Hello, friends! Our book today is Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, And Mike, written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Mike Austin, a story about how the quietest among us can often be the most brave and helpful.

Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, and Mike are all old friends from the pet store, and as close as friends can be. So naturally, they are delighted when a little girl buys all five of them and takes them home to a shiny new fish tank! The tank has everything: orange gravel, a cool rock, a neat diver, bubbles, and well, a slimey snail, but no one pays him any mind. Soon a hilarious clownfish and a striking angelfish join their clique, and the girl even adds a beautiful fairy castle for them to swim through. But – OH NO – Lenny gets stuck and no one can figure out how to free him! What will the friends do?!

This was a great little tale of inclusion, and we liked it a lot. It’s an interesting twist on the “popular kids” story because it shows things from the opposite point of view than is typical. The fish aren’t mean or nasty to the snail (who eventually saves the day to great acclaim), they just sort of breeze past him because they focused on each other. It shows young readers that the popular ones aren’t always bullies and unpopular kids aren’t always loners – everyone involved might just need to find the right way to connect. The art is cute, colorful, and very expressive, and I loved the integrated comic-book style text. The length was good, and JJ liked it a lot. A great story with a strong message: sometimes, the person on the other side of the fish tank is just a friend you haven’t made yet. Baby Bookworm approved!