What's the Matter, Marlo?
by Andrew Arnold (Author) Andrew Arnold (Illustrator)
What's the Matter Marlo? is a picture book about best friends that highlights empathy, as well as anger and sadness, and reminds us that these aren't feelings to run away from, but instead to help each other through.
Marlo and Coco are best friends. They do everything together--they read together, laugh together, and play games together. After all, they're best friends. And that's what best friends do.
But one day, when Coco asks Marlo to play, he doesn't answer. Instead, Marlo turns away ignoring Coco, until he's lost in his anger. Coco is worried about her friend, but then she remembers she can always find Marlo.
In this charming, thoughtful picture book, author-illustrator Andrew Arnold explores empathy and sadness, and how friends can help each other navigate big emotions. Because that's what best friends do.
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Kirkus Reviews
A sweet, reassuring validation of the power of a close friendship and empathy.
Horn Book Magazine
Publishers Weekly
Marlo and the narrator of this book are best friends who love dogs and dog jokes. "We read together. We laugh together. We play games together," writes Arnold (the Adventures in Cartooning series), making his picture book debut. When Marlo falls into a funk that he won't explain ("I don't want to play. Go away"), an emotional void opens up--Arnold draws a scraggly black line above Marlo's head that grows larger as the pages turn, eventually becoming so dense that the narrator seems set adrift in outer space. But however scary it is to have a close friend suddenly feel so far away, this pal won't give up. "Marloooooo," the child cries out, and the o's in his name become a chain that cuts through the darkness and reaches Marlo, who is sobbing by a tree. Readers now see what the narrator discovers but doesn't voice: Marlo is standing by the grave of Hooper, the lively dog that romped with the pair in the book's opening pages. The directness of Arnold's storytelling makes his characterizations feel all the more honest; what starts out as a modest book soon becomes profound and reassuring. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
[What's the Matter, Marlo? is] beautifully precise, and accessible in its simplicity. Not only does it speak to grief in others, insightfully separating the person from the (sometimes eruptive and unpredictable) emotions, but it also models empathy. - The New York Times
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV002190 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Pets
