SuitabookFuture Friend
David Baddiel
- Reading
- Read alongside the child, pausing after the two characters meet to compare their worlds. Revisit the environmental details later, then ask whether the story’s solution changes how friendship or technology is understood.
- Themes
- Friendship across isolation: Pip and Rahul are both lonely and become friends after meeting across time. The book presents this favourably.
- Technology and changed environments: Pip lives through virtual schooling and cannot leave her home because of heat and floods; Rahul encounters a very different technological world. The premise invites reflection on how technology and environmental conditions shape people’s lives, but the book’s final judgement is unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Some children may want to talk about loneliness, being unable to go outside, extreme heat, flooding, dangerous viruses, family rules and the pressure of keeping talking animals hidden. The overall tone is presented as humorous and exciting.