Friends Emily Culpepp

Emily Culpepper loves talking to her friends. And so, being a witch of sorts, she miniaturizes them and puts them into jars so she can talk to them whenever she wishes. One by one, the milkman, the postman and the plumber join her household in this way. It is a most benign captivity: the three are let out daily to eat lunch and cavort around an old dolls' house, where they are clearly having the time of their lives. And when a policeman comes to solicit their release, Emily complies. Though sad without her old friends, she is not lonelyfor every day she lets the policeman out of his jar to play! Harvey's lively illustrations capture all the good-humored absurdity of this appealing tale. They imaginatively extend Coleridge's deadpan text, providing a wealth of fine and funny details to entertain and reward the careful reader. Ages 6-9. (October)