May I Bring a Friend? [Paperback]

The allure of royalty knows no bounds in the mind of a small child. For kids, even better than seeing a king and queen in court is the idea of being friends with them. What child wouldn't want to be best buds with the country's highest rulers? "May I Bring a Friend?" brings this idea radically to life. Starring one small boy, it combines the I'm-Indispensable-To-Royal-Rulers fantasy with the I'm-Friends-With-An-Array-of-Furry-Animals fantasy. It may not sound particularly promising, but the results are rather charming in the end.

Our first shot in this book is an image of a small boy holding an envelope proudly above his head. Says the text, "The King and Queen/ Invited me/ To come to their house/ On Sunday for tea". The boy is thrilled, but asks politely if he might bring a friend along. The rulers are peachy keen with this idea, so it's a bit of a shock when they find that the boy's friend is a giraffe. Still, all goes well. Next, the King and Queen repeat their invitation, this time for breakfast. The boy once more asks if a friend would be all right, they acquiesce, and lo and behold a hippo arrives and proceeds to eat all the food in sight. The monarchs are a bit perturbed by this, but it doesn't seem to mar their friendship with the boy since they once again invite him back for a Monday stew dinner. This time the boy brings monkeys. You have the gist of the book. Sometimes the boy brings lions, other times it's the odd elephant or seal. Finally, after a final invitation, the boy says, "No, no! My friends want you, instead/ To come and visit them...". So King, Queen, and lad have tea at the City Zoo. The final shot is of everyone in a bit cage, the royals hugging the boy who is grinning with glee.

It wasn't the ending I'd expected. That's the problem with reading a lot of snarky contemporary picture books. After a while, you start anticipating twist endings, or stories with surprises at the finale. I really thought the King and Queen would leave off inviting the boy to any more food-based parties, but they never did. It's not as if they were always happy with the kid's guests either. In a singularly interesting picture the boy has just brought along a whole pack of monkeys. As the simians swing precariously on chandelier the royals sit there with looks of extreme unhappiness on their faces. Only the boy (and the aforementioned monkeys) is looking particularly pleased. Smashed dishes clutter the table. You have to wonder why the King and Queen didn't at least begin screening the boys' friends after this point. Instead, it's quite the opposite. The next invitation to the child reads, "The more friends you bring the better". Odd but true.

It's an interesting book apart from all this. Overall the book rhymes regularly, but there's always the occasional extra word or two that makes the sentences jump about awkwardly. As for the pictures, they vary from black and white, to a single bright color with black images, to pink/orange/yellow/purple/red/brown combinations of great eye-popping interest. These pictures are always silly and rarely dull. It's also a lot of fun to watch the King and Queen as they go about their daily business. My favorite picture of them shows the King holding a skein of yarn for the Queen to roll into a ball. It's sweet.

This 1965 Caldecott Award winner is a deft little number. It's not particularly original or different, but it certainly has its charms. Kids who like a wide variety of animals (and the idea of playing with them in palaces) will take to this book. It's not going to blow your pretty little mind or strike you as particularly earth-shattering but it's a good natured plucky book that has some fun with its ideas. A nice addition to one's library.

This children's story is about a boy who keeps getting invited to dine with a King and Queen and each time he brings an unusual guest with him (the first being a giraffe). The King and Queen are very regal and treat the boy and his guest, no matter who or what it is, with politeness. Kids will get a kick out of this story. The book is illustrated by Beni Montresor and it won the 1965 Caldecott Medal for best illustrations in a children's book.

This was one of my favorite books as a child and my mother has fond memories of reading it to me. I recently rediscovered it as a book to read my own toddler and I have learned that most people have not heard of it. That's a shame. The illustrations are wonderful and the story is great fun. A little boy is invited to various meals by a doting king and queen and, contrary to all rules of etiquette, asks if he can bring a guest, who always turns out to be some more or less untidy zoo animal. The combination of royalty and wild animals makes this a perfect storm for my child. The text has wonderful rhymes, with lots of clever enjambment, and it reads quite musically. I hope more people discover this lost classic.