Review Detail

This graphic novel had bright illustrations and easy-to-follow panels perfect for a Ready to Read level one book. The sentences and words were heavily supported by illustrations that made it easy to read. Our characters Chi-Chi and Pey-Pey have common feelings associated with the first day of school. A partner activity is hard for them and they quickly decide they will never be friends because they are too different. With a nudge from the teacher to persevere they finally find common ground to start a friendship. This scenario feels age-appropriate in the fact that surface-level likes and dislikes can form the start of friendships. The teacher did not help them much to find a resolution which could have led to real-life strife between young children who do not know how to work together yet. However, since this is a book geared to young kids the ending does work. This is a bit of a longer story and with the illustrations to support the text, the book is a bit thick which can feel intimidating for young readers or be difficult for children with struggle with concentrating on longer texts. It is not actually hard to read and the page turns are quick but it may take some support for a child to realize they can in fact read it.