Written for four-to-eight-year-old readers, this book makes an important point for caregivers: We have to meet children (or any person, for that matter) where they are, not where we wish they were.
Tomasso is the new kid at school and doesn't know anyone yet. At dinnertime, when his dad asks whether he made any friends, Tomasso replies, "Not yet ... but I will." The next day, when he can't find a playmate, he draws eyes on an old foam ball he finds and names the ball Roland. So begins a long line of friends he creates from found items: Barry made from a pink ball, Coco from a milk carton, and so forth. When asked, he tells his dad about them, not even dishonestly: Roland, for instance is "always ready to play." He simply doesn't mention that they're not people!
What is Tomasso to do, then, when his dad says, "You should invite some of your new friends over. How about Thursday?" — and offers to get pizza?
When Tomasso's dad arrives with the pizza and it dawns on him that all Tomasso's friends are imaginary, his response is believable and endearing. Not all children will have caregivers as sensitive as Tomasso's father. But the book itself — with its affirmation of creativity as a legitimate pathway to self-nurture and, potentially, friendship — will support them well, just as Tomasso's dad supported him.
In addition to being a children's book author, Joshua David Stein is a musician, a professional restaurant critic, and the co-author of several cookbooks — which helps explain some of the book's finer touches, like Tomasso's dad making pasta al pomodoro for dinner. Mariachiara Di Giorgio's expressive illustrations don't miss a thing: whether it be the mismatched chairs at the table or the strength of a hug or the relief and joy flooding Tomasso's face once he knows that he's understood.
