Hest, Amy. Forever Friends. Kady MacDonald Denton, Illus. Billy & Rose Series. Candlewick, 10/2022. 42pp. Fiction. GRADES 1 – 3. $16.99. 978-1-5362-1419-2. ADDITIONAL.
Billy and Rose, an anthropomorphic sheep and pig, are featured in four short stories depicting various friendship issues. They motivate each other to do their boring chores, they figure out how to have fun when playing catch does not work well, they open a roadside ice cream stand together, and finally they decide where to have a sleepover. Watercolor˗and˗ink illustrations depict the two friends as they experience these problems and their eventual solutions, each of which helps their friendship thrive. As with many titles, Hest’s early transitional stories could have been written and illustrated with human children, but anthropomorphic animals were used instead, which works well for beginning readers.
Joshua Rees—Daly City Public Library