You and Me Both

The preschooler narrator and classmate Jamal aren’t just friends—they’re “twins.” “I love strawberry jam on toast. He gobbles it up too,” writes Narsimhan (Embrace the Chicken) as text sprawls and stacks in exuberant declarations. The kids have matching boots for puddle jumping (“Splish, splash, splat!”) and matching haircuts (“Our teacher will never tell us apart now”). And, in the ultimate test of a tight friendship, they don’t even fight over who gets to use the crocodile pillow at nap time: “Its jaws are big enough for both of us.” Cinar (Cooking with Bear) draws the two friends as they might themselves, with rounded heads, wide, single line smiles, a coiled line for hair, and triangular noses that stretch from their mouths to their foreheads. But she also hints at the ever-changing, ever-lively nature of childhood friendships by continually shifting the duo’s skin colors—lavender and soft orange in one vignette, pink and lemon yellow in another, and two shades of brown at the end. As the title subtly suggests, the ideal “twin” doesn’t have to be carbon copy—just thoroughly simpatico. Ages 3–6. [em](Apr.) [/em]