As a very true story, What’s a Friend For?, teases the reader to wonder just who these friends might be while pointing out cultural/social differences that we might let influence our choices of friends. Fun little hints lead to the more meaningful discussion of friendship and introduces a few simple observations that will make you think…make you value the wonderfulness of a friend. We laugh and say, What’s a Friend For? is a children’s book written for adults…and children that helps lead us all into a discussion about the value of a friend. The illustrations, done with a mechanical pencil and watercolors, create menageries to study while absorbing all nuances of the landscape where this story takes place. This little book suggests three surprising qualities of friendship.

Artist Melinda Hoffman painted the illustrations on watercolor paper. She created these images from the photos she took right up her street. Her work is loose and pages are worked in a landscape format. This is a large artistic book full of watercolor images.