Anzu and the Art of Friendship

by Moni Ritchie Hadley, Nathalia Takeyama (Illustrator)

Overview

A new student connects with her classmates through origami.

Starting a new school, Anzu struggles to find her place. Starting a new art unit, her class struggles to learn origami. It's not easy to make friends or to fold tiny paper figures, but with her grandfather’s encouragement, Anzu finds a way to try again even when she doesn’t succeed the first time—and helps her classmates do the same.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807561355
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	06/22/2023
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	AD570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Moni Ritchie Hadley is the author of Anzu and the Art of Friendship and The Star Festival. After attending UCLA and enjoying a career as a home/hospital teacher, Moni pursued her dream of becoming a writer. She is the founder of the Write Kidlit Now! scholarship, and lives in Los Angeles with her family and four furry writing buddies.

Nathalia Takeyama is a half Japanese and half Brazilian artist who grew up surrounded by two beautiful cultures that inspire her every day. She majored in animation design in college and won an illustration scholarship from Quanta Academia de Artes. She works mainly in digital media and loves textures, colorful palettes, and diverse characters. She lives in São Paulo, Brazil.

Editorial Reviews

2023-01-25
It takes time—and a little creativity—for friendship to unfold.

Anzu, a child of Japanese descent with beige skin and brown pigtails, loves doing origami with her Ojiisan (grandfather). However, Anzu feels out of place at her new school—even when the class starts an origami unit. Her teacher, who presents as Black, shows the students how to create different folds, but one child responds, “I already know how to fold paper!” Despite Anzu’s efforts, her classmates don’t share her passion and instead poke fun at her. Ojiisan encourages frustrated Anzu to be patient and to take things “step-by-step, fold-by-fold.” Anzu connects with one child —tan-skinned Alex—and together they make a kaeru, or frog. Anzu finally begins to understand her grandfather’s advice, and her classmates discover the joy of folding paper into objects that are meaningful to them. Takeyama uses a vibrant, primary palette to underscore Anzu’s emotional journey and depicts a diverse group of students. Hadley’s story, however, is simplistic. The other students never apologize for their initial behavior (indeed, early in the story, one girl even bows at her in what seems to be a mockery of Anzu’s Japanese heritage)—a missed opportunity to model empathy, respect, and understanding. Moreover, the friendships are one-sided, with Anzu doing all the work to try to connect with her classmates. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A disappointing and surface-level attempt at fostering inclusivity. (note about the meaning of origami) (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews