This book is a little too relatable. I was Frederick when I was a kid, always coming up with excuses as to why I couldn't do things. Although, Frederick makes his excuses with much more wonderfully purple prose than I ever would have used.

The premise is simple: Frederick is in his room when he receives a paper airplane with a message on it. It's from his friend Emily, and she wants him to go for ice cream with her. Frederick asks his mother, but after she reminds him what happened the last time (which is pretty funny), he writes back to Emily, sending his regrets that he won't be able to join her. Emily is persistent, however, and keeps inviting Frederick to join her in all sorts of activities, from bike riding to swimming. Each time, Frederick comes up with an outlandish excuse... until finally Emily has had enough. Will Frederick be able to overcome his fears and have a little fun?

There's little text, other than the letters and a bit of speech. The illustrations complement the narrative perfectly, illustrating Frederick's colourful excuses with little details that are fun to try to pick out.

The ending is pitch perfect and rather funny. I really like the message of this one, and I enjoyed reading it. It's a great story about overcoming fears.

ARC Copy...beautiful with bright-bold colours showing the girl's outside world while sombre colour highlight the boys world couple with the message...go outside and have an adventure even if you're shy and may get hurt at the same time.

The art in this book is the most beautiful thing ever! Like seriously spectacular. It's vibrant and has very pretty textures. I didn't really understand the story, however that could be the format in which I read it. I did enjoy the premise though. Lovely illustrations!