What James Said
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
A funny, heartfelt, perfectly pitched story about misunderstandings and the importance of true friendship.
When a little girl thinks that her best friend James has been saying bad things about her behind her back, she takes action in the form of the silent treatment. As they go about their day and James tries harder and harder to get her to talk to him, they both realize that true friendship surpasses any rumor... or misunderstanding.
A classic childhood situation is brought to life with humor and poignancy with energetic illustrations by Matt Myers and a simple, telling text by Liz Rosenberg.
A Neal Porter Book
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The team behind Tyrannosaurus Dad examines how conflicts often arise from simple misunderstandings. The narrator is a primary school aged Caucasian girl with brown hair and freckles; her friend James is an African-American boy with glasses and an openhearted smile. She stands glowering on the left side of a spread, hands on her hips. "I'm never talking to James again," she announces. James stands on the facing page, innocently balancing books on his head. What has James done? He said, the girl has heard through the school grapevine, "that I think I am perfect." She shuns him at school, and James, whose clowning hides sensitivity and intuition, knows something is wrong. A school art show and a blue ribbon for a picture the girl drew reveal what James actually said: "I think it's perfect.... That's what I tell everyone." Phew! Rosenberg lets the characters tell their own story without moralizing, and Myers's attention to emotion makes it easy to sympathize with them. There's lots to talk about here. Ages 4 8.
