from Booklist…

In the tradtion of Arnold Lobel’s classic Frog and Toad series, this simple illustrated chapter book for beginning readers in the I Am A Reader! series is about animal best friends. And here the three stories about gorilla Tugg and monkey Teeny focus on the arts. In  “The Strange Stick,” Tugg helps Teeny get her wish to make beautiful melodies by blowing on a bamboo stick, and music comes to the jungle. In “What’s in a Picture?” all the animals find different images in Teeny’s blurry picture, or pretend to. In “Teeny’s Poem,” the first draft is not that good, but Tugg encourages Teeny to work on it, to write about what she knows best; and the climax is beautiful—her title is, “What it means to have a best friend.” The clear, brightly colored pictures on each page show the gorilla in spectacles, helping the little active monkey impress the cheetah, hippo, and warthog. With the tender friendship drama, this is also a fun read-aloud for preschoolers”                  –Hazel Rochman