The story of Bambi is extended in the book Bambi: Friends of the Forest. In this book no scene from the movie is taken exactly. New material is written in which Bambi is shown new forest animals by his friend Thumper the rabbit. Early on they are warned about a mean fox in the forest and are told to run away fast if they see him. When they are confronted by the fox Bambi saves his scared friend Thumper and Bambi is saved by his father the King of the Forest. I enjoy this book because it shows Bambi being curious but accepting differences between him and all of the new friends her meets. Also, for classroom use this book might be good for learning new vocabulary like “majestic” and “hastily”. The illustrations in this book match the animations from the movie and I think that was a good choice both for their marketing and for the readers’ familiarity. ( )

ISBN 0307021009 - Almost any book can be used as a good tool to get kids reading, and for that Friends of the Forest gets 3 stars and Disney's as always spectacular illustrations nets them another one. The one they're not getting is because of the weird revisionist history that's in the book.

Prince Bambi is greeted by his friends on his way to the lake for the very first time. Warned to be alert and that a mean fox is in the woods, Thumper and Bambi set off. At the lake, Bambi meets new animal friends but the moment is interrupted by the sudden arrival of the fox! Bambi acts bravely to save Thumper, but who is going to save the reckless Bambi?

Bambi's parents both seem to be alive, which just sets the whole Bambi story back a bit. Although his mother is only referred to, and it's possible she's still dead, it's not a good thing in my opinion, to leave that vague. Children have a hard enough time understanding death and, if they read the first Bambi tale (or saw the movie), they're now likely to start thinking death is semi-permanent at worst. Other than that, the text is simple, the story is interesting and kids will love all the animals - old favorites and new friends. Worth adding to the collection!

- AnnaLovesBooks ( )