Mabel Wants a Friend

by Ariel Bernstein, Marc Rosenthal (Illustrator)

Overview

Two starred reviews!
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2024

The acclaimed duo Ariel Bernstein and Mark Rosenthal “once again dazzle at demonstrating social-emotional nuance” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) in their new humorous and earnest story about a young fox who learns that making a new friend takes more than just wanting one.

Meet Mabel. She always gets what she wants. No matter what it takes. Meet Chester. He’s Mabel’s new friend, but...he doesn’t always agree with Mabel’s methods.

After a disagreement, Mabel decides she’s better off alone. But when Mabel starts to miss Chester, she realizes that to get what she wants most of all, she’ll have to learn what it means to be a good friend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665940405
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	10/01/2024
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ariel Bernstein is the author of I Have a Balloon and Where Is My Balloon?, both illustrated by Scott Magoon, as well as We Love Fishing! and You Go First, both illustrated by Marc Rosenthal. I Have a Balloon received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and it was a Junior Library Guild Selection. Where Is My Balloon? was a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and We Love Fishing! received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. You Go First was a Junior Library Guild Selection, named a Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title, and received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. Ariel lives in New Jersey with her family. Learn more at ArielBernsteinBooks.com.

Marc Rosenthal is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of many books for children, including the Small Walt collection by Elizabeth Verdick, All You Need Is Love by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal, We Love Fishing! and Mabel Wants a Friend by Ariel Bernstein, and Archie and the Pirates, which he wrote. He lives in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Learn more at Marc-Rosenthal.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/05/2024

Prior collaborators Bernstein and Rosenthal (You Go First) once again dazzle at demonstrating social-emotional nuance in this savvy, playground-set work. A red fox sporting a pink pinafore dress, Mabel “always got what she wanted,” even when doing so requires subterfuge. (One crisply inked vignette shows her distracting an entire line of animal kids so she can head to the front of the ice cream queue.) When she’s befriended by Chester, a rabbit with a generous spirit, Mabel values his company merely for how it meets her needs: “She could finally use the seesaw. And when she told a joke, there was someone to hear it.” But Chester sees how Mabel’s wants lead to thoughtless behavior—including pilfering another child’s toy—and when Mabel declares his role is to “let me have whatever I want,” he breaks off the friendship. Missing Chester’s companionship, Mabel realizes that others have needs and feelings, too—and learns that wants can go beyond a desire for self-gratification. It’s a lesson that’s beautifully delivered in the story’s final pages, which model Chester’s humane adherence to boundaries and genuine forgiveness when asked. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Sean McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Literary. Illustrator: Holly McGhee. Pippin Properties. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2024

From the Publisher

★ 2024-08-17
Mabel learns about making and keeping friends.

FollowingYou Go First (2023), Bernstein and Rosenthal have once more created a world of winsome, sportily dressed, anthropomorphic young animals whose all-too-human behaviors will be immediately recognizable. Mabel, an egocentric fox in a pink frock, gets to the front of the long line for the ice cream vendor by tricking the others: “Mabel always [gets] what she [wants],” we’re told. Obtaining privacy is a breeze for Mabel (who has no friends), and she finds a way to rationalize disappointments. (“I don’t want it anymore,” she tells herself when another child is enjoying a playground ride she’s initially interested in.) When she inadvertently helps an adorable, red-sneakered rabbit named Chester, she discovers the advantages of friendship. It’s easier to play catch when you’ve got a pal, and at last she can use the seesaw. Unfortunately, her selfish instincts overcome her better side until Chester becomes frustrated. Gently humorous art shows Mabel trying—unsuccessfully—to convince herself that she’s better off alone. Mabel practices being patient, helpful, and kind, all of which pay off in unexpected ways. This simply told, funny, and charmingly illustrated tale delivers sound lessons in friendship, without ever verging on preachy or sentimental—no mean feat. Bernstein and Rosenthal demonstrate a keen understanding of the way children see the world, in both their desire to have their own way and their strong capacity for generosity.

Sharp insights on honing social skills, wrapped up in an immensely appealing package.(Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews