The Friend

The Friend, by Sarah Stewart, ill. by David Small

            Picture Book—Realistic Fiction/Rhyme

            Grades 1-3

            Rating: 4 Stars

            Summary: Belle’s wealthy parents have no time for her, but she takes comfort in the companionship of her nanny, Bea. Belle and Bea spend every day together doing chores and then relaxing by the sea.

            The Friend is such an endearing story that really caused me to step back and appreciate the family that I have. I truly felt sorry as I began to read this story and realized that Belle’s parents are so absent from her life. Stewart’s rhythmic rhyming text does a good job of chronicling the bond between Belle and her nanny, Bea, but it is really Small’s illustrations that show the reader the extent of Bea’s love for the child and the overall significance that Belle finds in her relationship with Bea. I especially enjoyed the double-page spreads of wordless pictures, as I feel that this served the special purpose of allowing the reader time to reflect on the characters’ relationship. A casual and serene mood is created by these spreads and by the rhyming text, but this is disrupted when Belle wanders to the sea by herself and finds her life endangered by the waves. This sudden rise in tension and Bea’s quick move to save Belle helps us to construct a deeper meaning from the story as we realize that Bea’s love for Belle is far greater than we imagined (Peterson & Eeds, p. 37).

            This story is likely to raise some provocative questions among students, specifically pertaining to the distant relationship between Belle and her parents and then the complicated relationship between Belle and her caregiver, Bea. I think there are some racial nuances to this story that young Belle herself did not understand, and so I would not expect younger students to analyze this book any deeper than surface-level. However, I do think that on the surface, it would a relatable read for students who may be experiencing a home life similar to Belle’s, as Peterson and Eeds have determined that we can have a richer experience with literature when we are able to identify with the characters (p. 40).