My Best Friend

The previous two picture books from this author I've experienced have been full of tiny, incidental detail, as well as a grand larger story, ending in a quirky twist to please the very young. A lot has changed between then and now, however, for we don't get any subplots, we don't get any twist, we just get an archly humorous tale of a mouse who thinks he's been taken back to an owl's nest in order to become the bird's best buddy. The fun the target audience will have is from the glee in seeing someone so likeable and yet so deluded, and the darkness of the blackly comedic situation is once more perfectly pitched. So even though we drop so much that nudged the previous two books into the four star category, I still think this simple-yet-effective read joins them.

Rob Hodgson brings another wonderful story to parents and children alike with My Best Friend. The story had me laughing out loud the first time I read it aloud to my children, and they absolutely loved the story overall. With a unique bright and vibrant illustration style, and humor that older kids will appreciate, My Best Friend deserves a full 5 out of 5 rating! I highly recommend this title, and will be adding it to my local library's wish list once published.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was a big fan of The Cave, so I was super excited to see that the author had another book. I absolutely loved this book. It was hilarious. I'm sure some of the humor would go over the smaller kids' heads, but I think older kids and parents will get a real kick out of it. The illustrations were fun and colorful, and the text flowed well. I have already had our Children's Librarian add it to her book order and can't wait to do it at story time.

Loved this one! Mouse...completely clueless....Super cute and laugh out loud funny! Will be sure to buy this one for our library!

A little morbid and weirdly optimistic. My daughter actually did enjoy this one more than I did. Read several times already

This book is told from Mouse’s perspective. It is amusing to see his point of view on his “friendship” with Owl. The illustrations portray reality and can help students make inferences about what is really going on.

What a cute story teaching kids about perspective. On the one hand you have sweet mouse who just loves his "best friend" and sees the good in each situation. On the other hand you have Owl who is just trying to get a meal. I love the colorful illustrations and the fun ending. Will definitely be purchasing this one for the library!

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this free ARC in return fo an honest review. Loved the silly and fun book about a mouse who has a new best friend, an Owl. Now the mouse is oblivious as to why the owl wants to keep him so close at hand, and why he fattens up mouse with doughnuts. It is a funny book and is even funnier when mouse goes to sleep and wakes up at a strange and different location. You can figure it out, but the illustrations them selves are cute and comical, and luckily things turn out OK for the mouse. Good fun book for kids, and adult also!

I am a huge fan of Rob Hodgson and was actually on the panel that selected The Cave as Booktrust's book for all children in reception. It was not a hard choice and I can see this one being as equally well received.
Delightfully illustrated and with bold vibrant colours I can't wait to get a physical copy to share with children.

Mouse finds himself a best friend....Owl. As we read we can see that Owl really just wants to eat Mouse. Mouse happily believes that Owl is doing nice things for him- like feeding him donuts, playing chase and building a cage for his house.

When Mouse finds himself in a dark tunnel, he hopes Owl will come to rescue him- where could Mouse possibly be?

This brilliant book will make children giggle, laugh and want to protect Mouse- will there be a happy ending?

Buy this book- I can guarantee it will bring a smile to plenty of faces.

I really enjoyed this book! It is funny story about a mouse that is optimistic, but also quite clueless. The illustrations are great and I think this book would be a hit in my classroom library!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book!

I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from NetGalley and Quatro Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Childrens in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really cute book about a delusional mouse that only sees the best in the owl trying to eat him. This was a fun read; the illustrations were great, and the mouse and owl were funny.

#MyBestFriend #NetGalley

I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Mouse narrates this story about his best friend, Giant Owl and his relationship. He shares all the fun they have together - chase games, hide and seek. Owl even saves him from a very dark place at the end.
Readers will love the humor as they understand the true relationship between these two characters. Don't miss the character facial expressions on every page.
This will be a terrific read aloud to go along with an owls unit.

This book is too funny! And my four year old was smart enough to understand what was going on! I don't want to ruin it for anybody so I'll be brief with this one. But an owl and a mouse are best friends, or so the mouse thinks. The owl is lways giving him gifts, and doing kind things for him. And then the great burp...which, of course, two boys thought was sooo funny!!

This book was a funny and cute story about a clueless and optimistic mouse who sees the good in every situation. I loved the story; also the illustration was vivid and cute.

Rob Hodgson puts a deliciously dark twist on the meaning of friendship in this hilariously bold tale of one mouse's sweet naivety and an owl's perilous hunger, all wrapped up in a perfect, quirky twist!

Just like Hodgson's The Cave, I've no doubt My Best Friend is destined to be loved by many. You're in for a treat!

PS. little ones will love spotting each of the worms popping out of the branches - such a fun touch!

First off the illustrations in this book are amazing. I love the colors and the shapes. I read to kids every day as a K-12 librarian. While I as a jaded adult find it mildly disturbing that a mouse thinks his captor is actually his friend. The kids will love it. I can see this book being very popular and I absolutely am getting it for the library. Even older kids would find it humorous.

This is a lot of fun and it put a big smile on our faces throughout. Mouse wants to tell us all about his best friend, Giant Owl, who carried him up to live in a tree and feeds him doughnuts which happen to get Mouse nice and plump. They play games like hide and seek and Giant Owl buys him presents like a house which looks suspiciously like a cage... Mouse is thrilled to have a best friend like Giant Owl, but Giant Owl might have other plans... The sideye expression from Giant Owl made me chuckle throughout this and it's such a wonderful, witty story, with a great twist too!

What at first glance seems like a simple, cutesy story about the friendship between a mouse and owl is actually a hilarious romp about a mouse who is completely clueless that his best friend Owl has one goal: to eat him! We also get a particularly satisfying (what kid doesn't love a good burp?) ending. This book will work best with a slightly older (late preschool to elementary) audience who can pick up on clues in the illustrations that Mouse is not a reliable (or wise) narrator. The illustrations are bold and brightly colored; they, paired with the comedy, make this one a great read-aloud pick. Reminiscent of "The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse" and "Please Don't Eat Me."

This made me laugh.

Mouse tells us about their best friend, Owl, who might have their own agenda.
I felt kind of reminded of Tom & Jerry, only with a very, very naive mouse. I'd totally read more episodes.

The fun comes from the way Mouse tells the story and the contrast to the things we see in the pictures. Mouse is excited to get an own house, but maybe it's really a cage so Mouse can't run away?

Short and sweet. Would like to read more.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A cute little picture book about a mouse and his owl "friend". This is the kind of book I really enjoy reading with children where they have to read between the lines to understand what is really happening. A funny but short story that I'm sure many children will enjoy!

Rob Hodgson is back again with another equally brilliant book! Children will love figuring out the true nature of Owl and Mouse's 'friendship'. Rob's illustration is wonderful - look out for the little details like the worms popping out of branches throughout and Owl's characterful and humorous expressions. Fans of Jon Klassen's humour will love this too.

My daughter absolutely LOVED this book. It made her laugh a lot. Her favorite part was when the owl tried to eat his best friend because he thought it was a good snack. But, then he vomited him out.

I found the book to be funny as well. As adults, we know Owl wants to eat Mouse but Mouse is so gullible. He's too sweet. Owl looks so grumpy throughout the entire book. The whole thing was entertaining. This was a book that I enjoyed reading with my little one.

My Best Friend is a story about the relationship between a mouse and an owl, told from the mouse’s point of view. Mouse views Owl’s actions through the lens of friendship, but are Owl’s actions those of a friend? The story is engaging and the illustrations are beautiful.

As an educator, My Best Friend could be used to facilitate teaching of perspective taking or inferences/predictions.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a comical, funny book about a little mouse who perceives the big owl to be his best friend but the pictures tell a different story. This book is fun and children will want to share it again and again! We certainly will be!

A silly story that will keep your young reader engaged with the contrasting color of the illustrations. Mouse really doesn’t understand his relationship with Giant Owl...and it makes for a quirky read.

My Best Friend is a quirky, cute picture book written and illustrated by Rob Hodgson. Mouse thinks Owl is his best friend....but is he?! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy of this children's book.