Kiki & Jax: The Life-Changing Magic of Friendship
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Upbeat pro-tidying tale shows how mess can intrude on fun.
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What's the Story?
In KIKI & JAX: THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP, Kiki the squirrel and Jax the owl are best friends, but they have different ways of dealing with things: Jax likes to sort things, but Kiki likes to collect them. But she collects so many things that her house is full of clutter and she can't find the things she wants amid all the mess. When Jax asks her to come play soccer, she declines because she can't find her ball. When he invites her to go swimming, she says no because she can't find her swimsuit. Jax is afraid she's forgotten they're friends, so he makes a scrapbook of their friendship and drops it off at her house as a present. She's so excited she runs to his house and they play there, where Jax models tidiness and organization. Kiki says, "I wish we could play at my house, too. But there's just no room!" Jax tells her, "Yes there IS! Let me show you!" And they go to her house and he does. They tidy up, fold clothes to put neatly in drawers, and sort things that don't "spark joy" into boxes to get rid of them -- donations, books for the free library, things to recycle, and trash. And there's one box labeled "Keep."
Is It Any Good?
This cheery picture book wraps its pro-tidying message in a sweet friendship tale of two friends whose different approaches to clutter have started to come between them. If your house is so messy that "getting to the front door felt like running an obstacle course" and it's preventing you from having your best friend over, maybe you have a problem. Who knows if Kiki & Jax: The Life-Changing Magic of Friendship will lead to young readers change their messy ways? But young readers will enjoy a gentle story about two friends focusing on what really matters: keeping the things you truly love accessible and spending time with your best friend. And Salina Yoon's bright, appealing, cartoon-like illustrations help drive home the positive messages about friendship and tidiness.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what Kiki & Jax: The Life-Changing Magic of Friendship has to say about messes. Does a mess ever get in the way of you having fun? Do you think sorting things like Jax suggests would help you keep things tidy?
Is it hard to ask friends to do things differently? Have you ever helped a friend change a way of doing something? Did it help your friendship?
How do you keep track of things? Do you have a place for favorite toys? Is there anything you could do to keep things from getting lost?
Book Details
- Author: Marie Kondo
- Illustrator: Salina Yoon
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Friendship , Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: November 11, 2019
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: November 12, 2019
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