Your Pal Fred by Michael Rex

A fun graphic novel for young middle-graders, Your Pal Fred pictures a dystopian world startled by kindness.

Your Pal Fred by Michael Rex. Viking, 2022, 257 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10

Recommended for: ages 7-11

To this grim landscape comes . . .

Lots of bad stuff has happened in the world—big wars, aliens, robot, comets, and LOTS of cats, who stank up everything. The earth is a big rusty wasteland when siblings Pug and Plug go foraging for scraps and end up running from a conscription machine. Seeking refuge in a cave, they happen upon a cache of toys. From a box labeled “Your Pal Fred” steps an activated robot boy, programmed to be everybody’s best friend.

Fred is not only friendly; he’s also kind, generous, and wise—and apparently a terrible fit for this dog-eat-dog, robot-smash-robot world. Soon he’s swept up with Pug and Plug into the army of Lord Bonkers, out to make war on Papa Mayhem, who is likewise sweeping up soldiers to make war on Bonkers.

Lessons on friendliness

Can Fred convince even these two warlords to make peace? Maybe, if he starts with the grunts and ne’er-do-wells and thieves of the lower classes. His sunny personality and unflagging good humor wins over most of them, but he also has some depth. Love and kindness aren’t just catchphrases: “Sometimes all a person has is what they believe in,” so why not believe in good things? The humor and robots and explosions and crashes (lots of graphic-novel sound effects, too) keep this message from being syrupy, and will leave readers wishing for a pal like Fred. Or better yet, to be a pal like Fred. A six-page appendix on “How to be a friend” offers practical real-world advice.

Overall Rating: 4 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 4
• Artistic/literary value: 4

Read more about our ratings here.                 

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Review: Hilo, another alien robot of irrepressible good spirits, has been saving the world since 2015! Also, find instructions for How to Make a Friend, and draw long-suffering friendship lessons from Rowley, An Awesome Friendly Kid.
• Review: On the practical side, here’s a helpful guide to Growing Friendships.
• Reflection: Betsy and Hayley discuss their favorite literary friendships.

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