A Friend for Eddy
by Ann Kim Ha; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Greenwillow    40 pp.
3/24    9780063315464    $19.99

Eddy the fish lives by himself in a little glass bowl. He wants a friend. “Someone who could swim and blow bubbles. Someone like him. Eddy peered out, wondering if such a friend would pass by.” Meanwhile, a pair of black, feline-shaped ears in the frame indicates that he is less alone than he realizes. This tension builds through digitally collaged watercolor illustrations and smart page design, but the text uses our protagonist’s limited, naive perspective to tell the story. Bright-orange Eddy pops on the rich cerulean background, while the black cat recedes into it with the exception of the two yellow eyes that are about the shape and size of the fish himself. He first mistakes one eye for a potential fishy playmate and then the second eye for another. “It was the little yellow fish again, and this time he had brought along a friend!” Eddy and his two new “friends” have a terrific time dancing and playing hide-and-seek, until Eddy propels himself right out of the protective glass bowl and onto the table in an effort to join them. It is in that precarious position that he finally sees the bigger picture (including many sharp teeth) that likely will have been troubling readers all along. Mercifully this dramatic, visually appealing friendship tale takes a surprise final turn, avoiding the anticipated grim conclusion. New friends are sometimes not who we imagine them to be; they can even be better.

From the March/April 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.