The Perfect Friend

by Yelena Romanova

Every dog needs a best friend Archie wants someone to play with – a friend who will throw a ball for him to catch. One morning his family leaves the house promising a surprise when they return. Archie is hopeful, but, remembering past surprises, he’s not overly optimistic, which is a good thing because they only bring home a baby named Max, who leads everyone to forget all about Archie. Poor Archie feels left out . . . that is, until little Max becomes the perfect friend.
Hilarious, colorful, and richly imagined pictures provide a highly original twist on a classic theme in children’s literature.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

Reviews

[Mario Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great moral at the end of this story for readers of all ages, but especially children, to get to read about. The book shows readers that yes, even they can feel a little jealous when a new member of their family begins to get more attention than they do, but in the end, that very same member can become a great partner..or "Perfect Friend." I enjoy books like these which always produce an ending that the reader usually does not see coming, and that teach a moral at the end as well. In the case of Archie (the dog and main character), we see that he also had to wait until the end to finally figure out how everything would tie up and make sense. I would recommend this book to Elementary school-aged children, especially for a read-aloud activity.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Archie had a good life as the family dog, but he wished for the perfect friend to play with him. When the family brought him surprises they never were quite what he needed. This time they came back with a baby boy named Max who got all the attention. Archie waited a long time for the day when his perfect friend showed up. Fun illustrations.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Archie, the family dog, feels left out when Max, the new baby arrives, but as time passes Archie discovers Max is the perfect friend to spend time with.

[Glynnis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Kosbie <3.
Brought home from library by Little Man.

[Tony Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: The Perfect Friend
Author: Yelena Romanova
Illustrator: Boris Kulikov
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Publishing Date: 2005
ISBN Number: 978-0374-35821-1

Summary: This is the story of a dog named Archie who dreamed of having a friend to play with. The owners brought home a fish, a turtle, and a rabbit but none of these were much fun for Archie. Then one day the owners said they had a surprise. They brought home a new baby and although it took a while for the baby to grow up enough to play with Archie, he finally did. The baby had become a boy and now could throw balls for Archie and he had finally found the perfect friend. The illustrations are great and show a lot of emotion.

Age Level: 4-6

Instructional Uses and Student Activities: The difficulty that children have when they are first finding the perfect friend at school could be utilized with the students writing about what makes the perfect friend. The teacher ccould help them brainstorm words that best describes a friend and allow them to build sentences. The anxiety of having a little baby brother or sister could be used in the same fashion. Emotions and the learning of new vocabulary to go with these new feelings can provide words for a word wall or journal.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had expected a little more from this. Some of the illustrations were cute. Some were all right. Some were a bit "uhhh." The story had a cute ending, but was what I was expecting and felt I was simply waiting for. I think I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the characterization of Archie. I suppose this could be used for children trying to understand dogs getting used to new babies....?

[Meghan Hunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

A puppy must adjust to the new baby brought home. At first he feels really left out, but later discovers the baby makes the perfect friend.

[Kyra Christiansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so cute! It's very relatable - I remember my cat felt very left out when my parents brought home my baby brother. This book is a sweet insight to how pets feel when a new baby comes into the picture, along with a happy ending of how that baby can be a good friend. I don't know how I would incorporate this into my classroom, but it was a cute read.