After arguing with his best friend at the park - the artwork shows that he wants to play aliens, while she wants to play pirates - a young boy attempts to cast each of his pets as a replacement for her. What he finds however, is that although he has certain things in common with his dog, cat, hamster and goldfish, none of them are exactly like him. Perhaps, he reasons, a best friend doesn't have to be one's double...

A sweet and ultimately heartwarming story of friendship and individuality is paired with humorous cartoon-style artwork in My Best Friend Is a Goldfish, which is my second title from American author Mike Lee (following upon his What Kind of Car Does a T-Rex Drive?), and my first from British illustrator Chris Jevons. It's a cute book, although not one destined to be a personal favorite. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about friendship and compromise. ( )

A young boy thinks that friends have to enjoy the same things and never argue. When he and his best friend don't want to do the same thing, he heads off to find a new friend. After trying several animal friends, he is about to give up until his best friend comes over to play tag. He learns that friends do not always have to do the same thing, don't always play together and sometimes disagree, but they can still be friends. I see this all the time in school. Children crying and upset because their friend wants to play with someone else or play a different game. This would be a great story to teach this concept about friendship. A great book for families and primary classrooms. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. ( )