“If James Marshall's George and Martha were not hippos and were both girls, they would be much like best friends Bink and Gollie. . . . More, please!” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Meet Bink and Gollie, two precocious little girls — one tiny, one tall, and both utterly irrepressible. Setting out from their super-deluxe tree house and powered by plenty of peanut butter (for Bink) and pancakes (for Gollie), they share three comical adventures involving painfully bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion. Full of quick-witted repartee, this brainchild of Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and award-winning author Alison McGhee is a hilarious ode to exuberance and camaraderie, imagination and adventure, brought to life through the delightfully kinetic images of Tony Fucile.
Oh, happiness! Move over Pippi Longstocking!...Bink and Gollie...join the ranks of George and Martha, Frog and Toad, Zelda and Ivy, and all the other resilient pairs that celebrate the challenges and strengths of a great friendship
—The New York Times Book Review
Gollie is reed thin, geeky, and archly judgmental; Bink is petite and down to earth...<B><I></I></B>The plots serve mostly as a framework for DiCamillo and McGhee's sharp, distinctly, distinctly ungirly dialogue that makes every page feel like a breath of fresh air. And true to his background as an animator for Pixar and Disney, Fucile makes his inklike digital illustrations crackle with energy and sly humor.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
All three stories, written with short sentences, abundant dialogue, and some contemporary expressions, offer delightful portrayals of two headstrong characters who, despite their differences and idiosyncratic quirks, know the importance of true friendship.
—School Library Journal
Reality is gleefully suspended here...appealingly oddball elements (roller skates, pancakes, rainbow socks)...expressive, cartoon-style drawings, including several wordless spreads, extend the sense of character, story, and madcap adventure. Children will have fun filling in all the spaces this high-spirited, quirky, and warmhearted offering leaves to the imagination. r.
—Booklist
Entirely successful in portraying the bumps in the road and bruised feelings that can come with friendship. The rewards, though, are also apparent...Fucile’s unfussy digital illustrations with lots of white space perfectly highlight this odd couple’s particularities.
—Horn Book
An especially overt love letter to friendship...One of those books that doesn’t fit neatly into any category....But wouldn’t you be proud if you spied your 6-year-old daughter rehearsing such lines as ‘Bink: I implore you, do not knock.’ Indeed you would....Who says simple words must come first to readers?....Love of language is one of the tried-and-true ways into the reading life.
—Los Angeles Times
An effervescent and endearingly quirky chapter book by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee....Both writers are known for their amusing and sometimes arch narrative style, and here, in three short chapter-stories, they give us two girls who delight and vex each other in equal parts....Tony Fucile's illustrations of the girls are comic and full of zip.
—Wall Street Journal
