"Suddenly, it was no longer
just Norman and Mildred.
Now it was Norman and Mildred
and the other tree.
This did not sit well with Norman.
Norman began to worry.
What if the other tree wanted
to be friends with Mildred?"
Ryan T. Higgins fans will be in their glory with his new book about friendship. Norman, a porcupine, is best friends with Mildred, a tree. Unusual? Yes. Even more unusual is the fact that the two do everything together. They play one-sided baseball; watch birds with one pair of binoculars; model tall, majestic trees; and even play the occasional game of checkers. Funny? Oh, yes!
Norman is not pleased with change. He likes things to be just the way they are. When another tree pops up close by, he is truly disturbed by the interloper. Now, there are three of them. For days, Norman watches the two closely. Everything keeps changing. When they finally touch, Norman is done!
"It was the last straw.
This is the
last straw!
Even though, in this case,
there were no straws.
Just branches."
The situation demands that a plan be made. What Norman does is a bit startling. Now, nothing will come between the friends again. But things do not return to normal. Norman tries to talk to Mildred about it, and to assure her that their friendship remains unchanged. The guilt builds, with Norman becoming more and more anxious over what he has done. Norman 'hits rock bottom' when he falls into the hole where the young tree had been. Another plan must rectify the situation. Snap! Just like that, the two become three once more.
Inviting illustrations, clever dialogue, and extremely funny scenes demand more than one visit with this book, as is so true of all books penned by Mr. Higgins. He knows kids, and he knows exactly how to engage them in a love for reading. The final illustration is not to be missed!
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