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Friendly Day
Hooray - it's Friendly Day! A day for sharing, a day for caring, when everyone is nice, when Cow reads Snail a fairy tale and cats do NOT eat mice.Illustrated by the one and only Charles Fuge whose Little Wombat series has sold over 1 million copies, Friendly Day is a wonderful rhyming story full of friendship, love and hugs!When a little mouse is cornered by a hungry cat, he manages to persuade her that today is Friendly Day - a day when everyone shares and is kind. So, Cat lets Mouse go and finds Dog to give him a hug! But when the trio come across a big bear, he is not so easily persuaded...Children will laugh out loud at this amusing story of a clever mouse who tricks a hungry cat into sparing his life by telling the cat that it's Friendly day... the one day in the year when all animals must share, care, and be nice to one another.www.mijkelly.com
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2013
About the author
Mij Kelly
50 books21 followersWhat could be more beautiful than the laughter of children? That's why I write. You can find out more about me and my books, and read essays for children - and adults - on imagination and the craft of writing at my website.
For notifications, give-aways and competitions, like "Mij Kelly's children's books" on Facebook.
Look out for The Bump, which will be published on 6th October. I wrote it when my daughter was expecting my first grandchild - now four years old and starting school! I was so aware, when I was writing it, of what a journey pregnancy is, and how women throw their all into it to help their babies grow. It seemed to me that the boundless love and hope and courage of the mum-to-be wasn't very often celebrated. So that's what I set out to do. But I've got to say, words aside, Nicholas Allan's illustrations make this book. They're so soft and sweet and funny. He hits just the right note.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 19, 2023
Nice story, but the last page didn't seem like the last page. Something about the rhyme scheme seemed off.
November 14, 2013
Beautiful illustrations and a charming concept of a day when animals we associate as being enemies with one another all decide to put aside their differences and be nice. This would be a great book to teach children about tolerance with.
July 27, 2019
This book is about how the animals try to create a ‘friendly day’ where everyone is kind and no one hurts each other. Then the realised it was hard to make everyone friendly as wasps always sting. So they try to make everyone friendly by not fighting and being as nice as they can. This could be used in PSHE when looking at kindness and children could think about how they could be nice to each other. There is also rhyme throughout which could be studied in English. It is suitable for children from FS to year 3.
July 7, 2019
An amusing story about a clever little mouse who stops a hungry cat from eating him by telling him it is Friendly Day - a day in the year where all the animals set aside their differences and are nice to one another.
Read this with my little one, who loved the bright illustrations and the rhythm and rhyme as the story unfolded.
Read this with my little one, who loved the bright illustrations and the rhythm and rhyme as the story unfolded.
September 25, 2018
My one year old son is absolutely entranced by this book. Not only is it very beautiful to read out loud with nice simple words but the illustrations are stunning. Nice message that will sink in as he grows too, very pleasant.
May 23, 2017
Beautiful illustrations and a phenomenal idea!
January 7, 2020
SO many other choices for classrooms and story times on the subject. Pass.
April 25, 2018
Kivan realistiset eläinhahmot näyttävät hienoilta isoilla sivuilla.
December 15, 2016
I love rhyming almost as much as I love alliteration. And anyone who’s read my blog before knows that I can’t get enough of silliness and a good message. With imaginative, vibrant, and exciting illustrations as well as an excellent message, Friendly Day really makes itself a very attractive read. And I anticipate reading it again and again and again, as soon as someone (you know who you are!) returns it to the library. The concept that is so accessibly displayed is heart warming and the illustrations that bring it all to life engaging.
The story begins in a typical fashion with a cat catching a mouse for his meal. The mouse, being extremely clever, tells the cat that since it’s Friendly Day that he should let him go. The cat is confused until the mouse explains that Friendly Day is a day when everyone does nice things for each other, no matter who that person is. Cat loves the idea so much he tells Dog and together they spread the word. It’s not until Bear informs them that such a thing does not exist that their hopes are dashed. Undeterred, they decide to create such a day in an effort to have a least one day of harmony in the world.
In a truly amusing fashion Kelly makes the plot goofy enough to keep children easily engaged and still manages to make the message she’s trying to deliver easily absorbed. The plot matures as the story develops with even the mouse, who made the whole thing up, wishing that such a thing existed. It then expands even further. with the ability of Cat and Dog overcoming disappointment and displaying enviable determination in order to make this dream a reality. Each page is partnered with adorable illustrations that not only tempt a smile but succeed in drawing forth a chuckle. By far, my favorite had to be Cat and Dog SCUBA diving in order to speak to a whale. It was closely followed by a relaxing scene depicting a tiger enjoy a treat provided by parakeets (no, not the parakeets themselves) and a rhino knitting with kittens.
By the end of the book I was completely in agreement with Cat and Dog and wanted Friendly Day to be real. I loved seeing life altering scenes of friendship but also enjoyed the absolute feeling of good cheer that seems to emanate from the pages. Friendly Day is the perfect conclusion to our kindness overload this week. It is the message that kindness not only makes others happy but can radiate and multiple deep in our souls, making us happy. May you each have a friendly, happy, kind day.
Story Tips:
- Come up with your own friendly day pairings!
The story begins in a typical fashion with a cat catching a mouse for his meal. The mouse, being extremely clever, tells the cat that since it’s Friendly Day that he should let him go. The cat is confused until the mouse explains that Friendly Day is a day when everyone does nice things for each other, no matter who that person is. Cat loves the idea so much he tells Dog and together they spread the word. It’s not until Bear informs them that such a thing does not exist that their hopes are dashed. Undeterred, they decide to create such a day in an effort to have a least one day of harmony in the world.
In a truly amusing fashion Kelly makes the plot goofy enough to keep children easily engaged and still manages to make the message she’s trying to deliver easily absorbed. The plot matures as the story develops with even the mouse, who made the whole thing up, wishing that such a thing existed. It then expands even further. with the ability of Cat and Dog overcoming disappointment and displaying enviable determination in order to make this dream a reality. Each page is partnered with adorable illustrations that not only tempt a smile but succeed in drawing forth a chuckle. By far, my favorite had to be Cat and Dog SCUBA diving in order to speak to a whale. It was closely followed by a relaxing scene depicting a tiger enjoy a treat provided by parakeets (no, not the parakeets themselves) and a rhino knitting with kittens.
By the end of the book I was completely in agreement with Cat and Dog and wanted Friendly Day to be real. I loved seeing life altering scenes of friendship but also enjoyed the absolute feeling of good cheer that seems to emanate from the pages. Friendly Day is the perfect conclusion to our kindness overload this week. It is the message that kindness not only makes others happy but can radiate and multiple deep in our souls, making us happy. May you each have a friendly, happy, kind day.
Story Tips:
- Come up with your own friendly day pairings!
November 18, 2013
A darling picture book that cleverly prompts children to envision a more peaceful, kinder, and more civil world than the one they were born into. Not only does the story encourage the imagining of a better world; it also inspires readers to take responsibility for its improvement. The illustrations are quite funny, as well as being very appealing. A great read for preschoolers and early elementary aged children.
July 20, 2014
This would be great for storytime and fit in several themes; (funny) animals, kindness, helping, etc. My favorite line? "when frog reads snail a fairy tale and cats do NOT eat mice." This book reminds me of "A Day Without Hate" that they do in schools. I also love Charles Fuge's illustrations!
March 13, 2014
5 stars for the great illustrations!
May 12, 2014
Really cute and lovely concept.
Read
June 27, 2014Possible ST themes:
kindness, helping, animal friends, bears
kindness, helping, animal friends, bears
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews