The Friend

NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux , 2004. 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 48 pages illustrated in color by David Small. Annabelle Bernadette Clementine Dodd, Belle for short, is the child of wealthy parents who have no time for her. Even before the story begins, readers see her climbing down the stairs to kiss them good-bye, her father glancing at his watch all the while. But Belle has Beatrice Smith, a kindly housekeeper with whom she spends her days sharing Bea's chores (creating more havoc than help). While they have specific chores each day of the week, they always make time for delightful excursions to the beach. Then one day, Belle decides that she can go alone, with nearly disastrous results. The rhyming text describes the loving relationship between Bea and Belle, and the woman's infinite patience with her young charge. Small's cartoon watercolor-and-crayon illustrations, most of them spreads, depict a mansion on a hill overlooking the sea, Belle's grand bedroom, ornate parlors, and a time when wringer washing machines, clotheslines, and electric fans were the last word in luxury. The pictures of Bea hugging the little girl to her breast after nearly losing her, the woman's grief at what might have happened, and Belle's efforts to cheer her up are especially poignant. Record # 375110