The Horn Book Guide

EASY READERS

Johnston, Tony

Alien and Possum: Friends No Matter What

48 pp. | Simon | September, 2001 | Trade ISBN 0-689-83835-2 $$15.00

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi. Trying very hard to create another Frog and Toad friendship, Johnston has invented Alien and Possum, two characters who are learning to be friends. The three stories in this easy reader fall a little short of the mark, but the quiet, homely texture of the words and pictures is comforting. In "The Bedtime Story," the best of the three, Alien tries hard to follow Possum's instructions to keep him awake, but nothing works.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt