Near Rippling Lake is Apple Street. That’s where the six friends Pug, Queenie, Lucy, Mango, Bella and Eliza live.
The sun is shining in Apple Street and we see each of the six friends alone, doing the things that each likes to do. But when it starts to rain, the six come together to play and splash in the puddles, before all going to Lucy’s house for tea and cupcakes.
The Friends of Apple Street is a vibrant picture book for very young children, full of cute animal characters and with a simple tale of friendship. Adult readers might like to see the story as an allegory about how friends come together during rainy times, but kids will just enjoy seeing the friends playing in puddles and having a tea party.
Pignataro uses a combination of watercolour and collage to create bright illustrations which have plenty in them to appeal to young viewers. Older children might enjoy the fact that Pignataro has created simple characters which a child could draw for him/herself, with reasonable success.
The Friends of Apple Street is a lovely book.
The Friends of Apple Street, written and illustrated by Anna Pignataro
Lothian, 2006