Kathryn Apel, author of Bully on the Bus and On Track,
has produced another stunning read with her third verse novel, Too Many Friends. She has mastered the
art of word selection and uses dialogue sparsely to successfully sculpt images
and capture emotions. Her writing is brief and precise, going to the heart of
things and of people.
This time it is schoolyard friendships and bullying,
connected to difficulties faced when trying to please all of your friends all
of the time. Its multi-layered themes also encompass encouraging children to
reuse and recycle old objects to create new ones; looking past what is bought
to experience the joy and satisfaction of making something creative on your
own.
Brilliant approaches to handling differences in
people are delivered with insight, so are clever solutions to problems we all
face, regardless of age. Addressed are conflicting emotions in children, being
new and out of place due to economic situations, and coping with others that
are difficult to be around.
Tahnee the narrator’s voice is warm and personal.
It reaches out to children (and people of all ages) about the need to give and
take. It subtly suggests lateral thinking and alternate use of language in all
areas of everyday life, particularly within relationships.
Title:
Too Many Friends
Author:
Kathryn Apel
Illustrator:
Jo Hunt
Publisher:
UQP, $14.95
Publication
Date: 1 May 2017
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9780702259760
For
ages: 8+
Type:
Junior Fiction