Chipmunk's Quest! Chirp! Chipmunk Sings For a Friend by James Swenson

CHIPMUNK LIVED ON A ROCK.

MOST DAYS SHE SAT ON THE ROCK, CHIRPING FROM DAWN UNTIL THE STARS SHONE DOWN.

She chirped happy songs, bittersweet songs, and some days her songs were quite sad. Rock was a solid friend, listening faithfully, but what Chipmunk really wanted was a partner to sing songs with her, so one day she took leave of her friend on a quest to find someone to sing.

She met a pinecone who agreed to join rock in their special place, and Chipmunk joyfully carried Pinecone back to Rock's resting place.

BUT PINECONE'S TALENTS, LIKE ROCK'S, WERE OF THE LISTENING SORT.

But Chirp longed, not for another friend to listen, but a friend to sing with her. The quest was long. She met a nice log who agreed to join Rock and Pinecone, but try her hardest, Chirp could not budge Log. Exhausted by her failure, Chipmunk began to sing a bittersweet song. Raccoon heard the beautiful song and agreed to help move Log to Rock's place, but the two of them were not up to the job. But at least Raccoon joined Chipmunk in a sweet but sad song, one that so moved Moose that he came to see who was singing.

And Moose did it! Once he got Log rolling, he rolled all the way to Rock's spot. And now when Chip sings all her songs...

RACCOON AND MOOSE SING ALONG TOO.

In James Swenson's just published Chirp!: Chipmunk Sings for a Friend (Simon and Schuster, 2021), illustrated affectionately by celebrated artist Scott Magoon, finding a friend doesn't necessarily come easily, but while music is good, music with friends is the best.

As Booklist points out, "Nicely phrased and using repetition effectively, the text is strongly in touch with young children’s impulse to befriend inanimate objects that come alive in their imaginations."

How Hard Can It Be? Dog and Rabbit by Barney Saltzberg

Dog didn't mind being alone. But...

...Sometimes Dog was lonely.

But sometimes a friend is nowhere to be seen. Dog's standards are not too high. He just wants a friend around.

"How hard can it be..." he wondered.

There's Rabbit, looking lonely, too, wishing for a friend.

Someone to hop with.

But it's hard to find a friend.

 Not everyone hops to the same rhythm.

Dog is not so picky. He fixes on Rabbit as a potential friend and puts a bunny figure up on the front of his fridge, and when Rabbit spots that bunny through the window, he comes back often to gaze longingly at it. He smiles at it. Dog smiles at Rabbit, but Rabbit hops swiftly away.

Things seem to be at an impasse... but then ... one day Rabbit finds Dog's door open.

Rabbit hops inside to meet the bunny, but sadly he sees it is not a real rabbit. Suddenly, Rabbit sees Dog, quietly there, smiling.

The one who had waited.

It's a case of looking for a friend in all the wrong places, in Barney Saltzberg's little parable of friendship found, Dog and Rabbit (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2019). As artist and storyteller, Saltzberg' work is simplicity itself. His art is done with small details, simple black line drawings and a few muted colors; each one of the characters is minimalist, but with a certain solidity. Dog is brown, with a big nose and medium-droopy ears; Rabbit is gray, pear-shaped, with evocative ears that never quite stand straight up, and both have simple dots for eyes and body language that allows readers to interpret all for themselves. Saltzman's text is equally spare, without modifiers.

Saltzman's theme appears equally modest, unexplicated, leaving it to the reader to explore the possibilities. Are Rabbit's expectations pie in the sky (the rabbit on the moon, as in some folklore)? Is Dog simply settling? Or does he simply see beyond superficial differences? What is it that makes certain unlikely friendships happen? Like many well-written children's stories, there are layers of meaning here, embedded within, that require perception beyond a quick read-through.

Exclusively Inclusive! The Buddy Bench by Patty Brozo

"Class dismissed!" called Miss Mellon when the recess bell rang.

Her students ran out, one loud happy gang.

But once outside, that big happy gang quickly breaks into groups. Some form a team to play soccer; some play King of the Hill. Some silly kids form a parade with a pretend elephant, and some take flight in a make-believe plane. Some even fly kites.

But not everyone is included.

Each kid on his own has his reasons for hanging back. Jerome is so small that he's never picked for basketball. Lilly thinks she is no good at games. Cooper stammers, and Emma's shy about the holes in her clothes. Sloan hates being alone, but he just doesn't know the way to say he wants to play.

One at a time the left-behind kids come together, just as the bell ending recess begins to ring. Once inside Will speaks up to Miss Mellon...

"How could we say
that we all want to play?"

And Miss Mellon has a plan--a special bench they can build for anyone who wants to be invited to play at recess. And if any group invites them, they have to join in.

And everyone knows:

The Buddy Bench = Nobody Alone.

Patty Brozo's rhyming text helps the message go down easy, in her The Buddy Bench (Tilbury House, 2019), which offers an idea for a way that solo students can silently signal that they want to be included in play groups, making it easier for teachers supervising recess groups to help their students become more inclusive. Noted artist Mike Deas's humorous illustrations keep the tone of this story light and lively, avoiding didacticism. The author includes an appendix that details how to make a "buddy bench" or institute a designated place on the playground for kids to signal they're ready to join in the game, and how to introduce some effective rules for developing a real class esprit de corps together.

Says Kirkus Reviews, “A story inspired by a real-life effort to achieve social inclusion. The generosity on display is heartening. Inviting.”