Molly and Mae: A Friendship Journey

PreS-Gr 2--Molly and Mae meet at the train station. "Molly found Mae beneath a bench. Mae found Moly in the newspaper shop. Molly's mom found them blowing bubbles together. After that, Molly and Mae were stuck." The train ride takes on a dual meaning and captures the details of a long rail trip but also characterizes the larger journey of friendship. The two get to know each other, board the train, spend a lot of time together, have a disagreement, miss each other, and then find their way back together. Through full spreads and spot art, the soft, sketchy illustrations use vignettes to tell the story while approaching scenes from a variety of perspectives--looking inside the window, looking outside the window, focusing in close-up, or examining a wider view--which helps to deliberately speed up or slow down the voyage and make pivotal scenes more poignant. Train signage throughout also creates relevant indicators to points in the girls' relationship: Journey, Signal Failure, Bridge, Tracks. "The journey stretched as far as they could see in both directions. There were hills and valleys, bends and straight runs, bridges and tunnels. And the train traveled on." When it does finally arrive at its destination, the girls pack up and depart together. Young listeners will find many details to notice wherever they are on their own early friendship journeys, and they also may discover a couple of ideas for passing time on a real train trip. VERDICT A warm and lovely book for one-on-one and small group sharing.--Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA