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33rd out of 76 books
—
225 voters
May I Bring a Friend?
Winner of the Caldecott Medal One day, a small boy receives a very special invitation -- the King and the Queen have invited him to the castle for tea. He accepts, with one question: "May I bring a friend?"
"Any friend of our friend is welcome her," says the King. But their guest's friend turns out to be someone they never expected!
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers's rhythmic tex...more
"Any friend of our friend is welcome her," says the King. But their guest's friend turns out to be someone they never expected!
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers's rhythmic tex...more
Paperback, 48 pages
Published
September 30th 1989
by Aladdin
(first published 1964)
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I think this suffered a little from being read so close to What Do You Say, Dear?, which has a similar wacky sense of humor and a not-dissimilar rhythm. But where that had a clear purpose, this is more surreal. A child is invited to tea with the king and queen; he asks if he can bring a friend. The friend turns out to be a giraffe, fortunately a polite one. The child is invited back for successive meals, each time accompanied by an increasingly wild animal. There was some cognitive dissonance fo...more
Synopsis
A young boy is invited to tea by the king and queen several days in a row. Each day he brings an animal friend. The king and queen enjoy this so much that on the final day they had tea at the city zoo.
Reviews
This repetitive, rhyming story is very sweet. The king and queen are gracious hosts and the boy uses his best manners. The silly pictures do betray the book's 1960's roots. But the story is so sweet and timeless that parents will want to read it repeatedly to their children.
Critical...more
A young boy is invited to tea by the king and queen several days in a row. Each day he brings an animal friend. The king and queen enjoy this so much that on the final day they had tea at the city zoo.
Reviews
This repetitive, rhyming story is very sweet. The king and queen are gracious hosts and the boy uses his best manners. The silly pictures do betray the book's 1960's roots. But the story is so sweet and timeless that parents will want to read it repeatedly to their children.
Critical...more
Who doesn’t like getting an invitation...discovering the mail in the mailbox, opening the envelope and feeling the excitement of being included. Those are just some of the emotions that the reader might feel upon seeing the first page of this book. Now imagine that the invitation is from a King and Queen. Pretty cool, huh? Well, unlike some of us, the main character doesn’t give a simple yes when invited to tea with a King and a Queen. He politely asks the King and Queen if he “may bring a frien...more
Nov 14, 2012
Karen Peters
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s-literature
May I Bring A Friend? written by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers and ilustrated by Beni Montressor is a poetic picture book for Nursery(N) age children.
This book was chosen for a Caldecott Medal in 1965 for the illustrations.
The delightful story of a young boy who is invited to tea with the King and Queen. The very lovely King and Queen decide that of course he must bring a guest. When the young boy asks to bring a friend, he is told of course. When the day arrives, his friend is none other than a g...more
This book was chosen for a Caldecott Medal in 1965 for the illustrations.
The delightful story of a young boy who is invited to tea with the King and Queen. The very lovely King and Queen decide that of course he must bring a guest. When the young boy asks to bring a friend, he is told of course. When the day arrives, his friend is none other than a g...more
May I Bring a Friend? is a whimsical story about a child who, upon recieving each invitation to the palace by the king and queen, invites along an unusual friend to each engagement. The illustrations serve to tell the reader that the child's "friends" that she insists on bringing are in fact zoo animals, so therefore, when each new animal friend is revealed, the page has no text so the reader is focused on the surprise of each new animal accompanying the king and queen in their leisure activitie...more
May I bring a Friend is a story of how a young boy brings his ‘friends’ to eat with the king and queen, the funny twist is that his friends happen to be animals at the zoo. The book rhymed continually throughout making the book very easy and fun to read. The illustrations were very fun and entertaining. The illustrator used black and white while when King and Queen were focus of the page but, when the boy and his friends came to visit the page bursted with color. This emphasized the surprise of...more
I love the concept that this book has to invite anyone. The king is so willing to let anyone come into his place, no matter who are what they are. The boy keeps asking, and the king is so selfless to let the boy bring anyone, or should I say any animal. He welcomes lions, hippos, giraffes, any kind of friend. The point I am trying to make is that the king is not discriminating against any animal the boy is bringing to tea, he allows any type of animal. I love this idea of welcoming anyone into y...more
This is a very sweet short story about a young boy who brings a series of animals to have tea with the king and queen. I enjoyed reading this book because of the colorful and whimsical illustrations on every page. These illustrations were really great because they portray information that is necessary for the storyline, but isn’t actually written in words. Before reading this book, I looked at all of the illustrations on every page. After reading this book, I was very pleased to see that the sto...more
Before I even read this book I just simply flipped through the pages. The illustrations were so fun, colorful and detailed that they took on a story of their own. I went back and actually read the story and was quite shocked to see how well the pictures alone told the actual story. I thought this was a very cute book that details a young boy who was invited to have tea with the King and Queen. Each time he was invited he asked if he could bring a friend. The friends the little boy brings are an...more
This might possibly be the greatest picture book of all time.
This king and queen are just hanging out at the castle and every single day, they are just like, "why don't we invite that kid over to the castle to hang out?"
So, everyday they invite him, and everyday the kid asks if he can invite a friend. And they are always like, "yeah."
And the friend is a giraffe! Or, a seal. Or whatever. And the king and queen respond with poetry, only sometimes the poetry doesn't all fit within the established p...more
This king and queen are just hanging out at the castle and every single day, they are just like, "why don't we invite that kid over to the castle to hang out?"
So, everyday they invite him, and everyday the kid asks if he can invite a friend. And they are always like, "yeah."
And the friend is a giraffe! Or, a seal. Or whatever. And the king and queen respond with poetry, only sometimes the poetry doesn't all fit within the established p...more
May I Bring a Friend? by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers, illustrated by Beni Montresor is the classic tale of the little boy who is invited to the palace by the King and Queen, and the different "friends" (animals) he brings with him.
The boy is invited by the King and Queen six days in a row and gives them an invitation on the seventh: thus the story can be used teach or refresh the days of the week. Sunday is Tea, with a giraffe. Monday is Dinner - stew with a hippo. Tuesday is lunch with monkeys...more
The boy is invited by the King and Queen six days in a row and gives them an invitation on the seventh: thus the story can be used teach or refresh the days of the week. Sunday is Tea, with a giraffe. Monday is Dinner - stew with a hippo. Tuesday is lunch with monkeys...more
My favorite part about this book was the rhyming, and bright illustrations, it made it a fun read. This book is about a young boy who gets invited to dinner with the king and queen and is told he can bring a friend, as long as they are well behaved. So, the little boy does not bring another boy or girl, he brings animal friends. The first dinner he brings a giraffe on a leash. This is repeated many more times with elephants, monkeys, lions, and a seal. The queen and king enjoy this and are very...more
Very cute, fun story about a child who is invited to various events (tea, Halloween party, etc.) by a very amiable king and queen. The child always wants to bring a friend, and the queen and king are happy to oblige, even when their events become a bit of a menagerie.
This is a classic picture book (from the 1960s) that, I feel, stands the test of time. Though I loved the old-fashioned charm of the illustrations, the imagination and animals, and the fun rhyme scheme, should still appeal to child...more
This is a classic picture book (from the 1960s) that, I feel, stands the test of time. Though I loved the old-fashioned charm of the illustrations, the imagination and animals, and the fun rhyme scheme, should still appeal to child...more
Right away I could tell that the illustrations were completed with an ink pen; however, I wasn't sure what media was used for the color portions of the book. I looked it up and found out that the illustrator used screen overlays and acetate. I'm not exactly sure how the process works but the color turns out bright. The illustrations seemed a little odd to me because the whole page would be orange or yellow with the characters drawn in black ink. Some of the animals would be portrayed in differen...more
The illustrations in this book are much different than what is expected from today's illustrations in children's books. I feel like if this book was read to a child, they'll believe it's a old book and will probably be confused at the choice of colors used in this book. However, this book uses repetition and rhyming, which I thought made the book a great read. Children will enjoy reading this book because of the rhymes used and will make them to continue reading the whole book. It was interestin...more
This book is a bit longer than many picture books, and the illustrations aren't as colorful as in more modern books, so some smaller children may have trouble sitting through it. However, with the right age range, this book is wonderful.
A little boy is just randomly invited to the palace for the tea (every day in a week, in fact). So each time he brings a guest, another animal, until Saturday when he turns the tables and they all go to the zoo to eat their tea instead.
It's sweet, it's simple, it...more
A little boy is just randomly invited to the palace for the tea (every day in a week, in fact). So each time he brings a guest, another animal, until Saturday when he turns the tables and they all go to the zoo to eat their tea instead.
It's sweet, it's simple, it...more
He receives invitations from the King and Queen. It turns out to be a busy week.
Sunday is for tea. Dinner is shared on Monday. They meet for lunch on Tuesday. Breakfast is the invitation for Wednesday. Halloween is celebrated on Thursday. Friday was for Apple Pie Day. On Saturday, the boy invites the King and Queen to visit him and his other friends that were allowed to visit throughout the week at the zoo.
The color artwork consists of pink, green, yellow, brown, orange, yellow and purple color...more
Sunday is for tea. Dinner is shared on Monday. They meet for lunch on Tuesday. Breakfast is the invitation for Wednesday. Halloween is celebrated on Thursday. Friday was for Apple Pie Day. On Saturday, the boy invites the King and Queen to visit him and his other friends that were allowed to visit throughout the week at the zoo.
The color artwork consists of pink, green, yellow, brown, orange, yellow and purple color...more
This 1965 Caldecott Award winning title is part of the mini study I have been doing this weekend on past winners of the award. Flat presentation of scenery (where carpets are circular vs. eliptoid) and solid block color backgrounds (used to communicate mayhem in this work vs. a variety of color used to introduce the animal the boy is bringing to meet the King and Queen) allow animals to pop off of the page. Light verse begs for read-aloud. I see tones of Amos McGee in this early work that would...more
Read during preschool class visit on 12/14/11: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at Preschool Story Time on 4/4/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read during Pre-K/K Class Visit on 3/15/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read for #nerdcott. Reviewed in Caldecott Challenge Post #13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at Pre-K Class Visit on 5/4/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at Pajama Story Time on 6/27/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot...more
Read at Preschool Story Time on 4/4/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read during Pre-K/K Class Visit on 3/15/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read for #nerdcott. Reviewed in Caldecott Challenge Post #13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at Pre-K Class Visit on 5/4/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at Pajama Story Time on 6/27/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot...more
I remember lots of different animals. I think I used to wonder how such a little boy could make friends with animals.
4/27/10 & 4/29 & 5/3 & 5/5: This book sprang off the shelf and back into memory. I thought I would try it for storytime. The pictures--particularly the colors were what grabbed their attention first. Then waiting to see what animals would come next kept their attention in a book that would otherwise drag for preschool age or in a storytime setting. It went well each ti...more
4/27/10 & 4/29 & 5/3 & 5/5: This book sprang off the shelf and back into memory. I thought I would try it for storytime. The pictures--particularly the colors were what grabbed their attention first. Then waiting to see what animals would come next kept their attention in a book that would otherwise drag for preschool age or in a storytime setting. It went well each ti...more
It is amazing to see how much picture books have changed...
This cute rhyming and predictable picture book tells the story of a boy who is always invited over the King and Queen’s where he always asks to bring his animal friends. By the end of his story the three humans go to visit the boy’s friends in the zoo. The illustrations very much remind me of an old fashioned cartoon by using very bright colors. For children a craft idea would be to let them create their own brightly colored menagerie.
This cute rhyming and predictable picture book tells the story of a boy who is always invited over the King and Queen’s where he always asks to bring his animal friends. By the end of his story the three humans go to visit the boy’s friends in the zoo. The illustrations very much remind me of an old fashioned cartoon by using very bright colors. For children a craft idea would be to let them create their own brightly colored menagerie.
Tags: kings, queens, friends, meals, rhyme, Caldecott
The young boy brings his animal friends to tea with the King and Queen. Eventually they all end up at the zoo for tea. Illustrations vary between black and white ink drawings and drawings with colored backgrounds. Many pages of white with text on them.
Caldecott Award 1965
"May I Bring a Friend?" by Beatrice Schenk De Regneirs, illustrated by Beni Montresor, Atheneum Books for Young Readers:New York, NY, 1964.
The young boy brings his animal friends to tea with the King and Queen. Eventually they all end up at the zoo for tea. Illustrations vary between black and white ink drawings and drawings with colored backgrounds. Many pages of white with text on them.
Caldecott Award 1965
"May I Bring a Friend?" by Beatrice Schenk De Regneirs, illustrated by Beni Montresor, Atheneum Books for Young Readers:New York, NY, 1964.
Seuss-like in its drive, May I Bring a Friend? is, at the very least, a great vehicle for the artistic abilities of Beni Montresor. His use of visually affecting color is superb in every way, framing the story as perfectly as could be done. I am really quite impressed with the artistic expression that comes through in this book.
The writing of author Beatrice Schenk de Regniers is rhythmic and pleasing, sure to be a lot of fun for many young readers.
The writing of author Beatrice Schenk de Regniers is rhythmic and pleasing, sure to be a lot of fun for many young readers.
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This was a simple repetitive story of a boy who was unusually good friends with a king and queen. He repeatedly bringsw dinner guets to their palace whenever they invite him and yet the royal couple are surprisingly good natured about it. In fact, they really seem to enjoy his animal guests and eventually go so far as to eat with them at the zoo that apparently was lending the boy these animals all that time. Odd, but nicely written.
This story is so sweet. King and queen invite a litte boy for tea, lunch, dinner,and so on everyday. The boy bring his funny and cute friends everytime and king and queen welcome his friends with open arms. I was suprised because his friends are not human. You can smile while you are reading this book. Finary, the boy invite the king and queen to his house and they can meet all his friends! So funny and cute!
Jul 10, 2011
Caroline Freeman
added it
This book has repetition which is good for beginning readers as well as struggling readers. Also goes through. Days of the week and introduces funny animals. Readers who like animals would enjoy this because of the silly things the animals do. They could even write something about who they would bring to meet the king and queen. The pictures are pretty, but might be a bit old to capture days readers.
I really didn't enjoy the colored pages with black illustrations. It seemed like a cop-out almost when compared to illustrations in full-color. It was obviously a style choice of the illustrator and probably has a lot to do with when the book was published, but I didn't enjoy it personally. The rhyming also drove me crazy; the little extra few words in the first stanza each time just didn't fit!
Sep 17, 2012
Kelly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
1964,
animals,
storytime,
rhyming,
repetition,
funny,
caldecott-winner,
library-materials-for-children-645
Illustrated by Beni Montresor using pen-and-ink drawings on board in black with solid overlays and screened overlays on acetate. Winner of the 1965 Caldecott Medal. A very sweet and silly rhyming story that is perfect for reading aloud. The illustrations alternate between black and white and color and are quite detailed and full of emotion. I really liked it a lot.
Caldecott winner 1965
Illustrations:
I like how the mostly monochromatic pages were in contrast with the indulgent idea of a simple boy having dinner with a king, queen, and zoo animals.
Favorite line:
"And we want you to know," / Said the Queen and King / "You can bring any friends / You would like to bring."
--The Queen and King pre-empted the boy asking (again) if he could bring a friend to eat!
Illustrations:
I like how the mostly monochromatic pages were in contrast with the indulgent idea of a simple boy having dinner with a king, queen, and zoo animals.
Favorite line:
"And we want you to know," / Said the Queen and King / "You can bring any friends / You would like to bring."
--The Queen and King pre-empted the boy asking (again) if he could bring a friend to eat!
This book had my kids on the edge of their seats. They were laughing and guessing who was going to come to the castle next. It is a funny book about a girl bringing her friends (zoo animals) to visit the Queen and King. Not really a life lesson sort of book, but a great fall back book for reading time when the kids can not seem to sit through a serious book.
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