This celebration of differences displays great respect for readers' intelligence and yields more with each reading.
– Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW
The boy’s costume-making and Camille’s fondness for math defy gender stereotypes, while Camille’s quirks are typical of children whose intellectual abilities outstrip their social skills. Their mutual recognition of each other’s gifts and habits should be a welcome example for children forging their own friendships.
– Publishers Weekly
Set against a soothing beige backdrop, the illustrations are rendered in collage, Conte crayon, and pencil and ink. They are detailed yet playful and invite readers to linger over each page. Marvelous images of numbers and graphs are peppered throughout, and the sketches of frogs beg to be closely examined.
– School Library Journal
In this playful, multilayered story about friendship, a boy who likes to dress up as animals meets a girl who loves numbers. When our narrator first meets Camille, he’s dressed as a cat and is being chased by a dog (“It was more attention than I wanted”). Camille, who “loves math so much that some days she only talks in numbers,” suggests he try a new animal, and the two forge a friendship as they try to make a perfect frog costume. When the frustrations of the task lead to a spat, the boy drafts an apology via a list of the pros and cons of being a frog. The collage illustrations are detailed and whimsical. Math-loving Camille is often depicted against a backdrop of graphs and numbers. “I’ve worked out that 23 is yes and 17 is no,” says the boy, and when the two fight, Camille storms off the page, a cluster of 17s floating along behind her. Lively, visually appealing, and an ultimately affirming tale of friendship.
– Booklist, 7/7/16
