Matthew and Tilly: 2

by Rebecca C. Jones

Like all good friends Matthew and Tilly have an occasional tiff, but their friendship prevails despite their differences

Genres: Friendship, Picture Books, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 7, 1991

Reviews

[Tasasha Battle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book is about two friends from the city Matthew and Tilly who spent all-day and everyday together. They colored together and chew gum together. They were best friends. One day while coloring Matthew accidently broke Tilly’s crayon. Offended Tilly and Matthew exchange their negative feelings using words and storm off in anguish to discover that playing alone is not fun. The friends come back together and apologize for their words. The story line by Jones expresses the issues that friends go through in the busy city. Although Jones’s recent work is non-fiction, her past work, as well as Matthew and Tilly, were based off her experiences or the experiences of people she knew. She gives great verbal presentation of how friends use their words when angry and also to solve problems. The vocabulary in the text is a great opportunity to focused and discussed on “not nice” words with students. Instead of the angry words chosen in the book, have the students rewrite a new solution to Matthew and Tilly’s dispute. This book will be used with friendship and diversity because of its vocabulary choice. This gives evidence to the fact that sometimes friends argue and say ugly things, however they should still come back together and work on their friendship.

[Hana Sm. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book 5 stars because even though the 2 main characters are different races, that is never mentioned in the book because that's not the point of the story. In other words, their friendship is made to look very natural. Matthew & Tilly look like they are about 10 years old. Matthew is white & Tilly is black. They do "everything" together: ride bikes, they rescued a cat out of a tree together, eat ice-cream cones together, etc.

The book says Matthew & Tilly "got sick of each other." One day Matthew broke Tilly's purple crayon by accident. They had a big argument & didn't play together for a while. But after they missed each other, they became friends again.

*This book is also available in Spanish "Mateo Y Mati." Mateo is a direct translation of Matthew but I guess since the name Tilly isn't popular in Spanish, they call Tilly, Mati, in the Spanish version of the book.

My only complaint about the book is that the colors are mostly in earth tones.
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I could use this book as part of a literacy lesson by creating a discussion with my class about things that they like to do with their friends. I have found that students like talking about their families & friends, so that would be a good opportunity to get "quiet" students to speak up.

[Zilha B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This narrative is about two young boys, Matthew and Tilly, who were best friends. They did everything together, from selling lemonade together, to rescuing a lady's kitten from a tree together. Rebecca C. Jones, the author, shows that like all friends, Matthew and Tilly fought, and then they made up. As a teacher, I would use this book to show students that friends may fight and argue, but they can always make up (ex. "I'm sorry," he called. "So am I," said Tilly.) These silly things happen all of the time in the classroom, where someone may take a crayon from someone else, or say something hurtful to someone else. I would use the book to make it a teachable moment to the class after an incident like that. I appreciate Jones because she wrote about something that is very common with children in, and out of, the classroom. I also appreciate the realistic pictures by Beth Peck, although they could have been a little less dull.

[Anna Piesyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was able to experience this book used in a week-long lesson about not only relationships and disagreements between friends but also can be the base of a discussion of diversity or for representation in the classroom. Sometimes the children would have problems getting along with their friends at recess playing games so this book was a good discussion piece for that topic. Asking students how Tilly might have felt about her crayon and if they thought Matthew reacted the right way. Great for SEL.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful story about two children having a fallout and finding their back together is a great book about true friendship. I especially enjoy the two main characters, being African American and white., and also boy and girl. To me, it tells me that children play together no matter what they look like. To them, it doesn't even matter. They still have arguments and they still make up. Wonderful story about friendship and forgiveness.

[Dzana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book a lot. This book is a great way to teach students about the themes within a text. It helps the kids understand the conflict the two characters have in their relationship. It is also a great way to show that in a relationship there can be some ups and downs, but in the end people always forgive each other.

[Adriana Palencia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book illustrates two best friends having a fight. This is an excellent book for children because it teaches children about friendship. It also does an excellent job of explaining Matthew and Tilly's emotions throughout the book. The book could be used to help teach children about conflict resolutions and other people's emotions.

[Teresa Selders · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reading age for this book is 2-5 years old. I would add this to my library because it is about friendship and forgiveness. Its about 2 friends who do everything together. They have a quarrel but later they apologize to each other. I like this story because it teaches us the importance of friendship
We can learn from this story to cherish our friends.

[Monica L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be used to discuss friendship.
It can also be used to talk about forgiveness and second chances.
Another good one for my multicultural collection.
I like how they are just typical kids who happen to be African American.

[Samantha Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good little read about friendship

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting and gave a good story about two children going through life together. I Liked the story and it was a short read. I did enjoy this book.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful realistic fiction for the young learner.

[Tonya Scott]

An excellent book to use to help children understand friendship. They get to see friends sometimes struggle to be kind to one another.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: This book is about two friends who sometimes argues. Throughout this story, both Matthew and Tilly seem to keep their friendship despite the differences they may encounter.
Review: This book is a great mentor text for students to understand what realistic fiction is. Students can make personal connections to the book.

[Leah Sidell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew and Tilly is a touching story about two best friends that did everything together. They end up having an argument and say mean words to each other when Matthew accidentally breaks Tilly's crayon. At the end they learn how valuable their friendship is they forgive each other. Students can learn from this book that arguing with friends doesn't solve a problem and isn't worth loosing the friendship. It's so important that students are all friends with each other so that they can be a community in the classroom. Each student can write a letter to one of their classmates about something that they find special about them and what makes them a good friend. Students will not only learn literacy, but gain confidence in themselves when they hear someone else complimenting them.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is very realistic - two friends have a stupid, pointless squabble and make up when they've calmed down. It's told in a very easy, simple (not too preachy) way.

I'm not a fan of the artwork, though. The style and the colors chosen make the whole thing look muddy and drab to me, and not particularly engaging.

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew and Tilly by Rebecca C. Jones, illustrated by Beth Peck – one of those beautiful stories of people living in a diverse neighborhood in a large city, specifically focused on two friends who have an argument and find a way to forgive one another so they can have fun again.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok story

Making Meaning Grade 1 Resource Kit

[Vee · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Mateo y Mati"
Lo leí en español.

[IfCatsCouldRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice story about friendship. Everyone needs some time away but even then, you can still be friends. We discussed name calling and what to do instead.

[Sonia Allison]

Way Yuck