Friendship is a journey, complete with laughter and tears and make believe and making up. We’ve all been there, and our children will experience this sometimes challenging but always rewarding journey too. Molly and Mae: A Friendship Journey, is a beautiful new book by Danny Parker with gorgeous illustrations by Freya Blackwood. The story is a lovely testament to friendship and all of its ups and downs, and it has quickly become a go-to read in our stack.
In Molly and Mae, two little girls meet on the platform of a train station. They connect instantly, playing hide and seek and other games as they await the train with their families. Upon boarding, however, their games turn into conflict, and the two girls turn away from each other. Will they be able to restart their relationship and enjoy the rest of the ride together?
I remember those trying days of childhood, when one minute a trusted companion had me squealing with glee and the next found me sobbing into my mother’s lap because so-and-so said she would never be my friend again. I wish I had Molly & Mae then. I love the manner in which Parker and Blackwood use the train’s journey as an extended metaphor of the ups and downs and starts and stops inherent in the journey of friendship. It was a perfect – if not masterful – comparison, and I love how the train signage truly grounds the reader into every scene of the story. Blackwood has fast become a favorite illustrator of mine, and her soft illustrations add tremendous significance to Parker’s spare text. Such a beauty!
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Want the book? Get it here! Molly & Mae: A Friendship Journey, by Danny Parker. HEE received an advanced review copy of the book, but all opinions expressed herein are entirely our own.
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