For a middle grade book this novel is much too long, way too boring, and even too outrageous. Now I don’t mean outrageously funny or silly. I mean like this premise is so ridiculous that even kids are likely to raise an eyebrow and say “really, you want me to believe that”? Or at least Canadian kids who understand snowy weather will.

Plot
A group of animals that was long thought extinct is discovered by our lead boy. He befriends an injured one and away we go. There is some school bullying, hiding/lying, and a few other elements here that the average kid experiences. What is most relevant is that the not-extinct animals need help. You know I'm the kind of person (and was the kind of kid) that wants Sasquatch and Loch Ness to be real. Or at least somehow find an explanation for why their are reported sightings every so many years. I am not the kind of person that thinks it's plausible that multiple species, in groups of 20+, are living relatively close to a human town (within a day's hike) and haven't been discovered in thousands of years. That's just silly.

Humourous?
I know kids books are supposed to be a bit outrageous and fun. I get that. So if you think the extinct animals plot is just 'fun' then that's cool. I'd have been far more comfortable had the species been aliens who landed here recently, or migrated from somewhere; as opposed to just overlooked by humans for thousands of years. For me it's either go big and make it crazy ridiculous; or keep things somewhat believable. Sadly Rebecca Wood Barrett doesn't really do either of these things. She tries instead to walk a fine line and unfortunately missed with me.

Cold & Winter
I'll warn you this is a huge pet peeve of mine... I'll try not to rant.
Barrett is a born and raised Canadian based on her profile information. Now, albeit off the west coast which is more temperate climate than most of Canada; but still it does snow there and temperatures drop below zero; especially in the mountains. Therefore there is no excuse for Barrett having our lead boy enter a hypothermic state (even describes him feeling hot when it's really cold which is one of the last signs before the cold kills) and then just magically bringing him out of it. Without a human being involved. Yes the fluffy animal from the cover is there to help; but come on you want me to believe that the bear-esque creature (I don't want to tell you what it is as it's a spoiler) knew exactly when and how to revive our boy and keep him from dying of hypothermia? I think not. Why is it so hard to mitigate enough that the cold doesn't 'nearly' kill someone off in a way that is realistic?

Overall
I was super disappointed in this one. It didn't keep my attention and felt drawn-out in page count and ludicrousness. Given it's a middle grade book I have to figure if the book can't keep a voracious reader like myself intrigued there is little to no chance it will keep a 9-11 year-old engaged long enough to make it to the end. This story could have been much, much shorter and it might have been improved; but it the silliness of extinct animals hiding in the wilderness for thousands of years is just not an issue I see getting over without a full rewrite.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

My Best Friend Is Extinct is an illustrated chapter book aimed at middle grade readers by Rebecca Wood Barrett and illustrated by Cornelia Li. Due out 16th March 2021 from Orca, it's 240 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a whimsical adventure for middle grade readers with lots of action, animals, an exciting imaginative plot, and beautiful illustrations. Ten year old protagonist Henry befriends a short nose bear (extinct) and tries to help Yarp (the bear) and his family escape being eaten by the fangers (saber-tooth cats). There's lots of action and fantasy realism liberally sprinkled with epic snowball battles.

The book isn't perfect - there were several plot developments that saw me raising an eyebrow... but it's not written for adults, even well meaning ones. It seems to me that it would play very well to the 8-12 year old audience. I would recommend it for public or school library acquisition, gifting, or for a group read or classroom story time (when we can gather again).

Fun and full of action. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I really struggled to get on board with this concept. Not the reappearance of extinct animals, exactly. More the suddenness with which it happens. It snow non-stop so suddenly there are ice age animals. That's the way things work in cartoons, not real life. I might have been able to roll with it if the characters had been better developed. As it stands, I found this one sort of tiresome.

My Best Friend is Extinct is a fun, lighthearted look at building friendships (in sometimes unexpected ways) and a peek at a child's adventures. I enjoyed the concept of Henry, new-to-town, trying to fit in and manage his attention at a new school, befriending a creature that's supposed to be extinct. The idea that his mom is both into science/environmentalism and a snow plow driver gives him a window into the weather events and the ice age creatures he comes into contact with.

What a beautiful story that really reminds you about the imaginations children can have. I loved the emphasis on true friendship and not changing who you are just to please others. Henry can be a kid but he is an inspiration for adults, especially with the choices he makes. He may be different from the other kids, but he will not change himself in any way just to please his peers at school. A wonderful tale, and also a great read to experience during the winter (since you can easily relate to the characters' environment when you're also dealing with a whole lot of snow).

Will post a review on my blog closer to pub date.

I was really hoping to love this one but there was just to many things that I just didn’t like. 🙁

It’s about Henry who is ten years old (but at times I thought he was a lot younger) who is super excited about the snow. The adults are talking about how it could be the next ice age as the snow doesn’t seem to stop. While outside the kids are excited for making snow forts and snowball fights even if the teachers tell them not too.

Henry swears he seen something in the snow and one day he goes looking in one of the snow tunnels and finds a white fur ball that is hurt. He isn’t sure what kind of animal it is but he wants to help it and so needs to try and get it home. Takes off his coat so he can put the animal on it and pull it home, in the snow! (This kids cold tolerance must be high!) He doesn’t want his mom or anyone to find it so he finds a place to put the animal where there is a lot of snow and digs him a snow cave. Henry by the way is an expert digger and has his own snow shovel.

He wants to show the two kids that he thinks are his friends but he ends up getting them in trouble because he takes them past the school boundaries. They tell them they shouldn’t go but Henry doesn’t seem to care because once he seems set on something it’s all the seems to be able to think about. So he kind of alienates himself from the other kids and spends a lot of time with this new friend whom he calls Yarp because that is the sound it makes.

With this snowpocalypse comes not only Yarp but another extinct creature but not one that is as nice as Yarp and Yarps family. So Henry has to try and keep Yarp and his family safe from what is after them.

So this has a super cute premise and there are things about the story that I like. I love Yarp, he is cute. There was just to many things that drove me crazy. Henry is one of those things. I think he maybe is suppose to represent a hyperactive kid, I wouldn’t really know I don’t have kids and don’t know a lot about it. I do know that he was very disruptive in class and seemed to have a mind to wonder and not care about interrupting. If he sees something he wants to look at he just gets up and goes and looks out the window. If I was that teacher I would go crazy. He didn’t seem to care about consequences about doing anything like going out of school boundary or running away. It’s like oh I left a note that should be fine! Oh and the boy was never COLD! I think there was one mention of being cold the whole time he was outside in a huge snow storm!

I do think that kids would really enjoy this story more than adults. That doesn’t happen to me often because I love middle grade but I think this one just one of those cases where it might now be a great read for adults. I can see kids enjoying the snowy adventure and the fun illustrations. It has great illustrations.

This is a record-breaking wintery snowfall for the new town Henry and his mom recently moved to. During recess at school the kids love nothing more than playing in the snow. Even though they aren't allowed to throw snowballs, that doesn't stop them from digging and building tunnels for an epic snow war. When in class Henry can dream nothing more than playing in the snow, especially after he swears he saw something big and white moving in the snow the other day. Soon Henry stumbles upon this big white creature and finds out that it must be prehistoric? He names the creature Yarp and takes care of him as he has an injury. Henry learns that Yarp is not the only prehistoric creature out in the snowy tundra... There's more, and they want exactly what they came for.

I definitely think it was confusing on how old the boy was throughout the book, even though it says he's 10-years-old. Some parts of the book just were too much of a far stretch for me to understand (recess duty, him being outside all day during school, etc), but I did enjoy the wintery setting! Yarp was so cute, and I loved all of the illustrations too! They were gorgeous.

I received a e-galley of this book from Orca Book Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

My Best Friend is Extinct is a middle grade novel about a young boy, Henry, who is adjusting to being in a new school in a new town. While he is navigating the hurdles of friendship and school, he stumbles upon a creature that he’s never seen before, which he then affectionately dubs Yarp. No one around him seems to believe in Yarp’s existence and only further alienates him from his friends and the students at school. In this story of adventure, friendship, and family, Henry and Yarp’s friendship is one told with the magic of the winter season.

I enjoyed the character building in this novel though there were times that I felt that Henry was very immature and not exactly the loveable character that you’d want to root for. But throughout the story, as he develops as a character, there is a certain vulnerability and strength to who he is that draws you further into the story. I think that the real charmer of this story would have to be Yarp and readers are sure to want to follow his story and perhaps even find themselves looking out into the snowy outdoors for a glimpse of this winter creature.

Thank you to Orca Book Publishers for the e-galley.

There were a lot of things about this that bothered me. The first was the age of the main character, Henry. There were moments where it felt like he was closer to twelve, but there were also moments where it seemed as if he was five, especially when the teacher asked them to draw pictures as classwork. Henry used language that was more likely to come from a twelve year old or older, definitely language that I wouldn't want my students or children reading until they were in at least high school - even then it wouldn't be considered quality literature. I also want to know what kind of school allows children to play with shovels on the playground and what kind of teacher is just letting kids play in snow tunnels? Clearly someone needs to be fired for not paying attention. I was also confused because Henry's new best friend is a bear...just because this kid has never seen a bear in his life doesn't make it extinct.

Yes, this is a work of fiction, a universe where creativity is encouraged, but there is also a need for logic when the setting is quite clearly the world we live in with animals that clearly aren't extinct.

Two stars is generous.

I received an advance copy of, My Best Friend is Extinct, by Barrett, Rebecca Woods, Li, Cornelai. I loved this book, the pictures, the characters, it is such a great book for kids of all ages.