Synopsis
MOST OF THE TIME, Randolph is very, very nice. But when his friend Ivy gets invited to a really great sleepover birthday party and he doesn't, Randolph feels a little left out, and sad, and mad. And then he goes a little crazy! Will he ever turn back to the nice friend he once was? We hope so!
This nutty friendship story recognizes that even best friends aren't always good friends (sometimes they can be downright rotten!). Kids' squirmier feelings are conveyed with good humor and empathy in this reassuring tale about the icky feelings we all have, even though we are mostly very, very nice.
From the Hardcover edition.
Publishers Weekly
Ivy the goose has been invited to a fabulous sleepover party at her cousin's beach house, and she can't stop talking about it. Her best friend, Randolph the beaver, starts feeling "horrible, rotten, awful, and icky" (never mind that it's an all-girl party), and he decides to do everything possible to make Ivy's experience miserable. Positioning himself as a "sleepover expert," he tells Ivy to pack all kinds of impractical things (like a ridiculous flashing hat) to scare away "awful beach bears" and "huge, hungry beach snakes." But Randolph's plan backfires: everything he has Ivy schlep to the beach-including the logs he's snuck in just to make her bag extra-heavy-are the very things that save the party from disaster. Harper (Just Grace) uses a range of framings to give her story the brisk pace of a comic book, and she embellishes her wry, economical narration with word balloons that let the characters have their say. Every one of her acrylic vignettes is a goofy gem-the doll-like characters bubble with endearing, outsize personalities. An astute and empathetic look at jealousy and other emotions. Ages 5-8. (Nov.)
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