Be a Friend

Tender and gentle, this lovely picture book about feeling different and lonely could be about a child with autism, or one who never speaks, or it could just be about a child who feels he has no friends.  The fact that it can be read in different ways is a real strength of the story, and the illustrations match the concept perfectly.  Dennis is a child who doesn’t speak but communicates through mime.  In the pictures we see him miming, and exactly what he is miming is shown through dotted red lines.  He wears a striped shirt and a top hat, like his hero Marcel Marceau, and paints his face white.  ‘Everyone calls him Mime Boy’, but although he is happy to mime, he often feels lonely.  The other children seem to play with each other, but never with him.  Perhaps he is invisible, he thinks – until Joy comes into his life.  She thinks like Dennis does, and they are soon best friends, sharing the world in ‘the same way’.  Friends don’t find it necessary to talk, and when the other children see their friendship developing, they accept them too.  Subtle and beautifully crafted, this is an unforgettable story about the need for acceptance whoever you are and whatever your circumstances.