I Know Everything About John & He Knows Everything About Me

by Louise Fitzhugh, Lillian Hoban

The posthumously published story by the author of Harriet the Spy exhibits an even gentler touch than do her other picture books ( I Am Five , etc.). A boy describes his special relationship with his best friend by listing their similarities and their differences. Their closeness is also reflected in their familiarity with each other's houses: "We know what's in each other's refrigerators, which steps creak on each other's stairs." Not once does the narrator comment on the most obvious difference--that the narrator is Asian American and John is African American--it's equally obvious that this is not significant to the boys. Fitzhugh's catalogue of small but telling details adds up to everything that is important to know about a best friend, and aptly demonstrates the author's knowledge of her audience. Hoban's purple- and orange-hued pastels have warmth but lend the already soft text a greeting card ambiance. Even though the text mentions fighting, for example, the boys maintain almost cherubic expressions throughout. And while Fitzhugh presents each boy's specific attributes, Hoban's fuzzy strokes tend to obscure their features, their faces especially, so that the boys look somewhat generic. Beyond conveying the multiracial theme, the art does little to enrich the text. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Library Binding

First published October 1, 1993

About the author

Louise Perkins Fitzhugh was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Fitzhugh is best known for her 1964 novel Harriet the Spy, a fiction work about an adolescent girl's predisposition with a journal covering the foibles of her friends, her classmates, and the strangers she is captivated by. The novel was later adapted into a live action film in 1996. The sequel novel, The Long Secret, was published in 1965, and its follow-up book, Sport, was published posthumously in 1979. Fitzhugh also wrote Nobody's Family Is Going to Change, which was later adapted into a short film and a play.