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Bink & Gollie #1
Bink and Gollie
A New York Times bestseller!
“If James Marshall's George and Martha were not hippos and were both girls, they would be much like best friends Bink and Gollie. . . . More, please!” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Meet Bink and Gollie, two precocious little girls — one tiny, one tall, and both utterly irrepressible. Setting out from their super-deluxe tree house and powered by plenty of peanut butter (for Bink) and pancakes (for Gollie), they share three comical adventures involving painfully bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion. Full of quick-witted repartee, this brainchild of Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and award-winning author Alison McGhee is a hilarious ode to exuberance and camaraderie, imagination and adventure, brought to life through the delightfully kinetic images of Tony Fucile.
“If James Marshall's George and Martha were not hippos and were both girls, they would be much like best friends Bink and Gollie. . . . More, please!” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Meet Bink and Gollie, two precocious little girls — one tiny, one tall, and both utterly irrepressible. Setting out from their super-deluxe tree house and powered by plenty of peanut butter (for Bink) and pancakes (for Gollie), they share three comical adventures involving painfully bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion. Full of quick-witted repartee, this brainchild of Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and award-winning author Alison McGhee is a hilarious ode to exuberance and camaraderie, imagination and adventure, brought to life through the delightfully kinetic images of Tony Fucile.
88 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 14, 2010
114 people are currently reading
4827 people want to read
About the author
Kate DiCamillo
172 books11.1k followersKate DiCamillo, the newly named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2014–2015, says about stories, “When we read together, we connect. Together, we see the world. Together, we see one another.” Born in Philadelphia, the author lives in Minneapolis, where she faithfully writes two pages a day, five days a week.
Kate DiCamillo's own journey is something of a dream come true. After moving to Minnesota from Florida in her twenties, homesickness and a bitter winter helped inspire Because of Winn-Dixie - her first published novel, which, remarkably, became a runaway bestseller and snapped up a Newbery Honor. "After the Newbery committee called me, I spent the whole day walking into walls," she says. "I was stunned. And very, very happy."
Her second novel, The Tiger Rising, went on to become a National Book Award Finalist. Since then, the master storyteller has written for a wide range of ages, including two comical early-chapter-book series - Mercy Watson, which stars a "porcine wonder" with an obsession for buttered toast, and Bink & Gollie, which celebrates the tall and short of a marvelous friendship - as well as a luminous holiday picture book, Great Joy.
Her latest novel, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, won the 2014 Newbery Medal. It was released in fall 2013 to great acclaim, including five starred reviews, and was an instant New York Times bestseller. Flora & Ulysses is a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format - a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black and white by up-and-coming artist K. G. Campbell. It was a 2013 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner and was chosen by Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Common Sense Media as a Best Book of the Year.
Kate DiCamillo's own journey is something of a dream come true. After moving to Minnesota from Florida in her twenties, homesickness and a bitter winter helped inspire Because of Winn-Dixie - her first published novel, which, remarkably, became a runaway bestseller and snapped up a Newbery Honor. "After the Newbery committee called me, I spent the whole day walking into walls," she says. "I was stunned. And very, very happy."
Her second novel, The Tiger Rising, went on to become a National Book Award Finalist. Since then, the master storyteller has written for a wide range of ages, including two comical early-chapter-book series - Mercy Watson, which stars a "porcine wonder" with an obsession for buttered toast, and Bink & Gollie, which celebrates the tall and short of a marvelous friendship - as well as a luminous holiday picture book, Great Joy.
Her latest novel, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, won the 2014 Newbery Medal. It was released in fall 2013 to great acclaim, including five starred reviews, and was an instant New York Times bestseller. Flora & Ulysses is a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format - a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black and white by up-and-coming artist K. G. Campbell. It was a 2013 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner and was chosen by Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Common Sense Media as a Best Book of the Year.
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September 7, 2010
I eye Bink and Gollie across the room with a slow reptilian stare. I yell at it, “I refuse to be charmed by you!” I throw a shoe. Bink and Gollie, to its credit, does not allow itself to be sucked into my childish behavior. I edge a little closer. I cry, “I know your pictures are amazing and your writing manages to be loquacious without being precious but I am not fooled!” I throw my other shoe, which unfortunately means that I am now out of shoes. Bink and Gollie is now looking at me with a mixture of amusement and pity. I fall to my knees and crawl forward. When I’m close enough I whisper, “I lied. You’re amazing. You’re everything a person would want in a children’s book. You’re the best thing I’ve ever seen.” I succumb. Bink and Gollie strokes my hair as I cry uncontrollably, but it knows I am telling the truth. It really is the best thing ever. And what’s more, it’s a book like nothing else you’ve ever seen. Nothing. Ever. Seen. Trust me on this one. I see a lot of books.
Put together two Minnesotans and one animator and what do you get? Bink and Gollie, of course. Bink is a diminutive pixie, all wild blond hair and a penchant for falling madly in love with things. Gollie, in contrast, is a staid and measured companion, unwilling to be pulled into Bink’s obsessions if she can possibly help it. The two are best friends and in this book we are treated to three of their adventures. In the first, Bink falls head over heels for a pair of brightly colored socks that irk Gollie to the extreme. A compromise must be reached. In the second tale Gollie is determined to scale the heights of the Andes Mountains in her living room but finds it difficult to do so when Bink keeps knocking on her front door. In the third, Bink becomes enamored of a goldfish. Gollie cannot see its appeal, but when a terrible accident occurs she’s the one who knows exactly what to do. If you seek marvelous companions, look no further than the tales you’ll find here.
The great pairings of children’s literature involve friends with differences. Danny and his dinosaur. Houndsley and Catina. Elephant and Piggie. George and Martha. But the greatest of all these and the standard bearers if you will, are undoubtedly Frog and Toad. There’s something about their particular combination of exasperation and affection that rings true. Until now, I’ve seen few few very few characters that tap into that same feeling, and it is interesting to me that Bink & Gollie would be one of the most successful. On the surface, there are some distinct differences from Lobel’s classic work. While he never included a word more difficult to read than “button” in his books, DiCamillo and McGhee revel in delicious words like “bonanza”, “outrageous”, “implore”, “ventured”, and “marvelous”, but to name a few. That said, it’s all about tone. The back and forth between Bink and Gollie rings so true that you are given the immediate impression that not only are these two girls real people but that they have been friends for years and know one another well. You get that feeling from Frog and Toad too, you know. With a minimum of words, you’re convinced of their world from page one onward. No mean feat.
As for the girls themselves, I don’t think I’ve ever really seen characters like this before. Bink is short, blond, and sports a permanently pleated skirt. It takes noticing that skirt to realize that Bink is a girl at all, sometimes. She sports a Struwwelpeter-worthy head of hair that could easily be ascribed to either gender. Gollie, in contrast, appears to be older. She’s tall, thin, oft seen wearing knee-length pants with black tights underneath (explaining, in some ways, her visceral objection to Bink’s colorful footwear). If there is an age difference between them, Gollie is too good natured to let it get in the way of their friendship. True, she often tries to impose her opinions on Bink (your socks are too bright, your fish is not marvelous, etc.) but this usually meets with the brick wall of Bink’s obsessions. Bink loves Gollie, but is perfectly aware that Gollie’s opinion is not the be all and end all of creation itself.
Maybe what I love most about them is that these girls are allowed to do things that traditionally boys do in children’s literature. Gollie is inclined to pretend that she is explorer scaling the icy heights of the Andes Mountains. Both love roller skating and ice skating for fun. They’re active gals. And sure, they engage in traditional girly things like cooking and gardening, but I like that they’re given options outside of the usual let’s-play-princess mindset. If Bink wears shoes, she wears sneakers. There’s something to be said for that.
The universe Bink and Gollie occupy could only exist in children’s literature. Not since the days of Winnie-the-Pooh have characters lived in such individual and striking homes. Bink and Gollie partake of that childhood fantasy of a world without adults. At the foot of a large tree is Bink’s home, all cozy and warm and tended. More cottage than house, really. On the top of the tree is Gollie’s ultra-mod swinging pad, outfitted inside with sleek furniture and nonrepresentational art. And don’t think to yourself that these tales take place while the grown-ups are away, either. You’ll notice in the scene where Bink is digging carrots out of her garden that everything about her house is Bink-sized. Everything from the height of the windows to the size of the garbage can is made for Bink Bink Bink. You never really question this world either. Heck, I had to read the book four or five times before I even noticed it at all. Somehow, it makes perfect sense in context. An parent’s presence would ruin the entire effect.
Like a whole host of new illustrators these days, we owe the existence of the illustrator, one Mr. Fucile, to his work on films as an animator. His first title for kids was the rather nice Let’s Do Nothing which was a picture book about two boys attempting the impossible. It was a fine debut, but I little suspected the man capable of the visual splendor that is Bink and Gollie. Because, you see, while madams DiCamillo and McGhee give these girls their very particular, very distinctive voices, it is Mr. Fucile who makes you fall in love with them. Our very first view of Bink, aside from the cover and chapter page, is of her sitting in a chair cross-legged, cordless phone in one hand, spoonful of peanut butter in the other, jar nestled nicely between her sneaker-footed legs. Gollie, in contrast, is seen all akimbo legs, phone gripped in one hand, and a second holding a book, clawlike above her head. By the time you read the lines, “Greetings, Bink... I long for speed,” it’s done. You’re charmed.
It is clear from here on in that you are nestled squarely in the palm of Mr. Fucile’s hand. He knows when to make Bink just a nose above a desk, asking for information. Or how exactly to show Gollie spilling pancake batter all over her griddle. And the emotional beats resonate. When Bink accuses Gollie of being jealous of her fish, Fred, you see Gollie suddenly vulnerable. Her hands held before her, her eyes staring off into space. Her right eyebrow hints at the truth behind Bink’s statement, and certainly the reader is left with little doubt. It’s amazing. With just the tiniest strokes of his pen, Fucile turns a potentially tragic scene into a heroic one and then immediately into one of great poignancy. Fair play to the man.
Note too the use of color! Much of this book is left in black and white, but Fucile knows precisely when these layouts would best be served by a dash of hue here and there. Though the seasons change between each chapter, somehow you never feel that the colorless summer is the same as the colorless fall. It’s all in the shading. Some folks I know have also mistaken this book for a graphic novel, and I think I know why this is. It’s not because there are any speech balloons to be seen, but rather because Fucile is adept at breaking up his space. One moment you’re looking at a two-page spread of a darkened theater watching a film and the next the action has been split into three long panels showing exactly how Bink trips and falls over a rock in the road. We're not used to our children's books working the layouts like this. Clearly Fucile's past experience with storyboards is coming in handy these days.
One is left wondering to what extent Mr. Fucile came up with the book's details and to what extent he created them out of his own brain. Was he told to give the Eccles’ Empire of Enchantment that particular air of treasure hunting mixed with a tinge of despair? Was he told that Bink was a creature of peanut butter and to add that element in when appropriate while Gollie belonged squarely on the pancake side of things? Was he instructed that rather than cell phones, Bink and Gollie use white cordless landlines? Was he asked to make Bink’s scarf at the end of the book the second bright sock purchased at the beginning of the book? And on top of all that he includes little things you might not notice except on a fourth or fifth read. When Gollie decides to give Bink half her pancakes, notice that she gave Bink the much taller stack. And when a besotted Bink agrees to hang out with Gollie, she is holding her phone out so that Fred the fish can hear the news as well.
Now comes the difficult part for the children’s librarian that reads this book. Mainly, where the heckedy heck do you put it in your children’s room? It has three distinct chapters and comes in at 6 3/8” X 9 1/2”. A picture book, it is not. However, as I mentioned before, it has outsized words in its sentences and comes in at a whopping 96 pages. Easy reader it is not. That said, there are very big pictures in this book, and hardly more than a couple sentences per page. So chapter book it is not. So where do you put it? My suggestion is that you create a Bink and Gollie section in your library. Clear a whole shelf off in your room and display your copies of this book proudly. And then, in the future, when there are many many more Bink and Gollie adventures to be added (as there had better be or you will hear me shrieking loudly in the streets outside of the Candlewick publishing offices) you can just buy enough copies to fill the shelf up. Slap your hands together, problem solved.
I keep very few of the books that I’m sent by publishers for review. In 2010 alone I think I’ve kept only the books signed to me alongside, Meanwhile, and A Sick Day for Amos McGee. I can now add Bink and Gollie to that list. I don’t know where in the library you’d ever put it but put it in your library, both public and personal, you must. There’s something about this book that utterly defies any and all expectations. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to be hypnotized by the sheer charm of these stories. All we can do now is own it, give it to all the small children we know, and clamor to the creators like little Oliver Twist parrots. Please m’ams and sirs . . . we’d like some more!
For ages 6-8.
Put together two Minnesotans and one animator and what do you get? Bink and Gollie, of course. Bink is a diminutive pixie, all wild blond hair and a penchant for falling madly in love with things. Gollie, in contrast, is a staid and measured companion, unwilling to be pulled into Bink’s obsessions if she can possibly help it. The two are best friends and in this book we are treated to three of their adventures. In the first, Bink falls head over heels for a pair of brightly colored socks that irk Gollie to the extreme. A compromise must be reached. In the second tale Gollie is determined to scale the heights of the Andes Mountains in her living room but finds it difficult to do so when Bink keeps knocking on her front door. In the third, Bink becomes enamored of a goldfish. Gollie cannot see its appeal, but when a terrible accident occurs she’s the one who knows exactly what to do. If you seek marvelous companions, look no further than the tales you’ll find here.
The great pairings of children’s literature involve friends with differences. Danny and his dinosaur. Houndsley and Catina. Elephant and Piggie. George and Martha. But the greatest of all these and the standard bearers if you will, are undoubtedly Frog and Toad. There’s something about their particular combination of exasperation and affection that rings true. Until now, I’ve seen few few very few characters that tap into that same feeling, and it is interesting to me that Bink & Gollie would be one of the most successful. On the surface, there are some distinct differences from Lobel’s classic work. While he never included a word more difficult to read than “button” in his books, DiCamillo and McGhee revel in delicious words like “bonanza”, “outrageous”, “implore”, “ventured”, and “marvelous”, but to name a few. That said, it’s all about tone. The back and forth between Bink and Gollie rings so true that you are given the immediate impression that not only are these two girls real people but that they have been friends for years and know one another well. You get that feeling from Frog and Toad too, you know. With a minimum of words, you’re convinced of their world from page one onward. No mean feat.
As for the girls themselves, I don’t think I’ve ever really seen characters like this before. Bink is short, blond, and sports a permanently pleated skirt. It takes noticing that skirt to realize that Bink is a girl at all, sometimes. She sports a Struwwelpeter-worthy head of hair that could easily be ascribed to either gender. Gollie, in contrast, appears to be older. She’s tall, thin, oft seen wearing knee-length pants with black tights underneath (explaining, in some ways, her visceral objection to Bink’s colorful footwear). If there is an age difference between them, Gollie is too good natured to let it get in the way of their friendship. True, she often tries to impose her opinions on Bink (your socks are too bright, your fish is not marvelous, etc.) but this usually meets with the brick wall of Bink’s obsessions. Bink loves Gollie, but is perfectly aware that Gollie’s opinion is not the be all and end all of creation itself.
Maybe what I love most about them is that these girls are allowed to do things that traditionally boys do in children’s literature. Gollie is inclined to pretend that she is explorer scaling the icy heights of the Andes Mountains. Both love roller skating and ice skating for fun. They’re active gals. And sure, they engage in traditional girly things like cooking and gardening, but I like that they’re given options outside of the usual let’s-play-princess mindset. If Bink wears shoes, she wears sneakers. There’s something to be said for that.
The universe Bink and Gollie occupy could only exist in children’s literature. Not since the days of Winnie-the-Pooh have characters lived in such individual and striking homes. Bink and Gollie partake of that childhood fantasy of a world without adults. At the foot of a large tree is Bink’s home, all cozy and warm and tended. More cottage than house, really. On the top of the tree is Gollie’s ultra-mod swinging pad, outfitted inside with sleek furniture and nonrepresentational art. And don’t think to yourself that these tales take place while the grown-ups are away, either. You’ll notice in the scene where Bink is digging carrots out of her garden that everything about her house is Bink-sized. Everything from the height of the windows to the size of the garbage can is made for Bink Bink Bink. You never really question this world either. Heck, I had to read the book four or five times before I even noticed it at all. Somehow, it makes perfect sense in context. An parent’s presence would ruin the entire effect.
Like a whole host of new illustrators these days, we owe the existence of the illustrator, one Mr. Fucile, to his work on films as an animator. His first title for kids was the rather nice Let’s Do Nothing which was a picture book about two boys attempting the impossible. It was a fine debut, but I little suspected the man capable of the visual splendor that is Bink and Gollie. Because, you see, while madams DiCamillo and McGhee give these girls their very particular, very distinctive voices, it is Mr. Fucile who makes you fall in love with them. Our very first view of Bink, aside from the cover and chapter page, is of her sitting in a chair cross-legged, cordless phone in one hand, spoonful of peanut butter in the other, jar nestled nicely between her sneaker-footed legs. Gollie, in contrast, is seen all akimbo legs, phone gripped in one hand, and a second holding a book, clawlike above her head. By the time you read the lines, “Greetings, Bink... I long for speed,” it’s done. You’re charmed.
It is clear from here on in that you are nestled squarely in the palm of Mr. Fucile’s hand. He knows when to make Bink just a nose above a desk, asking for information. Or how exactly to show Gollie spilling pancake batter all over her griddle. And the emotional beats resonate. When Bink accuses Gollie of being jealous of her fish, Fred, you see Gollie suddenly vulnerable. Her hands held before her, her eyes staring off into space. Her right eyebrow hints at the truth behind Bink’s statement, and certainly the reader is left with little doubt. It’s amazing. With just the tiniest strokes of his pen, Fucile turns a potentially tragic scene into a heroic one and then immediately into one of great poignancy. Fair play to the man.
Note too the use of color! Much of this book is left in black and white, but Fucile knows precisely when these layouts would best be served by a dash of hue here and there. Though the seasons change between each chapter, somehow you never feel that the colorless summer is the same as the colorless fall. It’s all in the shading. Some folks I know have also mistaken this book for a graphic novel, and I think I know why this is. It’s not because there are any speech balloons to be seen, but rather because Fucile is adept at breaking up his space. One moment you’re looking at a two-page spread of a darkened theater watching a film and the next the action has been split into three long panels showing exactly how Bink trips and falls over a rock in the road. We're not used to our children's books working the layouts like this. Clearly Fucile's past experience with storyboards is coming in handy these days.
One is left wondering to what extent Mr. Fucile came up with the book's details and to what extent he created them out of his own brain. Was he told to give the Eccles’ Empire of Enchantment that particular air of treasure hunting mixed with a tinge of despair? Was he told that Bink was a creature of peanut butter and to add that element in when appropriate while Gollie belonged squarely on the pancake side of things? Was he instructed that rather than cell phones, Bink and Gollie use white cordless landlines? Was he asked to make Bink’s scarf at the end of the book the second bright sock purchased at the beginning of the book? And on top of all that he includes little things you might not notice except on a fourth or fifth read. When Gollie decides to give Bink half her pancakes, notice that she gave Bink the much taller stack. And when a besotted Bink agrees to hang out with Gollie, she is holding her phone out so that Fred the fish can hear the news as well.
Now comes the difficult part for the children’s librarian that reads this book. Mainly, where the heckedy heck do you put it in your children’s room? It has three distinct chapters and comes in at 6 3/8” X 9 1/2”. A picture book, it is not. However, as I mentioned before, it has outsized words in its sentences and comes in at a whopping 96 pages. Easy reader it is not. That said, there are very big pictures in this book, and hardly more than a couple sentences per page. So chapter book it is not. So where do you put it? My suggestion is that you create a Bink and Gollie section in your library. Clear a whole shelf off in your room and display your copies of this book proudly. And then, in the future, when there are many many more Bink and Gollie adventures to be added (as there had better be or you will hear me shrieking loudly in the streets outside of the Candlewick publishing offices) you can just buy enough copies to fill the shelf up. Slap your hands together, problem solved.
I keep very few of the books that I’m sent by publishers for review. In 2010 alone I think I’ve kept only the books signed to me alongside, Meanwhile, and A Sick Day for Amos McGee. I can now add Bink and Gollie to that list. I don’t know where in the library you’d ever put it but put it in your library, both public and personal, you must. There’s something about this book that utterly defies any and all expectations. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to be hypnotized by the sheer charm of these stories. All we can do now is own it, give it to all the small children we know, and clamor to the creators like little Oliver Twist parrots. Please m’ams and sirs . . . we’d like some more!
For ages 6-8.
February 20, 2018
This book lifted my spirits and helped me smile today. These two friends are very different with big vocabularies. They learn the art of compromise. I love how the pictures are as much a part of the story as the words and how they meld together to tell this special friendship. Also, it looks like such an amazing treehouse they have.
They deal with personal space and time, compromise of friends and goldfish and it all swirls into a wonderful whole. What we need now is a Bink & Gollie nation.
This book warmed my heart and brought bubbles of happiness. Maybe it would do the same for you and your kids. I think this is between children's books and middle grade. A kid learning to read could start with this gem. My niece loved this book and wanted to read it again tomorrow. You can count on Kate.
They deal with personal space and time, compromise of friends and goldfish and it all swirls into a wonderful whole. What we need now is a Bink & Gollie nation.
This book warmed my heart and brought bubbles of happiness. Maybe it would do the same for you and your kids. I think this is between children's books and middle grade. A kid learning to read could start with this gem. My niece loved this book and wanted to read it again tomorrow. You can count on Kate.
December 17, 2010
Although this book is 81 pages long and has 3 “chapters” plus a short postscript, it is not a children’s novel as I was expecting, but an advanced picture book, at least in my opinion. It is quite advanced because the vocabulary/language used is sophisticated and definitely more advanced than in most picture books, though because the illustrations tell so much of the story, even the youngest children will understand it.
I love the story of this friendship between two very different girls. In every way, this is a lovingly created book.
Both the story and pictures are so charming and funny, and they really capture the complexity of friendship.
I love the way color and art style were used in the pictures.
My favorite part was the imagination shown by Gollie when she climbs the mountain, and the humor shown in the notes on the door. Gollie’s pancakes definitely made me hungry, and I read this very late at night/very early in the morning, not a time when I really wanted to eat. And, I like colorful socks. Everything with the fish was adorable too.
I’d like to read further Bink & Gollie books.
This would make a fitting gift to give to a friend (of any age), especially if the relationship is ever tumultuous or strained, or simply close.
The authors’/illustrator’s bio section on the inside back cover is cute too.
4-1/2 stars.
I enjoyed this book so much, I entered to win a copy at Goodreads' First Reads giveaway program, a giveaway ending on 12/20.
I love the story of this friendship between two very different girls. In every way, this is a lovingly created book.
Both the story and pictures are so charming and funny, and they really capture the complexity of friendship.
I love the way color and art style were used in the pictures.
My favorite part was the imagination shown by Gollie when she climbs the mountain, and the humor shown in the notes on the door. Gollie’s pancakes definitely made me hungry, and I read this very late at night/very early in the morning, not a time when I really wanted to eat. And, I like colorful socks. Everything with the fish was adorable too.
I’d like to read further Bink & Gollie books.
This would make a fitting gift to give to a friend (of any age), especially if the relationship is ever tumultuous or strained, or simply close.
The authors’/illustrator’s bio section on the inside back cover is cute too.
4-1/2 stars.
I enjoyed this book so much, I entered to win a copy at Goodreads' First Reads giveaway program, a giveaway ending on 12/20.
October 21, 2018
I was searching my library's e-book selections for more books by Kate DiCamillo because I've found her to be a reliably good author when I want a children's book that's written well and isn't condescending. I'd never even heard of the Bink & Gollie books before, but the library had #1 and #3 (typical), so I picked up the first one to give it a try. As soon as I was done, I downloaded the third book as well.
This is a super-cute depiction of friendship. The pictures themselves are adorable (I love Gollie's house up in the tree and Bink's wild hair!), but combined with DiCamillo and McGhee's wonderful writing, I felt like I was watching an amazing animated film. I could almost hear Bink's cute little voice in my head (she has some of the best lines). DiCamillo never shies away from using big words, trusting that kids are smart enough to figure out what is meant through context. The result is a story that is enjoyable for a much wider age range than one might normally find in a children's book.
The stories are simple, but they all tie together by the end, and the girls' friendship is reinforced even more. I wish my library had all of the books in the series, because I'd love to read about more of Bink and Gollie's adventures.
Quotable moment:
This is a super-cute depiction of friendship. The pictures themselves are adorable (I love Gollie's house up in the tree and Bink's wild hair!), but combined with DiCamillo and McGhee's wonderful writing, I felt like I was watching an amazing animated film. I could almost hear Bink's cute little voice in my head (she has some of the best lines). DiCamillo never shies away from using big words, trusting that kids are smart enough to figure out what is meant through context. The result is a story that is enjoyable for a much wider age range than one might normally find in a children's book.
The stories are simple, but they all tie together by the end, and the girls' friendship is reinforced even more. I wish my library had all of the books in the series, because I'd love to read about more of Bink and Gollie's adventures.
Quotable moment:
"Hello, Gollie," said Bink. "Do I smell pancakes?"
"You do not," said Gollie.
"Will I smell pancakes?" said Bink.
"Perhaps a compromise is in order, Bink," said Gollie.
"What's a compromise?" said Bink.
"Use your gray matter, Bink," said Gollie. "You remove your outrageous socks, and I will make pancakes."
July 29, 2016
I must say, these were three rather strange stories. The characters are very appealing, but I wasn't immediately sure if Bink was a boy or a girl. And do they both live alone? Not a sign of families anywhere. Very odd. Though this book was a 2011 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award honor book for beginning readers, I found some of the vocabulary to be way too advanced for someone in first, second, or even third grade: outrageous, compromise, bonanza, marvelous, companion, unremarkable, extraordinary, accomplishment, interruptions. I do, however, like Gollie's treehouse. Wish I had one. Recommended with caution for beginning readers.
December 9, 2010
I loved this book! It is completely charming and remarkable in how clearly it is able to convey both the joys and frustrations of close friendship. I was actually surprised how short/quick-to-read this book is since it looks like a longer picture book/early chapter book but it took me no more than ten minutes to get through. The words are chosen sparingly and sublimely and it's brilliant how well they, coupled with the absolutely marvelous illustrations, convey the tone and characters' thoughts and expressions. I worried at first that some of the ambiguity would bother me (why, exactly, are Bink and Gollie friends since Gollie seems so much older? and does Gollie just hang out in an elaborate tree-house or is that her actual home?) but it just ended up adding to the sense of fun and atmosphere for me. The illustrations could almost tell the story by themselves but I just love the added nuances of character and the wittiness of the dialogue. I don't want to hype this book too much but I know it's already receiving major accolades from the professionals and I think they are deserved :-) It really warmed my heart.
May 20, 2018
I love all things Kate DiCamillo. Bink and Gollie have a special relationship. The illustrations in this series also add to its charm. A fun read for 1st grade and up about the value of a good friend and how to keep them.
July 25, 2019
Two friends with very different personalities must reach an accommodation with one another in the three stories found in this entertaining beginning chapter-book from co-authors Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee. Extroverted Bink goes right for the colorful socks in the first selection, while more reserved Gollie is horrified by her choice. Both must learn to compromise, after Gollie attempts to use their pancake breakfast as a means of separating Bink from her new footwear. In the second selection, Gollie embarks on a voyage of the imagination, exploring the Andes Mountains (all whilst in her own home), while an impatient Bink can't quite grasp that her friend doesn't wish to be interrupted. In the third and final story, Bink's new goldfish leads to tension, until she (Bink) realizes what is causing Gollie's resentment...
I greatly enjoyed Bink and Gollie, which, with its gentle tales of two friends who, despite their differences, are loving companions to one another, reminded me of Arnold Lobel's classic Frog and Toad books. That is high praise! I appreciated the way in which the two of them negotiate their differences, and eventually reach a compromise, as it is clear that there is true affection behind their disagreements. The conclusion of the book, in which Bink assures Gollie that she (and not the goldfish) is the 'most marvelous companion of all,' provided a satisfactorily heartwarming end. The artwork, created digitally by Tony Fucile, adds to the fun, perfectly capturing the differing personalities of the two friends, and the drama of their various confrontations. Recommended to anyone looking for simple chapter-books featuring engaging characters.
I greatly enjoyed Bink and Gollie, which, with its gentle tales of two friends who, despite their differences, are loving companions to one another, reminded me of Arnold Lobel's classic Frog and Toad books. That is high praise! I appreciated the way in which the two of them negotiate their differences, and eventually reach a compromise, as it is clear that there is true affection behind their disagreements. The conclusion of the book, in which Bink assures Gollie that she (and not the goldfish) is the 'most marvelous companion of all,' provided a satisfactorily heartwarming end. The artwork, created digitally by Tony Fucile, adds to the fun, perfectly capturing the differing personalities of the two friends, and the drama of their various confrontations. Recommended to anyone looking for simple chapter-books featuring engaging characters.
March 11, 2015
I LOVED this! My one complaint would be that it is TOO short! Instead of three chapters about Bink and Gollie, I would love to read thirty chapters! While reading this, I made a list of things I love about this book:
* I love BOTH Bink and Gollie.
* LOVE Bink's hair!
* LOVE their "compromise bonanza!" This is something all friends need to learn about.
* LOVE the use of color AND gray-scale. Any important focal point is in color. Bink and Gollie are ALWAYS in color.
* Gollie used Bink's sock as her flag for the top of the Andes!
* LOVE the fish chapter (of course!)
* LOVE Bink's choice of a goldfish! What a marvelous companion - and so cute!
* Was Bink using the sock from chapter one as a scarf while ice skating? Too fun! The sock makes an appearance in all three chapters.
* I love BOTH Bink and Gollie.
* LOVE Bink's hair!
* LOVE their "compromise bonanza!" This is something all friends need to learn about.
* LOVE the use of color AND gray-scale. Any important focal point is in color. Bink and Gollie are ALWAYS in color.
* Gollie used Bink's sock as her flag for the top of the Andes!
* LOVE the fish chapter (of course!)
* LOVE Bink's choice of a goldfish! What a marvelous companion - and so cute!
* Was Bink using the sock from chapter one as a scarf while ice skating? Too fun! The sock makes an appearance in all three chapters.
January 12, 2020
Enjoyable little episodes in a close friendship all tied together with a bright rainbow sock.
May 27, 2017
Adorable!
September 9, 2016
Ah! I loved this book! It is cute, quirky, and fun. I have been putting off reading it to my library classes because it appeared too long for my 15-minute storytime. I was wrong. It took a little longer, but it was well worth it!
This is a deceptively simple tale about two friends which accurately captures the relationship between two girls. One of the best things about this book is that the relationship stands completely alone. The first time I read it, I thought the girls were sisters. At one point, Gollie acts more like a mother. Their ages are unclear, and irrelevant. Similarly, their homes are...fascinating and understated and unusual. One girl lives at the bottom of a tree, another in a modern abode on the branch of a tree. The sit on bench on a branch to eat pancakes. The housing is both not important, and at the same time, extremely interesting.
The illustrations are absolutely wonderful and help to keep the emphasis squarely on the two girls. Much of the drawing is in black and white, while the girls and their immediate task are in color. My first and second graders noticed this distinction right away. Why? they wanted to know? Why were only the girls in color? A wonderful discussion.
This book also nicely uses quite a lot of big words, and uses them in a way which helps explain these words to kids. There are three short stories within the book and the first one is all about compromise. The last one is about the meaning of companion. I really cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. I think it works best with an adult reading along to assist with the vocabulary.
This is a deceptively simple tale about two friends which accurately captures the relationship between two girls. One of the best things about this book is that the relationship stands completely alone. The first time I read it, I thought the girls were sisters. At one point, Gollie acts more like a mother. Their ages are unclear, and irrelevant. Similarly, their homes are...fascinating and understated and unusual. One girl lives at the bottom of a tree, another in a modern abode on the branch of a tree. The sit on bench on a branch to eat pancakes. The housing is both not important, and at the same time, extremely interesting.
The illustrations are absolutely wonderful and help to keep the emphasis squarely on the two girls. Much of the drawing is in black and white, while the girls and their immediate task are in color. My first and second graders noticed this distinction right away. Why? they wanted to know? Why were only the girls in color? A wonderful discussion.
This book also nicely uses quite a lot of big words, and uses them in a way which helps explain these words to kids. There are three short stories within the book and the first one is all about compromise. The last one is about the meaning of companion. I really cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. I think it works best with an adult reading along to assist with the vocabulary.
February 19, 2013
I absolutely fell in love with Bink and Gollie. It may have something to do with the fact that they remind me of my two oldest daughters.
Bink and Gollie are two friends that appear to have nothing in common, yet somehow, they have a wonderful friendship. In this book, there are three short stories about the two friends, and how they get along even though they're so different. They complement each other perfectly and find a way to meet halfway most of the time.
The illustrations are wonderful. They are simple, yet show so much emotion on the faces of the characters through excellent details. Although there is not very much text on each page, there are some difficult vocabulary words (baffled, implore). However, the illustrations provide excellent support for the reader and provide more information that the text does not include. This would present an excellent opportunity for a lesson on using context clues to determine meaning of unknown words. This would also be an excellent book to use with a unit on friendship.
I would use this book with readers that are transitioning to chapter books in 2-3 grades.
It is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner.
Bink and Gollie are two friends that appear to have nothing in common, yet somehow, they have a wonderful friendship. In this book, there are three short stories about the two friends, and how they get along even though they're so different. They complement each other perfectly and find a way to meet halfway most of the time.
The illustrations are wonderful. They are simple, yet show so much emotion on the faces of the characters through excellent details. Although there is not very much text on each page, there are some difficult vocabulary words (baffled, implore). However, the illustrations provide excellent support for the reader and provide more information that the text does not include. This would present an excellent opportunity for a lesson on using context clues to determine meaning of unknown words. This would also be an excellent book to use with a unit on friendship.
I would use this book with readers that are transitioning to chapter books in 2-3 grades.
It is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner.
October 3, 2012
Oh please, oh please, oh please let this be the first in a series. A long series. I am in love with Bink and Gollie. (And I'll just admit right off the bat that as much as I would love to be Bink, I am entirely Gollie. And my husband is so Bink in boy form.)
There is so much to love about this new book. A fun friendship between two polar-opposite-type girls. Clever dialogue. Brilliant Tony Fucile illustrations. (He is officially on my list of possible illustrators for the children's book I will never write.)
And speaking of Fucile's brilliance.... Open the book. Turn to page 3. How can you not love that image of Bink sitting criss-cross applesauce, eating peanut butter straight from the jar? (Okay, this is the singular occurence in the book where I am, in fact, Bink. Yay!) Now look at Bink on page 9. Genius. Ditto pages 13, 14, 24, 57, and 69. Holy cow, 69.
This DiCamillo/McGhee/Fucile Trio is gold. Whenever Book 2 is coming out (and pleaseplease say it is), it's not soon enough.
Update: HURRAY FOR BINK & GOLLIE WINNING THE 2011 GEISEL!
There is so much to love about this new book. A fun friendship between two polar-opposite-type girls. Clever dialogue. Brilliant Tony Fucile illustrations. (He is officially on my list of possible illustrators for the children's book I will never write.)
And speaking of Fucile's brilliance.... Open the book. Turn to page 3. How can you not love that image of Bink sitting criss-cross applesauce, eating peanut butter straight from the jar? (Okay, this is the singular occurence in the book where I am, in fact, Bink. Yay!) Now look at Bink on page 9. Genius. Ditto pages 13, 14, 24, 57, and 69. Holy cow, 69.
This DiCamillo/McGhee/Fucile Trio is gold. Whenever Book 2 is coming out (and pleaseplease say it is), it's not soon enough.
Update: HURRAY FOR BINK & GOLLIE WINNING THE 2011 GEISEL!
October 29, 2010
I know I'm supposed to be charmed by this as others have been. But I'm not.
Then again, I HATED The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread. I am indifferent to The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and I wouldn't care if "Mercy Watson" was turned into bacon, sausage and porkchops. In fact, I might like her better.
How is it that an author that can write something as moving, as wonderful as damn good as Because of Winn-Dixie then decides she's done enough of that and suddenly turns out one saccharine, cloying book after another?
Bought it for the library and hope that the kids like it. But I don't.
Then again, I HATED The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread. I am indifferent to The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and I wouldn't care if "Mercy Watson" was turned into bacon, sausage and porkchops. In fact, I might like her better.
How is it that an author that can write something as moving, as wonderful as damn good as Because of Winn-Dixie then decides she's done enough of that and suddenly turns out one saccharine, cloying book after another?
Bought it for the library and hope that the kids like it. But I don't.
November 13, 2015
Cute story for kids that proves friends don't always have to agree on everything. One thing Bink and Gollie will never need to argue about is whether to have peanut butter sandwiches or pancakes:
Peanut Butter Pancakes
_______________________
- serves 12
1 cup flour
2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons milk
_________________________
- directions:
In large bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, sugar and oil until smooth. Beat in egg, then milk.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until blended.
Lightly coat griddle or skillet with oil and heat it over medium-high heat.
Drop batter onto the griddle and cook until tiny bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, then flip and cook a few minutes more.
Peanut Butter Pancakes
_______________________
- serves 12
1 cup flour
2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons milk
_________________________
- directions:
In large bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, sugar and oil until smooth. Beat in egg, then milk.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until blended.
Lightly coat griddle or skillet with oil and heat it over medium-high heat.
Drop batter onto the griddle and cook until tiny bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, then flip and cook a few minutes more.
July 14, 2014
Elizabeth Bird wrote a very thoughtful and considered review. I just loved it. Love Fucile's illustrations which add tremendously to the text. Love the good friends who aren't the same, but can compromise. Just so cute.
We went to see DiCamillo at the Regulator bookstore yesterday. If you get a chance to see her, go! She reads with verve and great humor, she's funny and charming with the kids who ask questions, and is, in every way delightful.
So, while waiting in the substantial and enthusiastic line to have books signed (and everyone had several), we three read this new one. It's a marvelous book that can appeal to an eight-year-old, an eleven-year-old, and a forty-five-year-old, and it's even more amazing in an early reader.
We went to see DiCamillo at the Regulator bookstore yesterday. If you get a chance to see her, go! She reads with verve and great humor, she's funny and charming with the kids who ask questions, and is, in every way delightful.
So, while waiting in the substantial and enthusiastic line to have books signed (and everyone had several), we three read this new one. It's a marvelous book that can appeal to an eight-year-old, an eleven-year-old, and a forty-five-year-old, and it's even more amazing in an early reader.
December 22, 2014
Very cute books, a hybrid between easy reader, chapter book, and graphic novel. The combination makes them ideal for reluctant readers, particularly kids who CAN read pretty well but don't think they like to. The vocabulary is rather sophisticated compared to typical easy readers, but lots of illustrations and just a little text on each page makes the books manageable for kids who are reluctant to read.
The story features three episodic chapters and reminded me very much of the Frog & Toad books. Stories are sweet and funny and much of the humor is contained in the illustrations.
http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2013/...
The story features three episodic chapters and reminded me very much of the Frog & Toad books. Stories are sweet and funny and much of the humor is contained in the illustrations.
http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2013/...
January 11, 2011
This book was delightful. I loved the rambunctious characters and their hilarious friendship. I quite enjoyed the clever illustrations and how they depicted the world of Bink and Gollie. The different nuances of color with the grey scale was refreshingly simplistic and pleasant. I liked the adventures that these two friends went on and I liked seeing the story unfold. I would definitely recommend this book.
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2010...
*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2010...
November 4, 2017
If you are a fan of the sweet friendships portrayed in books like Frog and Toad, or Elephant and Piggie, then I would highly recommend this book to you. There are three stories in this book and they are all wonderful, however, I think the last story, Give a Fish a Home, is my absolute favorite. Humorous, touching, thought provoking, fun.
July 27, 2013
I read this as soon as it came out in 2010. Several of my most trusty kid-lit sources were likening it to the very best early-reader pals ––Frog & Toad, George & Martha, and Elephant & Piggie–– and it's co-authored by Kate DiCamillo, so it was bound to be good.
Bink & Gollie lives up to the hype, and then some. It’s a strange little book, especially amongst other same-same-same early readers. The reading level isn’t assigned a number on the front cover, because the reading level isn't clear (I think that means it's for everyone). Flipping through quickly, the short sentences seem to fit the early reader mold, but those short sentences contain words like “whom”, “implore”,“unwillingness”, “marvelous” and “Timbuktu”, so how easy is it to read, really? It’s larger and heavier and hardcover, it’s over 80 pages long, and at times feels more like a wordless picture book or graphic novel.
All I know is, whatever this is, we need more of it.
The Girls: Bink and Gollie feel like old pals. There's an easiness in their friendship, but like any relationship that's built to last, they have their squabbles too. They're unique entities in ways more significant than the obvious height difference; Bink is fun-loving and rambunctious if a bit sloppy and Gollie, while adventurous in her own right, is more reserved and critical, and given her word choices, I’m guess well-read. That these girls have personalities I can say even this much about is testament to how rich with detail and brimming with personality it is. Their appearances seem to correspond to DiCamillo and McGhee’s own (Bink is stout with a shock of blonde Edward Scissorhands hair’ Gollie is a lanky brunette), so I can’t help wondering if their demeanors match as well.
One of the things I find most intriguing about Bink and Gollie is that they seem to live alone and I can’t really gage how old they’re supposed to be. It’s understood that Bink is really, really small and Gollie is really, really tall, so you can’t really use size to determine their ages. They’re self-sufficient, appearing to run their own households, cooking and gardening on their own, and making their way about town, shopping and movie-going, on their own. If stuffed animals can fend for themselves in the 100 Acre Woods, why can’t a couple of girls? Then again, Bink and Gollie might just be unemployed adults in possession of roller-skates...
The Art: The art gets five stars from me. The black and white settings highlight each scene’s most important elements, which are rendered in full color (the tiny orange blur under the water on the last page, for example. You might mistake it for a smudge of Chetto powder at first it’s so subtle. But it’s Bink’s fish Fred, frozen in the pond).
So much of the book’s charm comes from Fucile’s artwork. Duh, I know. It’s an illustrated book, so art is important. But in a book where language is sparse, the illustration has to do a lot of heavy lifting, and Fucile seems to have so much fun playing with the text (mostly conversation) and building Bink and Gollie’s world around them. Take the girl’s homes for example. Gollie lives in a super-modern build atop an enormous tree. Inside, art in the style of Malevich hangs above her sofa and the girls sit in Mid Century tulip chairs when to eat their pancakes. Bink’s home, more traditional in style, has a cupboard full of nothing but jars of peanut butter (they eat a lot of pancakes and pb sandwiches).
Fucile’s experiences storyboarding are evident in his illustration. His compositions feel very cinematic and he draws people in all manner of contortion. There’s a great energy in his somewhat slapdash lines and expressive faces that reminds me of Jules Feiffer. At the same time his line work, and especially his watery shading and attention to detail, calls David Small to mind. Feiffer and Small rolled into one, guys. Like I said: five stars for the art.
The Stories: Bink & Gollie (as well as future titles in the series) contains three chapters. Each is episodic enough to stand alone, but in succession, they build on each other, and the later stories are always richer because of the small ways they recall events and items from earlier in the book (like that too-bright sock of Bink’s that Gollie later uses as a windsock . For young readers, 80+ pages, even with all those pictures, might be long, so it’s nice that the text is so easily broken. Plus, it really has the charm of older titles like Frog & Toad, and Winnie the Pooh with its chronological yet separate tales.
The stories in this collection, “Don’t You Need a New Pair of Socks?” (they girls get in a tiff when Bink wears a pair of blindingly bright socks that Gollie considers an eyesore, and they have trouble compromising), “P.S. I’ll Be Back Soon” (Gollie posts “do not disturb” notices on her door while she goes mountain climbing (in her house or her head?), but Bink has trouble grasping the too-sophisticated language of Gollie’s notes, and so, keeps interrupting) and “Give a Fish a Home” (Gollie gets jealous when Bink starts spending all of her time with her new pet fish) are very different in their plots, but share themes of going your own way and still, at the end of the day, feeling most at home with your best pal. They’re sweet and silly, and wholly original.
Bink & Gollie lives up to the hype, and then some. It’s a strange little book, especially amongst other same-same-same early readers. The reading level isn’t assigned a number on the front cover, because the reading level isn't clear (I think that means it's for everyone). Flipping through quickly, the short sentences seem to fit the early reader mold, but those short sentences contain words like “whom”, “implore”,“unwillingness”, “marvelous” and “Timbuktu”, so how easy is it to read, really? It’s larger and heavier and hardcover, it’s over 80 pages long, and at times feels more like a wordless picture book or graphic novel.
All I know is, whatever this is, we need more of it.
The Girls: Bink and Gollie feel like old pals. There's an easiness in their friendship, but like any relationship that's built to last, they have their squabbles too. They're unique entities in ways more significant than the obvious height difference; Bink is fun-loving and rambunctious if a bit sloppy and Gollie, while adventurous in her own right, is more reserved and critical, and given her word choices, I’m guess well-read. That these girls have personalities I can say even this much about is testament to how rich with detail and brimming with personality it is. Their appearances seem to correspond to DiCamillo and McGhee’s own (Bink is stout with a shock of blonde Edward Scissorhands hair’ Gollie is a lanky brunette), so I can’t help wondering if their demeanors match as well.
One of the things I find most intriguing about Bink and Gollie is that they seem to live alone and I can’t really gage how old they’re supposed to be. It’s understood that Bink is really, really small and Gollie is really, really tall, so you can’t really use size to determine their ages. They’re self-sufficient, appearing to run their own households, cooking and gardening on their own, and making their way about town, shopping and movie-going, on their own. If stuffed animals can fend for themselves in the 100 Acre Woods, why can’t a couple of girls? Then again, Bink and Gollie might just be unemployed adults in possession of roller-skates...
The Art: The art gets five stars from me. The black and white settings highlight each scene’s most important elements, which are rendered in full color (the tiny orange blur under the water on the last page, for example. You might mistake it for a smudge of Chetto powder at first it’s so subtle. But it’s Bink’s fish Fred, frozen in the pond).
So much of the book’s charm comes from Fucile’s artwork. Duh, I know. It’s an illustrated book, so art is important. But in a book where language is sparse, the illustration has to do a lot of heavy lifting, and Fucile seems to have so much fun playing with the text (mostly conversation) and building Bink and Gollie’s world around them. Take the girl’s homes for example. Gollie lives in a super-modern build atop an enormous tree. Inside, art in the style of Malevich hangs above her sofa and the girls sit in Mid Century tulip chairs when to eat their pancakes. Bink’s home, more traditional in style, has a cupboard full of nothing but jars of peanut butter (they eat a lot of pancakes and pb sandwiches).
Fucile’s experiences storyboarding are evident in his illustration. His compositions feel very cinematic and he draws people in all manner of contortion. There’s a great energy in his somewhat slapdash lines and expressive faces that reminds me of Jules Feiffer. At the same time his line work, and especially his watery shading and attention to detail, calls David Small to mind. Feiffer and Small rolled into one, guys. Like I said: five stars for the art.
The Stories: Bink & Gollie (as well as future titles in the series) contains three chapters. Each is episodic enough to stand alone, but in succession, they build on each other, and the later stories are always richer because of the small ways they recall events and items from earlier in the book (like that too-bright sock of Bink’s that Gollie later uses as a windsock . For young readers, 80+ pages, even with all those pictures, might be long, so it’s nice that the text is so easily broken. Plus, it really has the charm of older titles like Frog & Toad, and Winnie the Pooh with its chronological yet separate tales.
The stories in this collection, “Don’t You Need a New Pair of Socks?” (they girls get in a tiff when Bink wears a pair of blindingly bright socks that Gollie considers an eyesore, and they have trouble compromising), “P.S. I’ll Be Back Soon” (Gollie posts “do not disturb” notices on her door while she goes mountain climbing (in her house or her head?), but Bink has trouble grasping the too-sophisticated language of Gollie’s notes, and so, keeps interrupting) and “Give a Fish a Home” (Gollie gets jealous when Bink starts spending all of her time with her new pet fish) are very different in their plots, but share themes of going your own way and still, at the end of the day, feeling most at home with your best pal. They’re sweet and silly, and wholly original.
April 18, 2023
The 3rd story broke my sons heart so he rated it a 3 out of spite. Mom gives it a 5. Sparsely written but lovely illustrations and fancy words.
May 1, 2014
At first I thought Bink and Gollie were sisters, but they are best friends who learn to get along even though they have differences. One lives in the house in a tree while the other lives in a house on the ground. Three adventures take place with no parents present in the story. Bink is short with hair that looks like a dandelion. She is energetic and carefree. Gollie, on the other hand, writes and speaks in sentences using big words that Bink can’t understand half the time. She is smart, organized and looks neat. In the first adventure Bink buys a pair of bright socks that irritate Gollie so much she doesn’t want to be with her if she is wearing them. They have to learn to compromise in order to solve their problem. In the second adventure, Gollie is pretending to climb the Andes Mountains in her room, but Bink keeps knocking on her door because she wants to be with her and have a peanut butter sandwich. Gollie eventually lets her in and the two pretend together. The third adventure has Bink buying a pet goldfish and Gollie is irritated or jealous that Bink wants it as a friend. When Bink has an accident with Fred (her goldfish), Gollie is the only one that knows how to save it.
I love these characters. Bink is an active girl who wears a skirt and sneakers. I read the book to seven grade 1 and grade 2 classes and many asked if Bink was a girl or boy. She has a strong character, is good-natured and doesn’t get mad or give in when Gollie tries persuading her to not buy the bright socks and the goldfish. Gollie has a neat bob with a barrett holding her hair off her face. Her socks go over her knees and she likes to be dramatic and use big words. I must journey forth into the wider world. But where? Tasmania? Timbuktu? This book is reminiscent of Frog and Toad and their friendship; one where they irritate and adore each other. Like Frog and Toad, each chapter is complete in itself ; that is, the action at the beginning of the chapter is resolved at the end of the chapter. Unlike Frog and Toad, Bink & Gollie uses difficult words such as bonanza, compromise, gray matter, marvelous companion, outrageous, and more. The words repeat themselves and the illustrations help with children understanding their meaning.
Tony Fucile, illustrator, did an incredible job that gives this book a unique look not found in any other easy readers. His illustrations give the girls their distinct characters such as Bink with her peanut butter sandwiches and the illusion of constant movement, to Gollie with her pancakes, staid personality and deliberate movement. Fucile worked as an animator on the movie, The Incredibles, and Bink reminds me of the character, Dash. Although according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune they are supposed to represent the two authors. The layouts are different than any books to date. A full page spread is followed by another that is divided into three sections that show Bink falling down with the goldfish. Other pages separate the story into scenes such as the example to the left.
I wasn’t sure if Fucile’s illustrations would give young readers enough clues to help them work out the difficult words in the text or if the repetition in the storyline was enough for readers to figure out words not in their vocabulary. After reading it to seven classes I found that most of them were able to figure out all the difficult words in the text because of the clues in the pictures. I had more success with the grade 2 students. For instance, they were able to figure out the idiom of …it’s either Gollie’s way or the highway and the metaphor gray matter. The book is 96 pages and the first graders had problems staying with it. Except they loved the third adventure and it was able to pull their attention back to the story; however, they got a little restless during the second story. The double-page spreads are magnificent. The students laughed at Bink who has to take her fish to the movie theater and they gasped when Bink fell and the fishbowl seemed to fly out of the page of the book. The aerial view of Bink falling is marvelous. While this book looks like a level 1 reader and has a reading level of 1.5, it is really more appropriate for the level 2 reader because of the length and difficulty of the words. A book I can read over and over and over. I can see why it won the 2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.
I love these characters. Bink is an active girl who wears a skirt and sneakers. I read the book to seven grade 1 and grade 2 classes and many asked if Bink was a girl or boy. She has a strong character, is good-natured and doesn’t get mad or give in when Gollie tries persuading her to not buy the bright socks and the goldfish. Gollie has a neat bob with a barrett holding her hair off her face. Her socks go over her knees and she likes to be dramatic and use big words. I must journey forth into the wider world. But where? Tasmania? Timbuktu? This book is reminiscent of Frog and Toad and their friendship; one where they irritate and adore each other. Like Frog and Toad, each chapter is complete in itself ; that is, the action at the beginning of the chapter is resolved at the end of the chapter. Unlike Frog and Toad, Bink & Gollie uses difficult words such as bonanza, compromise, gray matter, marvelous companion, outrageous, and more. The words repeat themselves and the illustrations help with children understanding their meaning.
Tony Fucile, illustrator, did an incredible job that gives this book a unique look not found in any other easy readers. His illustrations give the girls their distinct characters such as Bink with her peanut butter sandwiches and the illusion of constant movement, to Gollie with her pancakes, staid personality and deliberate movement. Fucile worked as an animator on the movie, The Incredibles, and Bink reminds me of the character, Dash. Although according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune they are supposed to represent the two authors. The layouts are different than any books to date. A full page spread is followed by another that is divided into three sections that show Bink falling down with the goldfish. Other pages separate the story into scenes such as the example to the left.
I wasn’t sure if Fucile’s illustrations would give young readers enough clues to help them work out the difficult words in the text or if the repetition in the storyline was enough for readers to figure out words not in their vocabulary. After reading it to seven classes I found that most of them were able to figure out all the difficult words in the text because of the clues in the pictures. I had more success with the grade 2 students. For instance, they were able to figure out the idiom of …it’s either Gollie’s way or the highway and the metaphor gray matter. The book is 96 pages and the first graders had problems staying with it. Except they loved the third adventure and it was able to pull their attention back to the story; however, they got a little restless during the second story. The double-page spreads are magnificent. The students laughed at Bink who has to take her fish to the movie theater and they gasped when Bink fell and the fishbowl seemed to fly out of the page of the book. The aerial view of Bink falling is marvelous. While this book looks like a level 1 reader and has a reading level of 1.5, it is really more appropriate for the level 2 reader because of the length and difficulty of the words. A book I can read over and over and over. I can see why it won the 2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.
September 16, 2012
About the book: Meet Bink and Gollie, two precocious little girls--one tiny, one tall, and both utterly irrepressible. Setting out from their super-deluxe tree house and powered by plenty of peanut butter (for Bink) and pancakes (for Gollie), they share three comical adventures involving painfully bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion. No matter where their roller skates take them, at the end of the day they will always be the very best of friends. Full of quick-witted repartee, this brainchild of Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and award-winning author Alison McGhee is a hilarious ode to exuberance and camaraderie, imagination and adventure, brought to life through the delightfully kinetic images of Tony Fucile.
My thoughts: Typically I'm not your "cartoon/graphic art" book reader. But when Bink & Gollie arrived I couldn't help but chuckle at the image of each of them. The droll Gollie - tall, thin, calm - and the whimsical, mischievous, daring Bink with her spiked, yellow, out-of-control hair. The drawings which so aptly demonstrate each personality and each incident along side the dry humor are reminiscent of Garfield or Calvin & Hobbs but in a more "chapertized" format that will appeal to young readers but also adults with a sense of humor.
There are three stories or chapters in this little volume capturing episodes in the lives of Bink & Gollie. Authors Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee with illustrator Tony Fucile have got the eye glances, body language, verbiage, amount of color vs black and white images, and vocabulary down to a tee that combines to bring a delightful reading adventure to any reader.
Friends are what Bink and Gollie are. And as friends they have differences because they have such completely different personalities. Bink discovers some truly atrocious (in Gollie's eyes) socks of a multitude of colors. The war of differences begins. But ultimately as friends they resolve and compromise - right to the end of the book when ice skating one of the remaining socks is now a scarf for Bink (she just couldn't quite rid herself of both socks).
Then as friends they must settle the fact that sometimes it is good and desired to do something simply by one's self. For example Gollie wishes to climb to the top of the Andes (while remaining in her living room), but Bink simply keeps disturbing her and knocking on her door.
And finally, the issue of venturing forth with new friendships and the resolution of sharing friendships while recognizing the value of special friends is faced. Also, the act of a friend in saving another friend's relationship with one "outside" their circle because it is the right thing to do.
I can see parents and teachers using this delightfully entertaining book as a teaching tool with children. I can also see adults recognizing themselves and their children in the characters Bink and Gollie and laughing at their own circumstances.
GIVEAWAY: Candlewick Press is providing a giveaway copy for one of Chat With Vera's readers to win. Visit my blog at http://chatwithvera.blogspot.com/2012... to enter using the Rafflecopter Form.Contest is open in US only. ENDS 9/30/12
DISCLOSURE: Candlewick Press provided a complimentary copy of Bink & Gollie for me to render my honest review and I was not required to post a positive review.
My thoughts: Typically I'm not your "cartoon/graphic art" book reader. But when Bink & Gollie arrived I couldn't help but chuckle at the image of each of them. The droll Gollie - tall, thin, calm - and the whimsical, mischievous, daring Bink with her spiked, yellow, out-of-control hair. The drawings which so aptly demonstrate each personality and each incident along side the dry humor are reminiscent of Garfield or Calvin & Hobbs but in a more "chapertized" format that will appeal to young readers but also adults with a sense of humor.
There are three stories or chapters in this little volume capturing episodes in the lives of Bink & Gollie. Authors Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee with illustrator Tony Fucile have got the eye glances, body language, verbiage, amount of color vs black and white images, and vocabulary down to a tee that combines to bring a delightful reading adventure to any reader.
Friends are what Bink and Gollie are. And as friends they have differences because they have such completely different personalities. Bink discovers some truly atrocious (in Gollie's eyes) socks of a multitude of colors. The war of differences begins. But ultimately as friends they resolve and compromise - right to the end of the book when ice skating one of the remaining socks is now a scarf for Bink (she just couldn't quite rid herself of both socks).
Then as friends they must settle the fact that sometimes it is good and desired to do something simply by one's self. For example Gollie wishes to climb to the top of the Andes (while remaining in her living room), but Bink simply keeps disturbing her and knocking on her door.
And finally, the issue of venturing forth with new friendships and the resolution of sharing friendships while recognizing the value of special friends is faced. Also, the act of a friend in saving another friend's relationship with one "outside" their circle because it is the right thing to do.
I can see parents and teachers using this delightfully entertaining book as a teaching tool with children. I can also see adults recognizing themselves and their children in the characters Bink and Gollie and laughing at their own circumstances.
GIVEAWAY: Candlewick Press is providing a giveaway copy for one of Chat With Vera's readers to win. Visit my blog at http://chatwithvera.blogspot.com/2012... to enter using the Rafflecopter Form.Contest is open in US only. ENDS 9/30/12
DISCLOSURE: Candlewick Press provided a complimentary copy of Bink & Gollie for me to render my honest review and I was not required to post a positive review.
May 31, 2011
Bink and Gollie is a wonderfully creative, imaginative and gorgeously illustrated booked. The story is of two very different best friends and how they compromise while keeping their individuality. In the first story, Bink finds a very brightly colored pair of socks which Gollie thinks are outrageous. Bink feels that the problem with Gollie is that it is her way or the highway and Gollie feels that Bink is unwilling to compromise. Being the wonderful friends that they are they meet each other half way. The second story has Gollie longing for adventure by scaling the Andes Mountains in her living room. She has left notes on her front door discouraging Bink from knocking but Bink keeps knocking until Gollie invites her into her adventure. The final story find Bink choosing a "marvelous companion" goldfish. Gollie continually tries to dismiss the goldfish as "unremarkable" and "incapable of being a marvelous companion." When an accident occurs as Bink is roller skating, Gollie helps by finding a new home for the goldfish. What makes this story so remarkable to me is the wonderful artwork. It is a very nice mixture of black and white illustrations for the background images with color added to highlight Bink and Gollie and certain important details on the page. The illustration of the movie theater is one of my favorite. My only wish would be that there are more books made about Bink and Gollie and they maintain the charm and beauty of this one.
October 15, 2010
Bink & Gollie are true opposites and best friends. Their interactions are droll and hilarious. Bink is wide-eyed and innocent and Gollie is utter sophistication. They can always agree to go roller skating or eat pancakes, but they must find their way through a maze of compromise on all other matters; and they do so quite entertainingly.
Di Camillo and McGhee have really outdone themselves here. The conversation is utterly sparkling between the two title characters and the illustrations are priceless. During the first story, Bink finds a pair of outrageously bright pair of socks that she must have. Their interaction goes like this:
"Bink," said Gollie,"the brightness of those socks pains me. I beg you not to purchase them."
Bink replies, "I can't wait to put them on."
And the illustrations are just spot on. Tony Fucile has created an adorable Bink, who looks as though she doesn't have a care in the world and Gollie, who just exudes urbanity. Fucile has even created homes that reflect their sensibilities. Gollie's pad is ultra modern and Bink's is cozy and shabby.
As I mentioned, the language is gorgeous and not your run of the mill learn to read fare. This probably isn't the book to put into a very new reader's hand, because the complex vocabulary may flummox them. Rather it's a perfect shared reading!
Di Camillo and McGhee have really outdone themselves here. The conversation is utterly sparkling between the two title characters and the illustrations are priceless. During the first story, Bink finds a pair of outrageously bright pair of socks that she must have. Their interaction goes like this:
"Bink," said Gollie,"the brightness of those socks pains me. I beg you not to purchase them."
Bink replies, "I can't wait to put them on."
And the illustrations are just spot on. Tony Fucile has created an adorable Bink, who looks as though she doesn't have a care in the world and Gollie, who just exudes urbanity. Fucile has even created homes that reflect their sensibilities. Gollie's pad is ultra modern and Bink's is cozy and shabby.
As I mentioned, the language is gorgeous and not your run of the mill learn to read fare. This probably isn't the book to put into a very new reader's hand, because the complex vocabulary may flummox them. Rather it's a perfect shared reading!
September 29, 2013
Title / Author / Publication Date:
Bink & Gollie. / Kate DiCamillo & Alison McGhee. Tony Fucile (ill.) / 2012.
Genre: Fiction: Humor.
Format: Easy Reader - print.
Plot summary:
"Two roller-skating best friends--one tiny, one tall--share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion" (MCPL).
Considerations or precautions for readers advisory:
best friends, imagination, humor
Review citation:
"Although the scenes don’t quite combine into a developed story, the repetition of phrases and appealingly oddball elements (roller skates, pancakes, rainbow socks) create a sense of cohesion, while Fucile’s expressive, cartoon-style drawings, including several wordless spreads, extend the sense of character, story, and madcap adventure. Children will have fun filling in all the spaces this high-spirited, quirky, and warmhearted offering leaves to the imagination" (Booklist: Gillian Engberg).
Section source used to find the material:
ALSC: (Theodor Seuss) Geisel Awards (2011 Award Winner)
Recommended age: Ages 4 - 8.
Bink & Gollie. / Kate DiCamillo & Alison McGhee. Tony Fucile (ill.) / 2012.
Genre: Fiction: Humor.
Format: Easy Reader - print.
Plot summary:
"Two roller-skating best friends--one tiny, one tall--share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion" (MCPL).
Considerations or precautions for readers advisory:
best friends, imagination, humor
Review citation:
"Although the scenes don’t quite combine into a developed story, the repetition of phrases and appealingly oddball elements (roller skates, pancakes, rainbow socks) create a sense of cohesion, while Fucile’s expressive, cartoon-style drawings, including several wordless spreads, extend the sense of character, story, and madcap adventure. Children will have fun filling in all the spaces this high-spirited, quirky, and warmhearted offering leaves to the imagination" (Booklist: Gillian Engberg).
Section source used to find the material:
ALSC: (Theodor Seuss) Geisel Awards (2011 Award Winner)
Recommended age: Ages 4 - 8.
October 2, 2013
The charm is undeniable. Bink and Gollie are about two funny girls one tall and one short with two different personalities, but come together and interact in a way that makes you smile. The book has three simple stories, but each one sparkles. Topics range from a pair of socks to getting a goldfish, on the surface not the most interesting of events, but through the eyes of children, the stories flow very nicely and are lively. The girls seem very authentic and real and capture the charm that little kids have through dialogue. The pictures in the books are very well done as Bink the silly, energetic one is drawn very expressionately and dramaticly while Gollie the laid back constrasts comedicily with more subdued expressions. The pictures are colorful at the right points and imaginative when it needs to be. At one point, at the dramatic crescendo at the end of the third story, the art style and audience angle changes dramaticly capturing the FEELING the girls are feeling at the time. A wonderful book that kids K-3 will enjoy and will not doubt clamor to have read to again and again.
March 28, 2014
This is a realistic picture book is about two best friends that are very different, but learn to compromise and accept each other’s uniqueness. Bink is innocent and Gollie is sophisticated. The book contains three short stories about the adventures that these two friends have and their unique ways to compromise and enjoy their friendship. They don’t always like what the other does, but their friendship remains.
This book highlights that people that are different can still be friends, but that compromise, understanding, and tolerance are needed to weather the events of life. Also, being friends with someone very different from you can make you look at the world from a whole new perspective.
I think this book could be a great lesson on friendship and compromise and finding unique ways to solve relationship differences. This book is co-authored by Kate DiCamillo who is the award winning author of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Because of Winn Dixie. This book could also be used in a compare and contrast to some of her other works. I recommend this book for grades 1-3.
This book highlights that people that are different can still be friends, but that compromise, understanding, and tolerance are needed to weather the events of life. Also, being friends with someone very different from you can make you look at the world from a whole new perspective.
I think this book could be a great lesson on friendship and compromise and finding unique ways to solve relationship differences. This book is co-authored by Kate DiCamillo who is the award winning author of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Because of Winn Dixie. This book could also be used in a compare and contrast to some of her other works. I recommend this book for grades 1-3.
March 2, 2015
Bink & gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
I recommend Bink and Gollie for grades 1 through 3rd. This is a picture book that tells three adventures about Bink and Gollie. They are quite different but enjoy being together. Gollie is a self-confident and a fashionable girl and Bink is an adventurous girl seeking Gollie. Even though they are different, they always compromise for friendship’s sake. This contemporaneous story take place in several locations. They also have a house tree where only these two friends can go and have fun. This book encourage a lot of dialogue in short phrases. This book can be used in a writing lesson where students can imagine any adventure that friends can share. In Social Studies, they can locate the places where they go, in this case Gollie went the Andes Mountains.
Full of quick-witted repartee, this brainchild of Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and award-winning author Alison McGhee is a hilarious ode to exuberance and camaraderie, imagination and adventure, brought to life through the delightfully kinetic images of Tony Fucile.
I recommend Bink and Gollie for grades 1 through 3rd. This is a picture book that tells three adventures about Bink and Gollie. They are quite different but enjoy being together. Gollie is a self-confident and a fashionable girl and Bink is an adventurous girl seeking Gollie. Even though they are different, they always compromise for friendship’s sake. This contemporaneous story take place in several locations. They also have a house tree where only these two friends can go and have fun. This book encourage a lot of dialogue in short phrases. This book can be used in a writing lesson where students can imagine any adventure that friends can share. In Social Studies, they can locate the places where they go, in this case Gollie went the Andes Mountains.
Full of quick-witted repartee, this brainchild of Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and award-winning author Alison McGhee is a hilarious ode to exuberance and camaraderie, imagination and adventure, brought to life through the delightfully kinetic images of Tony Fucile.
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