The Not-So-Friendly Friend - Christina Furnival - ★★★★.½

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AUTHOR: Christina Furnival
ILLUSTRATOR: Katie Dwyer
GENRE: Children's Nonfiction.
PUBLICATION DATE: September 14, 2021
RATING: 4.5 stars

As parents, we tell our children to be kind and friendly with everyone. But in the course of giving this advice, we tend to forget that there are bullies too in this world. All of us know at least one bully who doesn’t listen to reason but insists on getting things their way. For children (and adults), a bully is difficult to deal with. That’s where this book steps in.

The biblical adage of “Do unto others as you would like others to do unto you” is something I firmly believe in. The child in this story also follows the same approach. She is sweet and friendly with everyone. But despite her best efforts, one of the children always fights with her. After trying harder and speaking with her parents, she realises that she needs to set some boundaries not just for herself but in how she allows others to treat her.

The idea of the book is great, the execution is phenomenal. The author is a mother and a licensed mental health therapist, and she uses both these experiences to convey a highly practical message to kind children who get disheartened when their efforts aren’t reciprocated.

The setting up of friendship boundaries is not a common topic in parent-child conversations. So this book is a much-needed one. What I also loved is how the author focussed on the child’s feelings of ineptitude when the bully didn’t respond to her kind gestures in an accepting way. This is what usually happens with sensitive children; they always assume that the fault is their own. But the book puts across the point very clearly that beyond a level, we need to say “I’m done!” This is a lesson worth remembering for adults too.

I am slightly apprehensive of how far it will work with physically stronger bullies. There are always kids who use their physical advantage to attack younger/weaker children. For such cases, I'm sceptical of the effectiveness of the strategy mentioned in the book. At the same time, the content does say that when the child needs help, they should approach an adult for help. I hope that sorts out this issue at least a few times without the bullied child being called a tattletale.

There are lovely conversation starters and discussion questions at the end of the book that parents/guardians can refer to in order to have some stimulating chats with their kids.

The book is written in rhythmic verse and it implements the rhythmic style in a lovely sing-song way such that the lines flows smoothly. So this book would make for a wonderful read-aloud companion. The font used in the story is a clear non-serif type set to a large size. The language is very simple. This also makes it a good independent read for young readers.

Absolutely no complaints about the artwork on the cover and the illustrations in this book. They are beautifully sketched, inclusive and in perfect sync with the text.

All in all, this is a beautifully created book with an equally beautiful message. Heartily recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and PESI Publishing, Inc. for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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