Just a New Neighbor

by Gina Mayer, Mercer Mayer

When a new family moves in next door, Little Critter is skeptical about the presence of a new little girl in the neighborhood and decides he doesn't like her. But when she refuses to be badgered, his respect for her grows and by the end of the story he's made a new friend.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

24 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. For the German author of novels, youth books and children's books, see Gina Mayer

Reviews

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little critter gets a new neighbor and hopes they have someone for him to play with... they do but She's a GIRL!!! She wants to play but he doesn't want to... BUT she follows him up, down, through, and around and she does everything he does and they find out they really are having fun together.

[Holli Shipley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good for making new friends or accepting people who are different. I enjoyed reading this story with my five year old, and looking at the illustrations. It is an easy story to retell and follow. I would recommend for a preschool or kindergarten class.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some boys don't like to play with girls. I love how this boy learns that playing with girls can be a lot of fun as well.

[Patricia Bleile · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an adorable children's book about a little boy who gets to meet his new neighbor. Once moved in the boy finds out his new neighbor is a girl and he is not so pleased. The book follows the two over the day and shows the boy doing something and the girl running right behind and doing the same.

[Chrislyn Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a New Neighbor By Gina and Mercer Mayer is an adorable children book about a little boy who gets to meet his new neighbor. Once moved in the boy finds out his new neighbor is a girl and he is not so pleased. The book follows the two over the day and shows the boy doing something and the girl running right behind and doing the same. In the end he was able to overcome his differences and realized it was pretty fun to play with her.
I would argue that any Little Critter story is a high quality children literature book. The messages portrayed, the colors, and the simplicity put the book in a higher quality range. To me the overall message of Just a New Neighbor is that you have to give everyone a chance because you never know how amazing someone can actually be. The colors are very light and uplifting. Each page is full of greens and yellow which create a happy feel when reading the book. The simplicity of the words would be easy for a child too get into because it is the perfect amount to be able to flip through the book without the child getting bored. I found this book to not only be a cute story but to have adorable illustrations.

[Miri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Critter gets a new neighbor and hopes it is someone to play with, when he finds out his new neighbor is a yucky girl, he's disappointed and runs from her, the new girl shows him that girls can be just as good at the things that boys do!

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a cute story with a cute idea, using the stories of his daily life to teach children.