A Friend Like Zilla

by Rachna Gilmore

Nobby, short for Zenobia, meets an older girl, Zilla, when her family goes on holiday. Zilla is developmentally disabled, but much more fun than the average teenager. The friendship grows until Uncle Chad shows up. He is snooty and sometimes unthinkingly cruel to Zilla. Prejudices and attitudes take a surprising turn when Uncle Chad gets hurt during a storm and it is Zilla who generously comes to the rescue.

133 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Rachna Gilmore is the best-selling, critically acclaimed Governor General’s Award winning author of numerous books with multiple honours and awards. Her publications include picture books, early readers, middle grade and young adult novels, as well as adult fiction.
Rachna’s books are sold internationally with translations in French, Danish, German, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, Bengali, Chinese as well as several other languages. A skilled and experienced presenter, Rachna gives inumerable readings and workshops in schools, libraries and conferences across the country as well as internationally.
Born in India, Rachna has lived in London, England and Prince Edward Island. She now lives in Ottawa where she continues to plark (play, work, lark) at dreaming up weird and wonder-filled tales.

http://www.rachnagilmore.ca/bio.html

Reviews

[Lara Vehar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an old favourite of mine, I love this book, I love the story, I love the characters and I love the ending. It's a short and simple story but I love it. It's about friendship, accepting others, growing up and what being grown up means. It's a charming short story with really loveable characters and an interesting setting.

[MrsB · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really sweet first chapter book, about friendship, feelings, and about how adults can be judgemental too.