Product Description

Simple words and bold illustrations show children that friends are easy to find even in the most unlikely places.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #245132 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780811852043
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
In this ode to everyday activities and things, a free-spirited girl hops, jumps and kicks her way across the countryside, paying homage to her friends along the way. Like a satellite launched into perpetual motion, the constantly moving child praises--among others--the rooster who taught her to march, the ant who taught her to explore the earth and the teachers who taught her to study. In spare, luminous landscapes, the minute world reveals a special beauty to those still and attentive enough to behold it. The activities depicted are alternately lively and quiet, but the prevailing mood is one of continuous celebration. Gomi's ( Bus Stops ; Where's the Fish? ) meticulous sense of design and careful use of brilliantly colored, highly delineated images imbues the story with a sense of the wonder and delight to be derived from life's simplest--but bountiful--moments. Ages 2-4.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1–With no frills or fuss in either text or illustration, Gomi simply and elegantly describes the essential skills that a girl picks up as she navigates her childhood. A dog has shown her how to jump, a monkey demonstrates how to climb, a butterfly shows her how to smell flowers, and the rabbit, how to hide. Ultimately she works her way up to a school setting in which she learns from teachers, books, and friends. The English and Spanish texts (appearing on facing pages) are pared down to the essential words. Gomi's pastel illustrations convey emotion and movement in a minimum of strokes and a handful of colors. Youngsters will enjoy reading along and mimicking the actions of the protagonist.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

--PARENTS' CHOICE Starred Review
The illustrations are vibrant. The story is simple--a little girl tells what she has learned from her friend the cat, her friend the dog, her friend the horse, her friend the gorilla and other friends both common and unlikely. Children will quickly be pointing out the whimsical details in the art.

--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, June, 1990
In this ode to everyday activities and things, a free-spirited girl hops, jumps and kicks her way across the countryside, paying homage to her friends along the way. Like a satellite launched into perpetual motion, the constantly moving child praises--among others--the rooster who taught her to march, the ant who taught her to explore the earth and the teachers who taught her to study. In spare, luminous landscapes, the minute world reveals a special beauty to those still and attentive enough to behold it. The activities depicted are alternately lively and quiet, but the prevailing mood is one of continuous celebration. Gomi's (Bus Stops; Where's the Fish?) meticulous sense of design and careful use of brilliantly colored, highly delineated images imbues the story with a sense of the wonder and delight to be derived from life's simplest--but bountiful--moments. Ages 2-4.

--BOOKLIST, July 1990
A little girl recites all the pleasurable things she has learned from her friends. "I learned to jump from my friend the dog. I learned to climb from my friend the monkey. I learned to run from my friend the horse." The litany continues, including such meaningful things as reading and studying and, most importantly, loving. Gomi's simple watercolors, marked by spare, cutout shapes, are set against a clean white background. An elemental story that will reach toddlers and older preschoolers alike.

--FIVE OWLS, September/October 1990
Winner of the Graphic Prize at the 1989 Bologna Children's Book Fair, Taro Gomi has once more created a perfect blend of art and text in this simple picture book in which a little girl's animal friends demonstrate some basic actions learned in life. The little girl gives credit to a variety of living creatures for exemplifying things humans are apt to take for granted, from walking to star-gazing and from singing to smelling the flowers.

The young learner accepts easily the examples provided by her animal friends and then moves smoothly to learning from books, teachers, and human friends the more complicated tasks of reading, studying, and playing together. The straightforward text is rhythmic, and the graphic collage style is brilliantly colored. Subtle and humorous details, expressions, actions, and objects encourage careful rereading.

Customer Reviews

A delightful read!
This book is the first and last choice of my 15-month-old daughter every night before she goes to bed. She delights in the pictures and simple text, and asks for it to be read over and over again. The age description says 4 to 8 years, but even the youngest readers can enjoy the colorful pictures and the story's adorable heroine.

"I learned to walk from my friend the cat."


An elegant simplicity of design and the use of primary colors make this book an attractive primer for bilingual study, as a little girl identifies with the world around her, beginning with animals: "I learned to jump from my friend the dog/ De mi amigo el perro aprendi a bincar." She learns to climb from a monkey, to explore from an ant, to watch the night sky from an owl, to sing from the birds. Then she learns to read from books, to study from her teachers and to play from her school friends. Best of all, she "[learned] to love from a friend like you/ Y aprendi como amor de un amigo como tu", adding an emotional element to the learning process. The drawings are simply constructed, kept to an appropriate language level, learning-friendly in concept and execution, the perfect introduction to bilingual language skills. Luan Gaines/ 2006.

...With a Little Help from My Friends
My Friends by Taro Gomi is a beautifully illustrated book about learning simple skills...with a little help from your friends. And in this story, all creatures (from the tiniest ant to the teachers at school) are your friends. My daughter loves this book, reciting page after page which friend teaches her what task. The overall message of this book is that a child can learn something from everyone and everything.

The artwork is delightful: colorful, simple, and crisp. The language sounds lyrical, even poetic, as you read it aloud. This book will capture the imagination of your child. Whenever we read it, my daughter gives me different examples of who has taught her what. It is a great conversation starter!

I recommend this engaging book for all toddlers, beginning readers, or anyone who enjoys a sweet story.