(I was given a copy of this book but all opinions are my own.)
What does it mean to be a good friend? Do you have to like the same foods? The same color? And what about the same kind of pet?
In the delightful book I Don’t Care by Julie Fogliano, the first girl claims she doesn’t care what the other girl thinks about her boots. The second girl retorts she doesn’t care what the first girl thinks about her clothes. Back and forth they go.
“I don’t care what you think about my hair.”
“I don’t care what you think of the size of my feet . . . “
“. . . of my nose . . . “
“. . . of my Dad’s’ giant black beard . . . “
“. . . of how my lunch smells . . .”
“. . . I don’t care if you think my singing is funny . . . “
On the surface, these 2 girls are different. Very different.
However (as we all know), there are more important things to care about when it comes to friendship.
Like sharing, playing fair, and whether or not your friend is sad.
These 2 girls discover that, at the core, they are very similar. The author puts it perfectly:
Mostly I care that you’re you and I’m me,
and I care that we’re us,
and I care that we’re we.
Individuality makes a friendship interesting and acceptance makes it wonderful.
(Even though my grandsons are basically too old for picture books, they are good sports to listen to me read to their little sister. And that little sister is almost getting too big to sit on my lap. Sigh.)
This awesome book provides an opportunity for you to talk with your grandkids about what it means to be a good friend. My granddaughter had great ideas. So did my grandsons.
Yes, playing nicely together is important and liking your friend is important. But being a good friend involves more.
We talked about what THEY needed to do to be a good friend. We discussed forgiving friends, supporting them, understanding them.
And the most important thing is that both of you feel free to be yourself.
This book has 2 illustrators — Molly Idle and Juana Martinez Neal. Who, in real life, are besties. Who lived in the same city. A friendship book illustrated by best friends. Pretty easy, right?
But then . . .
. . . Juana moved to Connecticut leaving Molly behind in Arizona.
They had to learn to adapt — adapt to living across the country from each other, adapt their drawing style, adapt their favored medium. They had to make lots of compromises. (Just like friends sometimes need to do,)
And those compromises resulted in delightful illustrations that perfectly complemented the text in the book.
I highly recommend this book. It makes a wonderful addition to your home library. And a wonderful book to read to grandkids and to discuss with them.
You can get a copy of I Don’t Care by Julie Fogliano on Amazon for $16.99.
