Freckleface Strawberry

PreS-Gr 2—Freckleface Strawberry and Windy Pants Patrick are best friends. Their relationship is evident not only through their conversations, but also through the way they connect in the simple yet detailed Japanese brush pen and digital illustrations. However, their amity is challenged when the boys at school tell Windy Pants that boys don't play with girls, and the girls tell Freckleface that boys stink. Though they are both influenced to abandon their friendship, they are miserable without each other. Again, an illustration brings their closeness back to the story, in a chance meeting on the playground, when the two look at each other and realize that they love spending time together. By the end of the story, Freckleface and Windy Pants have learned how to disregard their peers and enjoy what they have in common. Though some might hastily regard this as a book for girls, with its sherbet-colored cover and main character redolent of Strawberry Shortcake, it has something to offer anyone willing to listen. In this third Freckleface book, Moore again shows that she can tap into the everyday lives of children who overcome the challenges of peer pressure and intimidation.—Lindsay Persohn, University of South Florida, Tampa