Robinson, Robin. This Book Is My Best Friend. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2023. 978-1-665-90681-4. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades K-2

Sunny and Aarush love to read for different, yet similar reasons. When they both reach for the same book, what ensues is a fun look into why this book is their best friend. Sunny loves this book because it’s about a robot and she wants to be a robot when she grows up. Sunny loves it when her mom feels well enough to read this book to her, and having a best friend can help things seem less lonely. Aarush loves this book because there are mice in it, and that’s their favorite animal. Aarush needs a quiet space to go when their twin siblings are causing chaos in the house. By the end of the book they learn that this book can be both of their best friends, and best friends read together!!

THOUGHTS: I adored this book! There is great commentary on loving the same book as someone, for different reasons. The illustrations are wonderful, and I found myself continuing to go back through the book looking for things that I missed. The scene of Sunny and her mother in the hospital, while her mother gets treatment for something isn’t mentioned in the story but I wanted to note it in case you read this with students whose parents are sick. Highly recommend this book for an elementary collection, and it would make an amazing read aloud for any class, young or old!!

Picture Book