Friday, December 11, 2015

Ten top unlikely friendships in children’s books

John Boyne's novels include the bestselling The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Boy at the Top of the Mountain. One of his top ten unlikely friendships in children’s books, as shared at the Guardian:
A Boy And A Bear And A Boat by Dave Shelton (2012)

Shelton’s profound and hugely entertaining tale of a boy and a bear sailing nowhere in particular is full of wonderful jokes and sarcastic asides, not to mention illustrations that you end up staring at for ridiculously long periods of time. We don’t know why the boy is running away, we don’t know why the bear is rowing a boat. And yet it all feels entirely rational and important and that if the boy didn’t have the bear to speak to, then he would have no one. From such simple needs, great friendships are made.
Read about another book on the list.

Also see Alex Hourston’s top ten unlikely friendships in literature and Sarah Salway's top ten books about unlikely friendships.

--Marshal Zeringue