Are We Still Friends? - Hardcover

Ruth Horowitz is the daughter of a school librarian and a newspaper editor, so it’s no surprise she grew up with a passion for stories. She loves to eat apples dipped in honey on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which was one of her inspirations for writing Are We Still Friends? She lives in Rhode Island with her husband. You can visit her online at www.ruthhorowitz.com.
Blanca Gomez started drawing illustrations for her mom when she was a child, and hasn’t stopped. Now she illustrates for people all over the world through her Etsy shop and in picture books such as One Family by George Shannon. Her favorite apple snack is apple pie (with vanilla ice cream, of course). She lives in Madrid, Spain. You can visit her online at www.cosasminimas.com.

K-Gr 2—Not only do next-door neighbors Beatrice, a bear, and Abel, a mouse, run complementary enterprises but they also happen to be the best of friends. While Beatrice's honeybees pollinate Abel's apple orchard, the pair share in the work of harvesting honey and picking apples. In the wintertime, they stay tucked indoors enjoying apple butter toast and tea with honey. When Beatrice mistakes Abel's hollering about a beesting for an attempt to be silly, he gets offended, and they begin a turf war and name-calling battle that jeopardizes both of their endeavors. The bees pay their feud no mind, and eventually the two sort out the confusion and return to their happy arrangement. A good example of how a misunderstanding can be suddenly blown out of proportion, the story employs excellent vocabulary, such as yammered and spluttered. Gomez's folk art—style illustrations are cheerful, if a little young for the presumed audience. VERDICT A solid title for those seeking tales about reconciliation, with a bonus horticulture lesson on pollination thrown in for good measure. A fine addition to classroom and library collections.—Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH