Freckleface Strawberry best friends forever by Julianne Moore

Ill. by LeUyen Pham. Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 9781 599990 782 6.
(Ages: 6+) Picture book. Freckleface Strawberry and Windy Pants Stanley are best friends. They hang out together, do things together, are happy in each other's company. Neither really likes sports or games but they love to read, go to the museum and play together. But at school, the boys tell Stanley that he should be playing with them and ask why he needs to be with Freckleface all the time. Similarly Freckleface is pestered by the girls, who tell her that she should be playing with them. So a few miserable months go by with the two playing with those they are told to play with until one day they get back together.
An obvious tale of friendship, the moral of the story is flagged in the sub title, Best friends forever, and so any reader knows before they begin to read where the story is headed. The obvious inclusivity within the story and its illustrations too I found bordered on overkill, with Stanley having two moms, and there being a smattering of non white children in the background. But it will have its uses as one of a group of books dealing with friendship and standing up for your friends in the school year.
Fran Knight