8 Lovely Picture Books About Friendship
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You’re going to love these new picture books about friendship and sharing! They’re great choices for reading aloud, too.
8 Lovely Picture Books About Friendship
SHARING
This is a charming story about learning to share. You’ll crack up watching the elephants many failed attempts to get the delicious-looking fruit off the tree while simultaneously a tiny group of mice work together to get the yummy fruit, too. Which they do! When the elephants see what the mice have accomplished, they love the idea of teamwork and try again.
FRIENDSHIP
Usually pet stories are about the child loving the pet. In this case, it’s about the pet who loves the child. When Nia gets Alfie, the turtle, for her 6th birthday, at first she’s exuberant — but because Alfie doesn’t really do anything, Nia soon forgets about him. Then Alfie goes missing on Nia’s 7th birthday. At this point, the story switches to Alfie’s perspective. He loves how Nia taught him to dance and made him laugh. So for her birthday, he leaves his tank in search of a good present. He ends up outside in the cold pond where he naps and naps. And when he wakes up, he finds the perfect present for Nia. Just in time for her 8th birthday!
FRIENDSHIP (three is not a crowd)
Circle and Square are different but really the best of friends. Until Triangle arrives. Circle and Square’s friendship is suddenly filled with jealousy and hurt feelings. They get so mad that they pull Triangle into a line. Now what can they do? They’ll need to put Triangle back in shape to become a trio of best friends. Tongue and cheek humor throughout gives this familiar message a fun punny math twist.
UNEXPECTED FRIENDSHIP
Duck puts on his thinking cap when Alligator asks, “Whose duck are you?” “I’m nobody’s duck,” Duck replies. Well, this isn’t good enough for Alligator. He puts Duck in a little wagon and pulls him all around town to find out just to whom Duck belongs. After all that work, it turns out that Duck does have someone to whom he belongs — his new friend Alligator! Readers will adore this delightful story of friendship made even more special with Sullivan’s trademark cartoon-like artwork.
BEST STUFFED ANIMAL FRIEND
Evocative word choice with blue-hued illustration capture the nighttime journey of sleepy boy in search of a good night’s sleep in his new bed in his new room. Brody hopes the perfect pillow will help him sleep. So, he takes his stuffed dragon, Horst, on a pillow quest. Leaves are too crunchy to sleep on and the squirrels don’t want him in their tree anyway. Clouds make soft and silky pillows but the wind is too noisy. Finally, Brody returns to his warm home where he realizes that “a friendly dragon makes the perfect pillow“. Added to: Mentor Texts for Word Choice
The Forever Tree by Teresa Surratt and Donna Lukas, illustrated by Nicola Slater
FRIENDSHIP WITH NATURE
You’ll fall in love with the spirited animals who live in this tree and the loving family they share it with. When Grandfather puts up a swing, the animals at first are worried but not for long. The swing begins a beautiful relationship of family gatherings near the tree. When the tree dies, as trees do, planers and builders give it a second life — it becomes a treehouse.
Wordy Birdy by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Dave Mottram
LISTENING TO FRIENDS IS IMPORTANT
Wordy Birdy is an enthusiastic bird who talks non-stop. She talks so much that she misses her friends’ warnings about the danger ahead. Although the story is explicitly attempting to show kids the importance of listening with a fairly predictable scenario, I still like the book because Wordy Birdy is such a lovable character whose friends accept her just the way she is. Plus, the illustrations and word bubble dialogue are enchanting.
Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill
KINDNESS
A little girl ponders one of life’s big questions: what is kindness? She wants to show kindness to Tanisha, who spilled grape juice on her dress and seems embarrassed. This little girl brainstorms ideas about being kind to other people in her life, then finds a sweet way to show Tanisha that she is not alone, and that she has a friend. The girl finds concrete ideas of kindness in action — using people’s names, sticking up for someone, listening, putting dirty dishes in the sink, and so on. Lovely illustrations gently illustrate this important concept. ADDED TO: Picture Books About Kindness
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