Children's Review: May I Bring a Friend?

{on Goodreads}

Over the next few months, I'll be adding reviews here on Top Shelf Text of a series of books that are my favorites from childhood. I thought I'd kick off the series today with May I Bring a Friend? by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers. This upbeat tale is narrated by a little boy who finds himself invited to tea by the King and Queen. He asks permission to bring a friend, and shows up to Sunday's tea with a rather unusual guest-- a giraffe! The King and Queen are cordial as ever and welcome the pair inside. The boy receives invitation after invitation, and each time he brings another surprising guest. The tale is told through a series of rhymes and is brought to life with gorgeous and vibrant illustrations (as you can see from the cover here). It makes a great choice for a bedtime story or for a lesson in rhyming, as the rhymes here are so well done as to bring to life the surreal events in the book. May I Bring a Friend? won the Caldecott Award in 1965 and in my opinion, still deserves a spot on every child's shelf!

Title: May I Bring a Friend?

Author: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

Illustrator: Beni Montresor

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1964

Price: $11.96 (Amazon Hardcover) 

Format: Hardcover (If you're buying, I recommend sticking with hardcover picture books!)
Source: Personal Collection

ISBN: 0689206151

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