4.5 Stars
One Liner: Adorableee!

We have the next book in the Maddie and Mabel series. This time, they make a friend but things aren’t always that simple.
Little Mabel and her older sister Maddie have been besties forever. They do everything together and wearing matching bunny slippers. When they spy on the arrival of a new neighbor, they make a welcome gift and try to make a new friend. As you can guess, three is a crowd, so it needs some adjustment and assurance to soothe the insecurities.
I love the illustrations. They are simple but detailed too! For example, we see the sisters wearing bunny slippers and shoes that match their dress colors. Mabel’s curls are pretty much always messy even in pigtails. The cookie crumbs, the plush bunny (reminds me of mine), and the expressions on their faces are so, so good! I always love focusing on Mabel’s expressions.
The book ends with three questions that make kids think about how to handle their relationships with their dear ones. Adults can discuss these to explain things that may not be apparent to littles (though I’ll say kids are more aware than adults these days).
To summarize, Maddie and Mabel Make a Friend is an adorable book with an important message. The simple writing is easy for kiddos to read.
Thank you, NetGalley, Kind World Publishing and Consulting, and IBPA, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
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I finally managed to read this despite the browser app not working properly! :(

This was a cute story about sibling bonds and building and sharing new friendships. It did get repetitive and wordy with “Mabel said” and “Maddie said” every other line. I appreciate the grown up lessons provided at the end to help tie into the story for our children. I read this with my 4 year old daughter and she thought it was pleasant.

Thank you to the publishers for providing this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maddie and Mabel Make a Friend is a sweet and gentle story with beautifully simple illustrations that perfectly complement the child-friendly text. While the story centers around the bond between two sisters, it can be expanded beyond sisterhood to touch on the universal experience of making new friends. It thoughtfully explores how new friendships can feel a little scary at first, but they don’t take away from the ones we already have.

This would have been a wonderful book to read to my grade 1/2 class during a discussion about friendship and navigating relationships. It’s a heartwarming story that validates those complex feelings and encourages kindness, understanding, and friendship.

This is a cute book! The illustrations are lovely and clear. I can see how this would be a great short "novel" for a child to learn to read, because of the repetition of certain words (there are a LOT of 'saids' in this) and the short sentences and chapters breaks.

If you like Maddie and Mabel already, your expectations will be met.
If you are new to the series, you will adore them.
Mabel and Maddie review their dynamic when they make a new friend.
Cute story, a good lesson at heart and beautiful illustrations and adorable characters as usual.

This is a perfect book for kids that are just starting to read chapter books. Chapters aren't too long, and the amount of writing doesn't overwhelm the reader; everything is simple but not overly so. Additionally, the writing and illustrations work in conjunction and are organized in a way that folds them together, rather than having them be so separate. As for the story itself, it was great! New friends and exclusion are very real things in kids' lives, and this fun story perfectly shows how to go about dealing with these things with the fun characters that are Maddie and Mabel. Lastly, I love how the author really allowed the sisterly love that the two girls have to shine through; it made for a heartwarming read. Bravo!

I think the cover of this book is very nice. This would be a good read for children to practice reading aloud with others. The illustrations were nice & it covered kindness, empathy, and the importance of including others.

Yet another sweet story. I love the challenge of meeting a new friend and how it makes Mabel feel left out because there is only 1 child and hope that future books can explore that dynamic even more!

As my own child begins to read, I love that he to can have friends in Maddie and Mabel.

Absolutely wonderful story by Kari Allen with beautiful, fun, expressive illustrations by Tatjana Mai-Wyss! Maddie and Mabel's bond is lovely to see along with how a new member in their neighbourhood affects the existing dynamic between the sisters! The story also explores how younger siblings feel left out when older siblings make new friends; and how amazing it can be to be open to making new friends too. I really enjoyed this story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a touching story about the sibling bond and how can that can change with additions. The beginning sentences were sharp and concise, and set an excellent tone of the sisters always being side by side. The illustrations perfectly captured the story and are great for additional details beyond the words. The illustrations will engage young listeners to find answers to the questions posed within the story. This book is perfect for any child dealing with expanding friendships and moving beyond only a sibling relationship. Also great for any child needing a reminder of the sibling bond.

Loved the play on words in this heartfelt children's book. The moral of the story was brought over elegantly.

I would read this book to my daughter again.

This book follows two sweet sisters, Maddie and Mabel. They are best friends and they do everything together. When a new kid moves in next-door, Maddie and Mabel decide to welcome their neighbours with a gift and to try and make a new friend.

This book was really cute! Geared for younger children through its use of repetitive phrases and language. Great book to discuss the. different emotions that the kids feel, especially younger siblings . I think a lot of kids can relate to this book and it teaches some good social lessons.

This book is part of a
Series so you can continue to follow these lovable sisters.

A sweet introduction to a complex topic. How do you navigate meeting a great friend when you already have one? Allen does a wonderful job of displaying the tenderness and innocence of conversations between kids. It reminds of moments when I catch my two young children having a conversation. The structure is a wonderful exposure to chapters for young readers, and the questions at the end provide lighthearted yet important moments of reflection and discussion. I wish this story had been read to me when I was a child, as I remember navigating this very dynamic.

This book appears to be for very young children given how repetitive and simple the words and sentences were throughout the book. I thought the sans-serif font was helpful for low vision readers, the illustration style was homey and warm, and it was generally developmentally appropriate for the audience. I can’t say I was a fan of the amount of white space on the page - it made it feel a bit empty and lacking, really only a few pages were full-page illustrations, which I think is largely what captures a very young child’s attention. I was concerned throughout the book that there was no interaction or supervision by the parents - it would be more appropriate to show the parents introducing the children to Max’s family. I also wasn’t impressed by the lack of diversity in the book. What I did appreciate the most was the addressing of a very common theme among siblings which is the potential for separation or being made less important when an outside person is introduced into their life. I think this would open up a great conversation between siblings reading this book. Overall, an okay book!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows two sisters, Maddie and Mabel. They are best friends and they play together all the time. When a new kid moves in next-door, Maddie and Mabel decide to try and make a new friend.

This book was really cute! I liked the different messages and the different emotions that the kids felt. I think a lot of kids can relate to this book and it teaches some good lessons about friendship and sisterhood.

I also really enjoyed the illustrations and I think other kids will like them as well. I’ve seen other books from this series and I think a lot of kids will like this one!