#blogbookaday: Pen Pals

Summary:  “An octopus and an ant are paired up to write letters for a school project in this charming picture book in the tradition of Dear Mr. Blueberry.

For an entire school year, Oscar the ant and Bill the octopus send letters to each other as part of a school project.
Oscar loves table tennis, and Bill loves modelling clay.

Oscar does judo, while Bill has a garden.
Despite their differences, the two new friends find shared interests…all leading up to one final surprise!” (Taken from Goodreads)

Review: An ant and an octopus don’t have much in common, but through a letter writing, pen pal project at school Oscar and Bill get to know each other and learn that they aren’t as different as they first thought! I loved the way the relationship grew as each letter was mailed and how selfless each of them were to give each other little trinkets. This would make a great story to read before starting your own pen pal project at school or at home.

Personal Reaction: I love that this book is written as though two children were writing back and forth – sometimes answering the questions asked, but usually just writing whatever they wanted to say! The letter format is fun and different from most picture books and if you pay close attention to the illustrations you’ll see things change as Oscar and Bill’s relationship grows!

Title: Pen Pals
Author: Alexandra Pichard
Illustrator: Alexandra Pichard
Publisher: Aladdin
Publication Date: Janaury 3, 2017

This is a new idea I’m trying on my blog this year that was inspired by @donalynbooks and @heisereads – to provide a brief review of a picture book every day of 2018. You’ll get a brief summary of the story, a review of the content, illustrations and theme, my personal reaction to the book and all the pertinent publication information! Enjoy!