School's out, and Marky looks forward to summer, including helping his friend and neighbor, Mr. Tempkin, with his garden. But, when Mr. Tempkin's plan to thwart the squirrels that have been raiding his birdfeeder goes awry, Marky learns how special a friendship can be.
This is a delightful picture book that conveys Jewish, and universal, themes of the importance of intergenerational friendship and helping one's neighbors. The illustrations are brightly colored and contain many details for children to notice and focus on as they listen to the story, or read it for themselves. It is instructive without being preachy and it has a happy ending.
