Just My Friend & Me

This is a classic book by the beloved children’s author, Mercer Mayer. Arguably the best thing about this book is the plot, because it does an amazing job of depicting the trials and tribulations of childhood friendships with short, simple sentences. The book’s simplicity coupled with the detailed illustrations make for a great combination. I especially love the rich colors used in the book. The different shades of brown used for the bears’ skin alongside the bold colors of their clothes and surroundings bring out a homey yet fun feel that closely matches the vibe of the book. The main message of this book is an important one- it is important to treat your friends with kindness.

I enjoyed reading this book for a variety of reasons. The illustrations in this book were large and captivating. They included details which helped to showcase the emotions of each character therefore enhancing the reader’s understanding of the events taking place in the story. I also liked that the overall plot of this book is easy for children to relate to. Children may experience problems when trying to get along with others, especially when the other child is treating them unfairly. For example in the story, Litter Critter let his friend plays with his toys but he had to pick up the mess all by himself. The overall message of this book is the value of friendship. Even though Little Critter and his friend had problems playing show more throughout their day, they still had a great time together. This helps to show that friendships have their ups and downs and are not always perfect. show less

They're short, they're funny, they're topical, and they're cheap.

This book details a typical visit with a friend, and the havoc two children can wreak.

Little Critter puts it that he always has fun with his friend, but by the end of the day he's glad to be alone, a true sentiment if I ever heard one.

One thing to note is how the illustrations and the text don't always add up, a good introduction to the concept of an unreliable narrator :)

In this little critter book, he has a friend over and is trying his best to be a good host. Even though through the pictures you can tell his friend is not playing very nice, like when he takes the ladder from the treehouse, and even breaks his toys, like his romote control car and bike, little critter is always trying to be nice. Ultimately he decides that it is fun to have a friend over but sometimes it is good to be alone. This book would be great in the classroom to demonstrate the difference between being a good friend or a bad friend in pk-1.

Just My Friend and Me
By Mercer Mayer

Summary: The little boy is bored by himself, so he has a friend come over to play with him. They do many activities and play with many toys. However, his friend often upstages him, doesn't help clean, or breaks his toys. As a result, the boy is able to appreciate being alone sometimes.

Keywords: Friend, alone, play

Response: Mercer Mayer is great because of the subtleties. Such as the little mouse that is present in every illustration, but not mentioned. The book makes the point to the reader that alone time should be valued, without making it obvious. Also, by making the boy's friend a different animal, it is promoting multiracial friendships.

I have always loved the Little Critter books as a child and with this book it is great to read to younger students learning many of their life lessons at a young age. This story was very funny because Little Critter and a friend play many activites that all end up getting them into trouble and ounce the play time was gone Little Critter finally saw it was just fine playing alone. The characters in this book are great for young readers eventhough they are not real people it still helps to idenify with fun animals with learning new life lessons. The plot of this book also made a nice impact on the reader and helps sum up the life lesson.

Just My Friend And Me is good when students are not getting along. This book shows how children can get along together while playing with each other. Critter has his friend over to play one afternoon. Critter and his friend play all day but Critter's friend keeps doing things a little bit better than Critter does. His friend also does not help Critter clean his room and breaks his bike. Critter's mom is not happy that Critter's friend bent his bike but it can be fixed. Critter is glad when his friend goes home. Critter still had fun with his friend but appreciates being alone too.