Thy Friend, Obadiah

Aww....  Nice story.  The colors are a bit too muted for my taste: I have this belief that historical fiction shouldn't make history seem dead and gone by illustrators fond of sepia.  But otherwise the pix are engaging, and a closer look reveals how layout, composition, book design, work well here.  And, bonus, Quakers!  How often do readers encounter them in stories?

Thy Friend Obadiah is a simple but beautiful story about a six-year-old Quaker boy on Nantucket Island who is followed around by a seagull. At first the bird annoys him, especially when his brothers and sisters tease him about his "friend." But when the bird disappears for a time, Obadiah begins to realize how much he misses its company, and when it returns, injured, he takes car of it, and appreciates the friendship it has given him.

Beautiful story and illustrations of the friendship between a Quaker boy and a gull. The bird is more steadfast than the boy, who finally realizes how much the gull means to him when the bird leaves for a time. I love how the boy's parents take it for granted that a boy and a gull can be friends.

I really liked this story. It's a good tale about friendship and animals.
Obadiah's father also reminds me greatly of my own.

This represents a Realistic Fiction book because the story is convincingly true to life and allows children to examine their own life through the little boy in the story. They are able to empathize with the bird and the boy in the story and see how they interact. The plot works well together and the characters are well developed.

I like the art.

CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK 1970