Cat feels terribly sorry for his friend, Bubbles the goldfish, who swims around and around in his tank, and never get to see the wider world. One day, inspired by the sight of a bucket, Cat devises a plan to show Bubbles the wonders beyond his small home. But will Bubbles want to live "wild and free," once Cat has shown him the world...?

Friends is a sweet story, one that taps into the recent spate of cross-species friendship tales, from Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival to Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship. Although I did appreciate the narrative here, and (as always) enjoyed Michael Foreman's watercolor artwork, the part of me that doesn't really approve of keeping any pet that requires a cage or tank - bird, fish, gerbils, etc. - couldn't help but wince a bit at the idea, implicit in the story, that goldfish live unfulfilled lives in their tanks. Won't young readers pick up on that and wonder about keeping such creatures as pets at all? After all, lugging your pet goldfish around in a bucket isn't really a realistic solution for most pet-owners. And yes, this isn't meant to be a realistic story... but somehow I just couldn't silence that critical voice. ( )

confusing to me ... ( )

A warm, charming story about two unlikely friends. ( )

I read this to 30 wriggly year 1's. They were spellbound! There is a line in this story which is a real tear jerker, so I had to warn the class beforehand. ( 'There may be other fish in the sea, but I may never find another friend like you')
I love this book, and so did they. ( )