Review: `Listening  to  friends  and  their  heart  they  will  know The seeds of friendship they can happily sow.'
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 30, 2013
Yuval Harpaz writes and illustrates books for children that are built to establish the love for books and reading. His stories are meant to make a difference and to allow children to develop and master a new level of reading. The writing is on a very high level, meant for children in the 2nd grade and up, and holds enough sense of adventure and learning of interpersonal relationship skills to keep children entertained while being educated. The entire focus of this story is teaching children on how they can develop interpersonal skills and make it possible to make new friends and make the friendship last.Jimmy and Tommy are fast friends who play together every day, but one day Jimmy elects to play basketball with Willy and Tommy doesn't understand the desertion: his solution is to ignore Jimmy the next time he wants to play. Tommy hears a cricket, captures it in a jar, but the cricket talks to Tommy - introduces himself as Robin, son of Freeman, apologizes for getting into Tommy's room, but promises that if Tommy releases him he will make Tommy a superhero with the ability to know what to do when friends suddenly don't want to play with you anymore. They fly out to meet Robin's Great Grandfather cricket that had lived in FDR's pocket. FDR spoke of the four basic rights - freedom and of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear, but by living in FDR's pocket, Great Grandfather taught him that all four freedoms start with the freedom of selecting friends. If a friend disappoints you, you can choose new friends, but your friend who abandons you about his intentions to understand his behavior and choices: you don't have to be friends forever. Tommy puts Robin in his pocket and off they fly to return to Tommy's home. The next day Tommy plays with Woody and when Jimmy asks to join them Tommy turns him away. Jimmy says' no problem'. They discuss the schism and resolve it.  Tommy learns the freedom to choose friends and to not make unsubstantiated assumptions.  He must allow friends to have their freedoms.This is a fun, well considered story with fine illustrations, but most of all the message it leaves with the reader is a better understanding of how people interact. As always, Yuval Harpaz teaches while he entertains. Grady Harp, September 13