Four Friends Together

I really didn't enjoy this book at first, it was given to us and I read it once and then sat it on the shelf and ignored it for several months. However My 4 year old found it and wanted me to read it again. It really grew on me the second time I read and after that I found I liked it more and more - and my kids love it. It is a strange story, the illustrations are almost like Aldo only much much brighter. There is a real whimsicality to them. A sheep called seymour, a rabbit called rachel, a flowery bear called Florentina and a little girl called Mary Clare. It is story time but Mary clare is asleep, so Florentina the bear trys to read the story, only she can't fit in the chair, so she says she will become smaller, Seymour the sheep asks when. Mary Clare wakes up and tries to read the story, but not everyone can see the story at the same time. So after trying various things Florentina says they should all sit on her and read. Which they do and they are four friends together. The illustrations are just gorgeous, rich pastel colours, well drawn with lovely touches. Everyone matches their chair in some way. Rachel and Seymour hold their hands (hooves? Paws?) in really lovely gently funny positions. The expressions are lovely, and Seymour's ears are beautifully done to show his emotions. The text is also lovely, some nice in-jokes for adults to enjoy along the way and also, if you want, to talk to the children about. It is a nice story about friendship, turn taking and problem solving. A good learner book too in many ways, simple words and concepts to follow along. Highly recommended reading, I will be getting more books from this series.