JQ Magazine: Book Review — ‘You Are My Best Friend’
By Heather Wilson Tomoyasu (Ibaraki-ken, 2004-06) for JQ magazine. Heather is a vlogger and blogger on her site US Japan Fam, author of “Legit Ways to Make Money from Home†(available on Kindle and iTunes), social media consultant, and mommy to twins plus one! You can follow and connect with her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.After a popular debut in his first children’s book, You Look Yummy, our tough but lovable friend Tyrannosaurus is back and better than ever thanks to author Tatsuya Miyanishi and his English publisher, Museyon (who also brought you 2014's Kuma-Kuma Chan, the Little Bear). The second of a 13-book series, You Are My Best Friend features a similar transformation of the dinosaur from a violent and selfish creature to a kind and caring one, this time through the act of making a friend.Through 26 vivid and brightly colored illustrations over 40 pages, you’ll follow Tyrannosaurus as he taunts smaller dinosaurs, finds himself ironically near death, and is then saved by another dino. This act of unexpected kindness brings about a change of heart in our tyrant, who suddenly finds himself with a best friend whom he must (spoiler alert!) in turn save at the end. The book is a heart-warming moral story that also serves up exciting twists and turns.Parents will enjoy the dinosaur’s uncanny resemblance to Godzilla and may even learn a thing or two about prehistoric creatures. Elasmosaurus, anyone? How about Styracosaurus? No? Me, neither. Don’t worry, your kids won’t have a clue if you don’t pronounce them correctly—they’ll be too enthralled with the captivating story and dramatic images.
There’s no need to read the first book of the series in order to understand this second one, however they do pair nicely and the author has thrown in some creative ways to tie them together. Geared toward children ages 5-7, parents of smaller children may want to preview the book first as the storyline and images feature some violence between dinosaurs. However, the illustrations are not overly graphic or gory. My three-year-old is a huge fan!The English edition of You Are My Best Friend is available now, and you can grab yourself a copy on their website for just $16.99!For more JQ magazine book reviews, click here.