This new edition of Frieda Wishinsky’s 1995 title brings back into print a charming story with entirely new illustrations. The story, told in rhyming verse very much like Dr. Seuss’s, tells of a young boy’s mortification at finding himself the unwilling subject of a girl’s school-age crush. His biggest concern seems to be the teasing he will get from his classmates.

When Jennifer Jones’s mother is transferred overseas, the boy becomes confused at his feelings of loneliness after the girl’s departure. Jennifer sends him letters and postcards (illustrated in the book), relating her various adventures and including giddy photos of herself in front of various European landmarks. Reading these, the boy comes to realize how much he misses their friendship and eagerly anticipates her return, fearless of the schoolyard backlash.

Wishinsky, well known for books like Oonga Boonga, Crazy for Chocolate, and So Long, Stinky Queen, does a good job of exploring and resolving the boy’s embarrassment and discomfort, and his eventual change of heart. She does all this without flogging the lesson at the heart of the story – that one’s true feelings should be found within, not dictated from without.

Englishman Neal Layton’s busy new illustrations use a variety of contrasting colours and patterns, and occasionally even interact with the text itself. The characters are simple and vivid, seemingly drawn by a child’s hand, which makes an interesting contrast with some of the background photo montages (especially in Jennifer’s letters from Europe). At times though, the busy layout interrupts the text, interfering with the airiness of the verse, particularly when the book is read aloud.