Happy Hector

Dunbar, Polly. 2008. Happy Hector. Candlewick Press.

Happy Hector is the second of books released in the Tilly and Friends series by Polly Dunbar. (You can read my review of Hello Tilly.) One of the great things about this series (and any good series really for this age group) is that you can read the books in any order you like. Quick recap, Tilly is a little girl who lives in a yellow house with her good friends--animal friends. Her friends are Tiptoe, Hector, Doodle, Tumpty, and Pru. Each character will have a chance to shine.

Happy Hector had me at hello. He's an adorable little pig--wearing a sweater and boots--and in his book we explore some of the emotional roller coasters of friendship. (Now that I think about it, it's a pretty good intro into life itself--the highs and lows of emotions.)

Hector
was sitting on
Tilly's lap.
"I am the
happiest
I have ever
been!"
he said.

But his happiness doesn't last when the other friends start wanting to spend time with Tilly too. When all of Tilly's friends want to sit on her lap, Hector wanders off to be alone. He's as unhappy as he can be. Can his friends coax him back into joining the group? Can Tilly prove to Hector that he is special and loved?

One of the things I loved about this one--and loved about all the books really--is that I can see myself in the characters. I've felt like Hector. Haven't you? I've also felt like Tiptoe. The little bunny who really, really, really wanted Tilly's attention. I think there is a purity and simplicity about these characters, these stories, these books that are classic and universal.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers