Title: Meesha Makes Friends
Author & Illustrator: Tom Percival
The Blurb:
Meesha loves making things. But there’s one thing she finds difficult to make – friends. She doesn’t know quite what to do, what to say or when to say it, and she struggles reading and responding to social cues. But one day she discovers that she has a special talent that will help her to navigate challenging social situations and help her to make friends.
My review:
I am a huge fan of Tom Percival’s Big Bright Feelings series (see my reviews of Ruby’s Worry and Ravi’s Roar). Meesha is such a lovely character and your heart goes out to her as she struggles to make friends. After her attempts to play with other children fail, Meesha decides to “make” a set of friends using her paints and glue.
Then Josh stumbles upon her, playing with her new friends – will she trust Josh with the truth? Through Tom’s wonderful red and blue themed illustrations, we see Meesha take that courageous step to put herself out there and let Josh into her wonderful creative world. From feeling left out at her own party, we see Meesha grow into a confident little girl who isn’t afraid to be herself.
This book has a warm message of friendship that every child can relate to. Whether you know a child who is struggling to make friends, or a social butterfly who could offer a friendly smile to a child that is shy, this is a brilliant book to read and discuss with young children. There is also a beautiful letter at the start of the book from Tom to the reader about making friends.
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication date: 9 July 2020
ISBN: 978-1526612953
I am very grateful to the publisher for letting me read this book via Net Galley. This voluntary review contains my honest opinion.
Picture Book Perfect 