This is a FANTASTIC book about friendship. Rupert the Rhinoceros loves reading the dictionary and listens to classical music. He doesn't have any friends, but that doesn't seem to bother him. One day, Levi the Tickbird shows up and befriends Rupert. Levi is goofy, funny, zany, and a little wild and crazy for Rupert's tastes. Rupert tries to get rid of him to no avail. One day when he's had enough of Levi's goofy antics, Rupert tells Levi that he wants to be alone. Levi is so sad and he leaves. Without Levi around, Rupert finds that life is a little boring, he doesn't have anyone to eat the ticks off his back so he's itchy and now he doesn't have ANY friends. He apologizes to Levi and they become the best of friends despite their differences. The illustrations are beautiful. They deepen the reader's understanding of the characters' feelings and personalities. In addition to being a wonderful book about friendship, the author brings in the scientific concept of symbiosis by showing how the two characters of different species gain mutual benefit by their close association. Wonderfully done!

Rupert was a quiet rhinoceros with refined tastes. He liked reading dictionaries, listening to Beethoven and eating cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Levi was a loud tickbird with a taste for corny jokes and a penchant for making armpit farts. When Levi lands on Rupert and won't be dislodged, the rhino is at first embarrassed and upset. But when he finally tells Levi to take a hike, the little bird's observation that he thought Rupert needed a friend has the rhino reconsidering...

Author/illustrator Hannah E. Harrison uses the classic "odd couple who become friends" story to explore the idea of symbiosis in Friends Stick Together. She includes two definitions of the word symbiosis, at the beginning and the end of her tale, and the subtle differences between the two definitions mirror the changes that occur in the story, as Rupert realizes he really does want a friend. I enjoyed Harrison's entertaining narrative, and appreciated the fact that she has Levi use some big words at the end, as this will emphasize to young children that having a more brash personality, or enjoying more "low-brow" things, is not tied in any way to a lack of intelligence (a classic classist idea, that is often still quite prevalent). I also appreciated the illustrations, which are cute, and often quite humorous. Recommended to anyone looking for new picture-books about friendship, or children's stories that indirectly explore the idea of symbiosis. ( )