This book is a story about instant friendship and how friendships can have their ups and downs at times. Molly and Mae meet on a train ride, they instantly connect and become friends. They play throughout the entire train ride. However, at some point Molly and Mae have a disagreement and Mae left to sit by her mom. After some time apart both Molly and Mae realize that they are best friends and that they will have disagreements but that doesn't mean they aren't friends. This is an important story because it shows how friendships and all relationships can be rocky at times. It is a good book for children because it shows that when they have a disagreement with their friend or someone else they should not give up on them and should try again. ( )

Molly and Mae begin their friendship in a train station. They go on a journey that starts out smooth as they roll across the countryside. It takes a sudden rough turn and they are mad at each other. They manage to work out their disagreement and learn what it means to compromise. I would recommend this for an optional purchase. It would be an addition to other titles about friendship and how they change and grow, but not necessarily a first choice to explain to children. ( )

Two young girls meet and befriend one another on a train journey in this lovely Australian picture-book, enjoying many fun games together before falling out. Is their friendship doomed to be short-lived? Or will Molly and Mae find a way to set things right...?

Danny Parker's simple text in Molly and Mae: A Friendship Journey, is expanded upon and beautifully complemented by illustrator Freya Blackwood's gorgeous watercolor artwork. It's no surprise that I was most struck by the illustrations here, as Blackwood is one of my favorite picture-book artists, but the story itself is also very appealing, capturing the ups and downs of girlhood social interaction quite nicely. I particularly appreciated the way in which the artwork, which goes from colorful to gray during those scenes in which Molly and Mae are quarreling, mirrored and accentuated the changing emotional register of the story. Such interaction between text and image is the hallmark of an excellent picture-book! Recommended to anyone looking for new picture-books about friendship, as well as to fellow Freya Blackwood devotees. ( )