My preschooler son loves look-and-find books. He will spend quite a lot of time poring over hidden picture magazines and loves to pick out seek-and-find picture books from the library. When recently offered the chance to review Bucketloads of Friends written by Mia Cassany and illustrated by Miguel Bustos from Prestel in exchange for my honest opinion, I eagerly accepted the opportunity to add a new title to my home library.
Author/Illustrator
Author Mia Cassany currently resides in Barcelona, Spain. She has written numerous books for children including Animalkind and An Atlas of Imaginary Places.
Spanish illustrator and designer Miguel Bustos currently resides in Barcelona, Spain. He was shortlisted for the 2017 World Illustration Awards.
Synopsis
Recommended for readers between the ages of 4 and 8 in preschool through third grade, Bucketloads of Friends follows Lucas in his search for a best friend. He heads out on an amazing journey, meeting a lot of different people along the way. The entertaining and colorful book offers the busiest, most delightful drawings imaginable and a plethora of details for children to search and find. Young readers can find new details with each reading, sparking their own ideas about how people interact in everyday situations. The 44-page full-color hardback book currently costs $10.50 on Amazon with a list price of $14.95.
Evaluation
“One morning, Lucas woke up and felt something was missing in his life…” begins Bucketloads of Friends. He decides to find a best friend and sets off on his search, stopping at places all over the city including the beach, pet shop, café, leisure park, and street party. In the end, he arrives home exhausted but happy. I do not usually enjoy reading seek-and-find books with my kiddos because of the lack of story, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the text in Bucketloads of Friends is just as important as the illustrations. I can read a captivating tale aloud while my children look for the items and people mentioned in the story. My oldest daughter, who is finishing up her second-grade work, can also read the book with ease.
Bucketloads of Friends is a seek-and-find book, so the illustrations are just as important as the story. The illustration style is totally in right now and follows along the lines of other picture books recently published. The style almost reminds me of books from the 1970s and 1980s that I read as a child, and the throwback look makes me feel nostalgic. Each two-page spread features a color scheme. The pictures are busy but not too busy to make finding the objects and people overly difficult for the intended age range. My preschooler son loves searching the pictures. My toddler daughter is also captivated by the illustrations, enjoying pointing out familiar things as I read aloud. My oldest daughter also liked looking through the pages for the hidden pictures.
Final Verdict
If your child enjoys hidden picture books as much as my preschooler son, I definitely recommend Bucketloads of Friends written by Mia Cassany with illustrations by Miguel Bustos from Prestel. The 44-page book follows a boy named Lucas on an amazing journey to find a best friend. He discovers many places and people along the way. My favorite part about the book is that the story is just as important as the illustrations. Some seek-and-find books lack a good story to read, but this book does not disappoint. Bucketloads of Friends is a new favorite in The Parenting Patch household.
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Image Credits
‘Bucketloads of Friends’ Book Review © 2019 Heather Johnson
Cover of ‘Bucketloads of Friends’ © 2019 Heather Johnson
Inside Pages of ‘Bucketloads of Friends’ 1 © 2019 Heather Johnson
Inside Pages of ‘Bucketloads of Friends’ 2 © 2019 Heather Johnson
Inside Pages of ‘Bucketloads of Friends’ 3 © 2019 Heather Johnson
