Books That Help Children Learn About Friendship

It’s always lovely to see a new batch of picture books that help model friendship for children. Because friendship is a skill, just like any other; an important emotional intelligence skill. And books about friendship can help.

Books That Help Children Learn About Friendship

Triangle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Quirky humor plus shapes galore! Triangle leaves his house to go play a sneaky trick on Square. Square chases Triangle back to Triangle’s house where Square gets stuck in the triangular doorway. But, not to worry. You’ll see that Square’s a quick thinker. Shapes for Kids

Little Bot and Sparrow by Jake Parker
Sparrow takes confused, friendly Little Bot under her wing after he’s thrown out of the garage. Little Bot learns so much from Sparrow. He even learns to say good-bye with the change of seasons. Enchanting illustrations add extra beauty to this sweet friendship story.

Snail and Worm Again by Tina Kugler
The humor in these short, simple stories about snail and worm, two best friends, make this a laugh out loud delight for on your own reading or for readers on the laps of their parents. The stories remind of the George and Marsha books by James Marshall.

The Friend Ship by Kat Yeh, illustrated by Chuck Groenink
Hedgehog misunderstands when she overhears that searching for Friendship might help her be less lonely. She thinks Friendship is an actual ship and starts to look for it. Along her journey, she meets people who also want a friend. They join her search. Soon, the group of new friends realizes they are sailing an actual Friend Ship. This clever play on words makes for a heartwarming story of truth — that sometimes friends are right in front of us.

Pax and Blue by Lori Richmond
Blue is Pax’s pigeon friend, small like Pax. Today his mom is in a rush. Pax worries about Blue because “you don’t leave a friend behind.” Only Blue isn’t left behind, he’s followed Pax onto the subway. Luckily, Pax knows just what to do to help his friend! You’ll see empathy and understanding between two unlikely friends who are in brighter colors against a muted lavender and earthy toned background.

Miles McHale, Tattletale by Christianne Jones, illustrated by Elina Ellis
Tattling can be a huge distraction from learning, not to mention other kids don’t like it. Read this book to inspire change. It’s about a sweet kid named Miles McHale who tattles all day long. He tattles on stuff that doesn’t even matter like “Nolan is tying his shoe.” It’s a problem. That’s when his teacher, Mrs. Snitcher, decides the class will have a Tattle Battle. Miles learns his tattling is affecting his friendships but that it’s okay “If a friend is sick, hurt, or in harm’s way.” Well-done with charming illustrations.

Dill & Bizzy Opposite Day by Nora Ericson, illustrated by Lisa Ericson

I love the illustrations, they really capture the charm of each of these two characters — a bird and a duck — who are best friends. Today they do everything opposite. Breakfast for dinner. Loud party instead of quiet rest. But, Dill is getting tired of opposite dan. And what if opposite means they can’t be friends?

Adrift: An Odd Couple of Polar Bears by Jessica Olien

Hazel is quiet and Karl is talkative. They aren’t friends until they get stuck on an iceberg and the ice melts — figuratively and literally. And they live cozily ever after.

Bee & Me by Alison Jay

So much is said in this beautiful wordless picture book about a girl who befriends a bee. She and her bee friend spread pollen for beautiful flowers around the city so that even when the bee must leave, the girl can always remember her friend. Added to BEST Wordless Picture Books.

Pandora by Victoria Turnbull

The story of Pandora the fox resonates with anyone who has felt alone, loss, happiness, and joy; it’s a haunting story about finding joy after sorrow. Which we all do, right? Pandora is alone in her hand-made house until she finds an injured bluebird. One day after the bird heals, he doesn’t return and Pandora is so very sad and stays in bed for days. In her sadness, she doesn’t notice that a seed left by the bird is growing into a large tree. Even more wonderful is that the bluebird comes back to live in the tree. Pandora awakens from her depression and finds joy in all the living things.

Ella and Penguin A Perfect Match by Megan Maynor, illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
Best friends, Ella and Penguin, must match in the things they like? After Penguin confesses he doesn’t like tutus, or finger paints, or peppermints, the two are devastated since not matching means no more being friends. Right? The two realize they don’t have to match all the time to be friends. Isn’t this excellent for children who might need this clarification about what real friendship is and isn’t?

That’s NOT How You Do It! by Adriane Hofmann-Maniyar
Sometimes kids need to learn flexibility, and that they aren’t always right. This beautifully illustrated picture book might help. Lucy is very confident she knows how to do EVERYTHING. So when Toshi arrives, she’s irritated that he isn’t doing things the RIGHT WAY. But his kind gesture of friendship helps Lucy learn that Toshi is really good at doing things in a different way.