Dim, and the effect of oil spills on wildlife.
Julie Abery is a children’s author and a former Pre-K teacher, who lives in Switzerland. She wrote a Little Animal Friends Board Book Series and two compelling non-fiction books, in rhyme. Sakamoto’s Swim Club: How a Teacher Led an Unlikely Team to Victory and Yusra Swims, a biography, in rhyme, of an Olympic swimmer and Syrian refugee.
Pierre Pratt is an internationally known illustrator. He began drawing everything and everybody around him as a young child. He studied graphic design in college, then began small comic strips, and later began illustrating magazines. Since 1990 he has been writing and illustrating children’s books: The Branch, One is a Lot (Except When It’s Not),Stop Thief!, Stop Feedin’ da Boids, and The Old Man and the Penguin, which was a 2020 Editor’s Choice and Books for Youth Booklist Winner. Pierre Pratt splits his time between Lisbon, Portugal and Montreal, Canada.
Swashby and the Sea, written by Beth Ferry and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, is my favorite story of unlikely friendship. 
A bushy- bearded, grumpy old sea captain has lived his life by the sea, where it is “sandy and serene.” The sea is his oldest friend.
A little girl and her granny move next door and invade his beach with paraphenalia and noise. Swashby writes messages in the sand to go away. 
The sea “fiddled just a little” with the letters, and the girl continued to pursue a friendship. Swashby showed the girl the correct way to wish on a star fish. “Starfish back to waves so blue. The sea will see a wish come true.” One day Swashby rescued the girl from the sea, which opened his heart.
You can almost smell the sea and feel the gritty sand as you watch the old sea captain by the shore and the girl playing on the beach. Using colored pencil and graphite, Juana Martine-Neal has created a strong sense of place. the sunlit sand and ocean. Her detailed illustrations capture the humor in the story, the grumpy old sea captain juxtaposed with the energetic, curious young girl. The rhythm of this story flows like the sea.
Beth Ferry lives by the beach, dreams of summer all year long, and adores bull dogs. She is the author of more than a dozen picture books, many written in rhyme, and all include some type of rhythmic content. A few of her books: Land Shark, Marsha is Magnetic, A Small Blue Whale, Stick and StoneThe Scarecrow, Caveboy Crush, and The Nice Dream Truck.
Juana Martinez-Neal is a Peruvian American children’s book author and illustrator. She won the 2018 Pura Belpre Medal for heer illustrations of La Princesa and the Pea, and the Caldecott Medal in 2019 for How She Got Her Name. In 2020 she received the Sibett Medal for Fry Bread: a Native American Family Story.