Try To See It My Way

Alfie
Written & Illustrated by Thyra Heder
Age Level: 4-8 Years
Published October 3, 2017

I think I overslept...

When the ground thaws and it starts to feel like spring, I always pull Alfie from the shelf.

My favorite thing about this book is that it changes perspective midway through and it’s such a delightful lesson in how a situation can be interpreted radically differently when seen from someone else’s point of view. Nia picks out Alfie the turtle at the pet store on her sixth birthday, and for the next year she pours her heart into their friendship. But Alfie seems oblivious to her efforts, so she kind of loses interest. When the perspective changes, you see that Alfie adores Nia and is so grateful for her gifts, stories, and jokes. Their seventh birthday is coming up and he must find her the perfect present. As he crawls through their apartment, he thinks he’s moving at normal speed, but in fact, he hibernates in a pond for a whole winter and emerges the following spring when Nia turns eight.

“When I first saw Nia, I knew she was special.
She told me that I was six, and she was six too. I had never been six before, but I was happy we were six, together.”

Just like spring ushers in a new cycle of life and growth, Alfie and Nia’s springtime reunion brings a renewal of their friendship. Nia, once bored of her predictable pet turtle, is astonished and overjoyed to have him back in her life. My heart melts every time I read this one!