4 stars


An adorable story about two fantastic pretenders and their journey to a stronger friendship. In the book, two friends play pretend. The boy tries to wreck havoc but the girl is always there with her magic wand to save the day… until the boy gets bored and plays by himself instead. Great story about playing together and sharing ideas, not just playing how you want to play.

The story itself is all over the place with dragons and magic shows, Atlantis and crystal castles, but it really reflects how children play. They are kind of all over the place and their storylines don’t always make sense to grownups. I think this book showcased that quality well.

Very cute illustrations. I liked the mash-up of pretend and fantasy elements (city of Atlantis vs. blanket fort with fish decorations).

I really enjoyed the ending where the two pretenders figure out how to incorporate their play to create together instead of just responding to each other.

A very nice book with a great lesson. 

 

Goodreads