Description:
Heart-Shaped Friendship is a powerful story of empathy and friendship that promotes acceptance and inclusivity.
Brief description: John Matthew Fox has published in Crazyhorse, Third Coast, Shenandoah, and the Chicago Tribune. He provides editing services and resources for writers at the literary blog Bookfox, which has received mentions from The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Publisher's Weekly, and The Huffington Post. He earned an MFA from the University of Southern California and an MA from New York University, but after teaching at the collegiate level for a decade, he decided to focus on Bookfox full time. After traveling to more than forty countries and living in three, he has settled down in Orange County, California, with his wife, twin boys, and six chickens.
Review Quotes: "A winning story of acceptance and love, especially for those who are different." - Kirkus Reviews
A child discovers that friendship can overcome the challenges of language and differing abilities in this debut picture book.
Hope, excited about the first day of school, is startled by a collision with a girl on a scooter. The rider, Summy, says, "Ooo... Eee...," which her mother explains means "Sorry." Hope finds out that Summy has trouble learning words. Their teacher devises a task. Each student will teach Summy one word, and then the class will have a Popsicle party. Because Hope and Summy love hearts, Hope decides to teach the word heart, but no technique works. When Summy overhears a conversation between Hope and a classmate, who says dismissively, "My parents told me everything about kids like her," Summy's feelings are hurt. After Hope rescues Summy, who's stuck on a climbing wall, she apologizes for hurting the girl's feelings. Summy then explains what heart means to her: love. Barros' straightforward narrative style is from Hope's point of view; the vocabulary is accessible to early elementary school readers. Although Barros never explains the reason for Summy's difficulties, the descriptions of her eyes and speech-as well as a note that the author has a child with Trisomy 21-indicates that Summy has the syndrome. Hope's understanding and love for Summy, despite the prejudices of others, are a wonderful model of acceptance of those with different abilities. Dol's beautifully detailed cartoon illustrations feature a diverse group of students.