By now you’ve probably seen that adorable video of the sleepy cat pulling her kitten into a hug. (You haven’t?! OMG watch it right now!!) Yeah, that video is absurdly precious. But you know what’s even cuter than mom-on-baby loving? Interspecies loving!
Can you imagine anything sweeter than a dog who just wants to be BFFs with some dolphins? (Also watch that video. You won’t regret it.) Jennifer S. Holland’s new book Unlikely Friendships details forty-seven remarkable stories just like that: true tales of all sorts of critters breaking the bounds of their species and forging the unlikeliest of bonds. Like the snoozing kitties, this book is beyond adorable—it’s amazing. Here’s a first-person account from Workman employee Craig, who saw with his own eyes how the book’s cuteness can make people positively squeeeee with delight.
Jennifer Holland’s Unlikely Friendships will melt the heart of everyone who picks it up. Case in point: I get home from work a couple of days ago and my wife Tanya and ten-year-old daughter Maddie are going at it like two screaming harpies. It’s over homework, long division to be specific, and Maddie’s to the point of tears, claiming that mom doesn’t know anything, and, “That’s not how Ms. Lesiner taught me how to do it!” At this point, I’m thinking about a quick retreat, but the two she-devils spot me and so I approach them cautiously and say, “Hey, check out this book that just rolled off press.”
I place the copy of Unlikely Friendships in front of them, quickly step back to avoid losing a limb, and then watched the most amazing transformation take place. Their faces softened as they slowly flipped through the pages, they leaned into each other as Tanya read the story of the Macaque and the Kitten, and the banshee-pitched screams that first greeted me when I walked into the house miraculously subsided into angelic whispers of delight. My two girls moved over to the couch and there the two of them remained for the next two hours reveling in the magic of this absolutely moving book. As a result, I ended up having a bowl of cereal for dinner by myself, the math homework never got done, and now Maddie wants a baby orangutan for a playmate for our dog.
Unlikely Friendships goes on sale July 1, and is available for pre-order now.
—Avery, whose favorite story is the one about the Dachshund and the piglet. They’re both so wrinkly and cute!!
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