Beware of Predators Bearing Gifts! My Best Friend by Rob Hodgson

HI, THERE! I'M MOUSE AND I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT MY BEST FRIEND... GREAT OWL!

What a good friend Giant Owl is! He takes Mouse to live with him in his tree. And Great Owl loves to play with Mouse.

WE PLAY CHASE, AND SOMETIMES GREAT OWL NEARLY CATCHES ME.... BUT NOT QUITE.

And Great Owl loves to share his food with Mouse--all the donuts Mouse can eat and more! Such a generous friend!

Mouse has some questions, of course, about his best friend's sometimes strange behaviors. He won't let Mouse out of his sight, and Mouse never gets to enjoy a moment alone! And when Mouse tries to get a bit of space, Great Owl is a bit rough when he grabs him. It is annoying. But Great Owl shows Mouse how much he loves him when he gives him a trendy wire house that fits right over his head. How does Owl know that Mouse's favorite thing to do is have a sleepover--especially in his new portable house! ZZZZZZZZ!

But then.... Mouse awakes in a very dark place....

It's a strange turn in the plot, especially since Great Owl begins to feel some gastric distress! Glurk! Ooooch! Burble! ACCKKK!

At this point in the tale, youngsters will have figured out exactly where Mouse is and will cheer when Great Owl is forced to disgorge his, er, friend with an enormous BURP, in Rob Hodgson's tongue-in-cheek story of a devious and dubious friendship, My Best Friend (Francis Lincoln Childrens Books, 2020). This bit of dark humor is just right for savvy primary graders who know a bit about the role of predators in the food chain and will begin to giggle as the wily predator fattens up his prey and his true intentions become more and more obvious--while Mouse remains, well, in the dark! "A fresh page to the annals of obliviousness," quips Booklist.