Faraway Friends written and illustrated by Russ Cox (NewSouth Books)
HB RRP $21.99
ISBN
978-1-63220-408-0
Reviewed by Peta
Biggin
When Sheldon’s
next-door neighbour and best friend moves away, he is desperate to go
visit. So, with the help of his dog Jet,
he builds a rocket ship and takes off to the stars. When the rocket ship falls apart, Sheldon
finds a surprising source of help and a potential new friend with his new
neighbour Rubin.
Faraway Friends is the latest book from American author/illustrator
Russ Cox. A sweet story about friendship
and adventure, it primarily deals with a young boy’s attempts to deal with his
best friend moving away from the neighbourhood.
On seeing the
“Jupiter Moving Co” truck leave, Sheldon decides that his friend has moved to
Jupiter and a rocket ship needs to be built so he can visit. With his dog, Jet,
he builds a rather rickety rocket from various items around the house and, with
the help of a lot of imagination, they take off for the stars. It’s a short trip, however, as the rocket
falls apart before they make it to Jupiter.
Looking over the fence at them is what appears to be a pair of alien
eyes. To their surprise, the eyes belong
to their new neighbour Rubin who helps with the repairs to the rocket ship and
joins them as they take off again.
This is an
energetic and fun story about friendship that also comes with a hint of
adventure; it would make a great read-aloud book. Visually, each page is filled with big
colourful illustrations. With a mixture
of full-page and cartoon-style panels, there is enough detail and variety to
entertain any young reader as they flip through each
page.
Russ Cox was
raised in the backwoods of Tennessee, where he spent his time drawing,
whittling and throwing dirt clods at his cousins. He has taught classes at Pennsylvania College
of Art and Design and he runs his own studio, Smiling Otis Studio, where he
specialises in illustration for the children’s book market. She can be found online at: http://www.smilingotis.com/
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