Who's Next Door?
by Mayuko Kishira; illus. by Jun Takabatake
32 pages, ages 3 -7
Owlkids, 2014
Chicken is thrilled when somebody moves into the house next door. Now he can have a friend!
theme: friendship
"Deep in the woods, there are two houses. Chicken lives in the house with the red roof. No one lives in the house with the blue roof."
Until.. one morning Chicken notices that someone is moving into the house with the blue roof. Chicken is happy - now he can have a friend. He waits and looks and peeks and wanders around outside, but no one comes out of the house. So chicken leaves a note on his neighbor's door.
When Owl goes out for the night, he sees the note. It's an invitation to come over.Tomorrow! How exciting - a party.
What I like about this book: Like Pig and small (which I reviewed last week) this is a story about two very different animals who work out a way to be friends - even though one is a night owl and the other rises with the sun.
Beyond the book: Who lives next door to you? Do they leave clues about what they do? Do you ever see them? Are there any neighbors that you haven't met yet? If so, what could you do to get to meet them?
Who are your nighttime neighbors? Go out on a night walk and get to meet the night owls in your neighborhood. They might be cats, or moths, or even a screech owl. My night neighbors include foxes, raccoons, Luna moths, barn owls, and lots of gray tree frogs who fill the night with sound.
Today's review is also part of PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copy provided by publisher.
I love these sweet friendship stories!
ReplyDeletethis one is fun - I especially like the misunderstandings because of different lifestyle (day/night) - could apply so well to neighborhoods where I've lived.
DeleteIt does sound like it would be mysterious for young readers. Fun! Thanks for the recommendation.
ReplyDeletemysterious - and fun.
Deletethis looks excellent!!! I love a good chicken story and that cover is so clever! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe illustrations are so fun! And chicken looks like a character anyone could draw.
DeleteWhat a clever idea for a picture book - I love it! It's one of those "wish I'd though of it!" stories :) Thanks for sharing it, Sue, and for the wonderful activity suggestions!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Your link was messed up which I discovered when I tried to come visit, so I will fix it now :)
thanks for dropping by - and yes, I agree - one of those "dang! I wish I'd thought of this"...
DeleteI really enjoy a good friendship story. We are in a neighborhood where some houses (not with blue roofs) are vacant and waiting for a new owners. And sometimes, neighbors in real life can be very different animals too.
ReplyDeleteyeah... a bunch of our wilder neighbors (turkeys) had a convention in the front yard the other morning. Acorns!
DeleteThis sounds so cute. Thanks for introducing it to me. Library, here I come!
ReplyDelete