Farfallina & Marcel <small><br>by Holly Keller </small>

Wow...what a wonderfully mellow book.

You will find no "flash-bang" here, no exciting chases, and no dazzling innovating art work. Nor will you find a deeply hidden message lurking in the disguise of a story. No, what you have here is a very simple, sweet tale of friendship; a lasting friendship which endures despite the inevitable changes in life.

A caterpillar is eating a leaf one day during a gentle rain, a leaf which happens to be the temporary umbrella of a small gray bird. The caterpillar, Farfalina and the young bird, Marcel become close and fast friends. They play games, go places together and they talk. This goes on until one day Farfallina "feels strange" and climbs to the top of a tree for a "rest." Time passes. Marcell cannot find his friend and does not know where she has gone. Time passes.

Of course you can imagine the rest of the story. When the two friends finally meet again weeks later, Farfallina is no longer a caterpillar but rather a beautiful butterfly, and Marcel is no longer a little gray bird but has been transformed in to a magnificent grey goose. Will there friendship remain? Will they recognize each other? Will the rather dramatic changes in their physical appearance alter their feelings for each other?

Talking Points:::
Holly Keller is one of the "top guns" of children's literature and there are reasons for this: She is good at what she does and she deserves it! There is something absolutely mesmerizing and almost hypnotic to her prose which can absolutely settle a room full of kids (3 to 5 years old) down with the reading of the first page. They are absolutely transfixed throughout the reading.

The art work here is wonderful; nothing fancy, nothing innovative, just good simple pictures which tell a story within themselves with out the text. They, like the words the author carefully chooses, are quite exact and as the words are pleasing to the eye and mind, the illustrations are pleasing to the eye. The combination of the wonderful text and well executed illustrations make for one very mellow read that always pleases the wee ones.

Sometimes simple is best and this little book certainly proves that old saying. There is a strong message here indeed, but it is told is such a way that the meaning is beyond question.

The designated target group here is from 4 to 8 years old. In my opinion, a better range would be from 3 to 5, maybe 6 if you stretch it a bit.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks