My Friend Inchy By Lynette Duffy

Feeling like he has no friends Timothy uses the money given to him by his mother for running an errand to busy a puppy. Upon returning home his mother tells him he cannot keep the puppy as they have a small house and it will dig holes in the garden and bark and make a noise. Saddened Timothy returns the puppy to the pet shop.

Upon returning the puppy the pet owner, no seeing how lonely Timothy would be, exchanges the puppy for a kitten. Of course his mother is displeased and Timothy soon returns the kitten...this setting the scene for the continuation of the exchange of animals until Timothy discovers a caterpillar ( Inchy ) whilst sitting under a tree. This begins a relationship between a boy and his pet as Timothy interacts and cares for Inchy. One day when Timothy returns from school he finds that Inchy has spun himself into a cocoon. Inchy soon becomes a magnificently coloured butterfly. Timothy is devastated when Inchy fly's out his bedroom window but soon realises that he has not lost a pet at all, it has just been transformed. 

My Friend Inchy by Lynette Duffy is a wonderful story of friendship that is easily related to by all children. It touches on the childhood emotions of loneliness, sadness, friendship, joy, love and loss. The use of repetition reinforces concepts and assists the less confident reader. This is coupled with the realistic illustrations by Anne Marie Finn, taking children of all ages on a visual journey.

The introduction of the process of Metamorphosis, the changing of caterpillar to butterfly, not only leads itself to the discussion of the loss of a pet but to the early discovery of biology and animal care. My Friend Inchy is a book that opens itself to conversation on many different levels. Used on a 1:1 basis or in a school or group setting, My Friend Inchy is sure to leave children asking questions and pondering the world of friendship, pets and relationships.

This is a book is suited to the 5 + age group due to the amount of words and length. Younger children would find it difficult to sit for the duration of the story as there are a lot of word per page. The illustrations lend themselves to discussion and storytelling with the younger child.

Copies can by ordered directly from Lynette Duffy by joining her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bookladylynette?fref=ts

ISBN: 978-0-646-56058-8