CM Magazine: Odd One Out.

________________ CM . . . . Volume XXIV Number 14. . . . December 8, 2017

cover
Odd One Out.

Danielle Chaperon. Illustrated by Iris Boudreau. Translated by MaryChris Bradley.
Paris, FR: Auzou, 2017.
40 pp., hardcover, $12.95 (US).
ISBN 978-2-7338-5066-4.

Preschool-grade 3 / Ages 4-8.

Review by Janet Johnson.

**** /4

excerpt:

THREE can't fit on a bike, it's too dangerous!!!
I was the odd one out who rode alone.
I felt as if I'd begun to shrink...and shrivel...
Until I was very, very, very small.

Odd One Out is a delightful entertaining way to convey the message that more than two children can be friends. This is the first children’s book by Danielle Chaperon, and it was translated from French by MaryChris Bradley. The striking illustrations were done by the Montreal-based comic book artist Iris Boudreau. Her characters are depicted in a style wherein they have some animal features.

Odd One Out deals with a social situation that could happen with friends and offers a solution. Clara and her best friend Annabelle are described as “soul mates” by Clara’s parents, but one day a new girl comes into Clara’s class at school and is befriended by Annabelle. Can there be three “soul mates”? The story deals with Clara’s jealousy by having Clara imagine diabolical plots to deal with the new girl. Eventually though, the situation is resolved, and Clara discovers that having two friends is better than one.

Highly Recommended.

Janet Johnson, a retired librarian, used to teach Children’s Literature for the Library Technician Program at Red River College in Winnipeg, MB.

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