About the Author

M.H. Clark is a poet and writer who has received multiple awards, including the Washington State Book Award and two Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. She has traveled the world and lived in many wonderful places--but she believes she belongs most of all in a little house with a large library, someplace where the forest meets the sea. Cécile Metzger is a French illustrator currently living in Florence, Italy. She finds inspiration observing nature and people passing by, and looks to capture the hidden stories in the everyday. In addition to art, Cécile loves tea, flowers, and her cat Marcel.

Reviews

A heartfelt "thank you" to a special friend. Speaking in the first person and addressing an unidentified friend as "you," the author begins this little tribute by expressing appreciation for all the friend is and does. Assuring the friend that "where you are, things are brighter," the author adds, "you're a gem, you're a peach, you're a wonderful friend." Admitting it's hard to find the right words (even in a "giant...dictionary"), the author asserts the friend is "gooder than good" and "kinder than kind," and there's just no way to describe the friend's inner light and spirit. Indeed, knowing this friend is part of the author's life "makes even the rainy days feel more alright." Present on all the author's "brightest days," the fr iend has clearly made "more than a little" difference in the author's life. The rhyming text adds quiet cadence to this somewhat abstract ode to friendship while precise, small-scale illustrations, rendered in pale tans and greens, provide a visual context featuring a fox and a squirrel wearing old-fashioned shirts and knickers. Each page turn reveals the two friends together: kite-flying, picnicking, gathering honey, fishing, catching fireflies, drinking tea, sheltering under a toadstool, dancing, hopping across lily pads, cycling, swinging, star-gazing, sleeping in hammocks, and sharing all their brightest days surrounded by delicate botanicals. A gentle paean to friendship most suitable for that perfect friend. (Picture book. 7-10) - Kirkus