"He missed his old friends and was wondering how he was going to make new friends. It was hard to believe everything would work out in time."
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Everybody by Brenda Slack Trafford Publishing
book review by Michael Radon
Based on a true story from a friend of the author, this story primarily concerns Conner, a boy who feels displaced and alone when his family is forced to move in order for his father to start a new job. In order to try and console their downtrodden son, Conner's parents stop by a barn where there is a litter of puppies for sale, and one of the puppies, which the boy names "Everybody," becomes the new family pet. This does the trick at first, as playing with the tiny dog is all that Conner seems concerned with, but one day Everybody runs away from home. Full of concern, the boy takes action and goes around his new neighborhood calling for the dog.
With bright colorful illustrations and a story that certainly any child who has had to move away from their friends and the neighborhood they have always known can relate to, this book is sure to help children understand that moving is not the end of their world. Families who are moving can use the story to show their children that things will get better and they will make new friends, while families that aren't moving can still use the book to prepare their children should that day come, or to just share a good story with them. By experiencing the protagonist's emotional highs and lows, readers will learn to identify with young Conner and his family, using his experiences as an example to draw on for their own young lives.