The Faithful Friend

I read this book with no prior knowledge of the author or any of his other literary work. What first captured my attention were the two young men of color on the book cover. Second thing that captured more of my attention were the well done, scenic, and colorful illustrations by Brian Pinkney. Author Robert D. San Souci even added a glossary for the words that young readers of the English language may not be familiar with. For example, words such as Bon-Die, Bonjou, Monfi, and Monsieur. "The Faithful Friend" tells the heartfelt story of just that...a faithful friend. Clement (of Martinique in the Caribbean) and Hippolyte (of French descent) were friends, yet as close as brothers. They embark on a travel for Clement to propose marriage to a young woman that he fell in love with by sight of a picture only. Along the way they discovered the dead body of an old beggar in a banana grove. The good hearted young men provide a burial for the body and continued on their journey. After reaching their destination, all was well with the woman... but her Uncle did not care for a marriage between the two. The Uncle was also a wizard. He attempted to cast a spell on the young man who sought a wife, but the faithfulness of a friend caused none of the spells to work. On their journey home the friendship is demonstrated in more ways than one. The mystery that surrounds the spells and the faithfulness of the friend captures the readers attention. At one point I thought that I could predict the ending, but the author was too slick to let his readers be disappointed by having a predictable ending. Overall, this is one book that I will highly recommend to young readers because it is well done from beginning to end (story and illustration). It is like an old folks tale with a French & Caribbean flavor. It may also spark a young reader to want to learn a foreign language, which is a valuable skill to acquire. Review by: Pamela Jarmon-Wade

Set on the French West Indies island of Martinique, this classic telling of two inseparable friends who would give their lives for each other, offers more than mere fairy tale. Clement and Hippolyte are as close or closer than brothers, even though they do not share the same race. They have been raised together since birth and cannot be parted. On a journey to find Clement's true love, they find and bury a homeless man, run from an enraged uncle, and dodge three curses cast upon them by a quimboiseur (a wizard). At first I wasn't sure I would like this tale, as I made my predictions while reading. I thought I had completely guessed the ending. "How predictable," I surmised. "Too easy to figure out." As I continued to flip the pages, my predictions began to unravel.

When author Robert San Souci isn't writing yet another version of the Cinderella story (this man has done everything from skeletons to Cajuns, I kid you not) he can be found writing the film script to the Disney film Mulan, adapting every folktale known to man, and collaborating with some of the best living children's illustrators out there today. He can probably tile his floor with his Coretta Scott King Awards at this point and that Caldecott Honor he acquired from "The Faithful Friend" probably doesn't look too shabby either. Of course, Mr. San Souci hasn't a degree in folktales nor has he ever worked in a professional capacity when studying them. My response? Capacity schmapacity. This guy does his research, knows his stuff, and produces some of the best darned picture book folktales out there today. If his backgrounds just in advertising and film reviewing, so be it. At least he has a healthy respect for the genre and a great ear for folktale text. "The Faithful Friend" is an excellent example of both. On an island in Martinique, two boys grew up on a sugar plantation. One boy was Clement, a brown-skinned boy who's father owned the estate. The other was Hippolyte, Clement's white companion and servant of the house. The boys grew up together and one day Clement told his friend that he'd fallen in love with Pauline, the niece of a man rumored to be a wizard. Hippolyte worries that there may be danger in going to visit her, but his friend won't be talked out of it. Together they travel along the coast road and, as they go, bury a poor beggar they find dead along the road. When at last the boys meet Pauline she's charmed by Clement but her uncle is not impressed. Though she swears to marry her new (some might say instant) love, the uncle vows to stop them at whatever the cost. Now Hippolyte must save his friend and insipient bride from zombies, poisoned fruit, nasty water, snakes, and that awful fate of turning to stone. Friendship has never been so good. In an Afterword of the book, San Souci gives a riveting account of the many variations of this tale and gives a mighty compelling explanation of why exactly he chose this particular version. Turns out that this story is a Martiniquan version with an alluring chance to incorporate ghosts and grateful dead (sans Jerry Garcia) to the mix. He makes several allusions to "The Types of the Folk-Tale" by Antti Arne, which lists every single folktale variant and gives each one a number. Hence, your average grateful deal/the dead man as helper tale is tale type 505 while the rescued princess/the grateful dead man story is more along the lines of tale type 506. I don't know about you but I'm now itching to get my hands on this "Type" book to find more stories that fit certain molds. When he chose to tell this tale of a black character and his white hero sidekick, San Souci switched the genre from the typical white-guy-and-his-magical-black-friend story found in every bad movie a

This book represents the length that a friend will go to help and care for a true friend. These two young men have built a very strong bond that holds them together like brothers. This story takes place on an island with many twists and turns that make it a very exciting story. I think it is very important to let children know that we should be loyal to others in time of need. This story really hits on the true meaning of friendship, although it is fiction. My students love the illustrations which are done in scratchboard. Robert D. San Souci is a very good author for folk literature. I also like his book, The Talking Eggs. His work is good for teaching good values, or morals to students through unreal happenings.

This story is told similar to that of a folkloric tale passed on for many years from generation to generation. It has spiritual undertones and an essence of an important life lesson passed down time and again in a family. The illustrations are wonderful, (Pinkney's artwork is always great) and it is evocative of the island's mystery and danger. The two main characters' friendship is strong, bi-racial and surprise! The friend proving loyalty is the white man to the black man. This is a new one. It is the black man who has good fortune and is getting married! We need more examples like this in children's literature of mixed friendships, different ways to look at the world, new culture, strange new lands, and ties that bind people together rather than the tired old stereotypes. The students in my classroom loved this tale, because it was so fresh and new. As a teacher who is caucasian teaching in a predominantly black school, I look to Robert D. San Souci for interesting stories that appeal to the population I teach. The students always enjoy his stories such as The White Cat, etc. All are folktales with strong, interesting themes.