Review: Pete & Pickles - the book

I've read a lot of books over the years, children's books that is, but "Pete & Pickles" by Berkely Breathed touched me the other night like nothing has touched me since Bambi's Mum died.  This wasn't a feeling of sadness but of love, acceptance and friendship between unlikely characters.

You might be familiar with another of Berkeley Breathed's other stories "Mars Needs Moms" which has since been made into a feature animated film.  "Pete & Pickles" is also being made into a TV series, which I'm sure my kids will just love (as will I).

This is what Berkely says about how "Pete & Pickles" came about.

A few years ago, my daughter drew a pencil sketch of an elephant holding a small pig in the coils of its nose.  I asked her why the pig looked sad. She looked at me like she does her little brother, which is without sympathy. “Because he’s lonely, Dad. But he doesn’t know it.”

As I figured that it was legal, technically, to steal from within my family, I fleshed out her premise into “Pete & Pickles,” my latest picture book. It’s about a deeply unlikely friendship between deeply mismatched individuals. That’s most marriages, of course, but please don’t tell the kids.  We just say it’s a love story.  I hope you enjoy it.

--Berkeley Breathed