Sewing a Friendship by Natalie Tinti

Click hereReviewed by Nancy Eaton

Sewing A Friendship is a story about four friends and a rival. Each has a speciality. Sokron is a visual artist, Meeka loves numbers and math problems, Nina is sensitive to sound and music and Jonsy is sensitive to feelings.

The girls attend Beachwell Elementary School and the students were waiting for an announcement from the Principal. He jokingly announced that they have lots of homework that needs to be done over the summer in order to prepare for the coming year. Meeka loved this announcement because she liked homework!

The four girls wondered what they would do together over the summer. They decided to have a PINK SLEEPOVER.

Meeka came up with the idea that the four of them should go to the park first to study blue caterpillars for her science sandwich. Once at the park, they met Kiki Shaver who was known as the meanest girl on the planet. Sokron asked Kiki why she was so dressed up and Kiki replied that she was attending a fashion show at the Shimmering Florida Hotel the next day. She also made the point of mentioning that it was a shame that the four girls were not invited. Sokron answered “Actually, you’ll see us there”.

When the four girls got back to Sokron’s house they started planning for the fashion show. Each one was given an assignment such as make-up, hairstyles, etc. Sokron’s grandmother, Babushka, had a sewing machine in her room. This meant she had to have some fabric somewhere. The girls went through several doors to get to Babushka’s room and finally found the right one. Much to their surprise, Babushka asked if they were ready to work, work, work? Babushka pulled out all of the supplies and quickly let the girls get to work. As they looked at the old-fashioned sewing machine they saw a sheet of paper hanging from it. It was an invitation for the fashion show; however, the rules indicated there must be five people on a team and one model from each team must be at least nine years old. The invitation slipped out of Nina’s hand and Sokron’s dog, Dogon, ran away with it right out the open window.

The girls found Dogon on the green grass. They also noticed Kiki coming towards them. She knew what they were looking for as she had the invitation in her hand. The four girls invited Kiki to be a member of their group because this way they could all come out a winner. Kiki would be the fifth member and she was nine years old. At first, she declined but then said yes.

How does the fashion show go for the girls? How do they get to the fashion show? What lesson did they learn from this experience?

It is amazing to read this book and look through the illustrations and find out that ten-year-old Natalie Tinti did everything. At the beginning of the book, Natalie introduces the reader to each character by telling many things about them such as their speciality, favorite food, family, etc.

The illustrations are wonderful and add so much to the story. Natalie is very talented to be able to create these illustrations.

The thing that impressed me the most is Natalie’s creativity. An example of this is when she talks about the sun:

“The sun finished its duties on the other side of the world and rose from the hills turning into a bright sunrise and let all light come out to share its love and happiness with everything that day. All the trees smiled happier than ever for they saw the light in their faces.”

Another example is when Natalie describes the wind as it is “whooshing by” her friend’s house. Her descriptions make the reader feel like they are right their riding along with the wind.

These are only two examples – Sewing a Friendship is filled with many examples of Natalie’s creativity. Not only is Natalie’s writing creative but it is also poetic.

Also, this book is about a valuable lesson in life – how a friendship is formed and so came the title “Sewing A Friendship”. It shows that if one really tries and the two sides give in a little, great things can happen and friendships can be made.

This is an excellent book for a young reader and adults will find it amazing also!

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