There are many ways to teach kids about being a good friend. Besides talking about it and modeling by having good friendships yourself, you can read to your child. Teaching children about friendsip sets their foundation for future relationships. According to Psychology Today, "A key finding from a major study of adults’ lives was that those who had close, long-term friends fared better than those who were less social. Close friendships enhanced moods and functioning as well as emotional and physical health." So we definitely want to start them on the right path. Here are:
10 Books in English and Spanish that Focus on Friendship
1. Social Skills Activities for Kids: 50 Fun Exercises for Making Friends, Talking and Listening, and Understanding Social Rules
I love that this is an actual workbook for kids with different social scenarios. It has activities that they can do to help them learn about interacting with other kids. This book is so necesarry as every child is different and not every child may be good at making friends or may not know what to do or say in different scenarios. It's also a good way to open your communication and dialog with your child.
Concept:
The fun way for kids 6 to 10 to develop social skills and make friends more easily
What are the Dos and Don'ts for making and keeping friends? How can you decode body language clues? What’s the best way to keep a conversation going? Just like learning multiplication tables, social skills don’t come naturally―every child has to learn them. Luckily, this book makes mastering social skills super fun with 50 awesome activities.
Social Skills Activities for Kids gives children the confidence to successfully navigate social situations at home, school, and the world in between. From keeping the conversation ball moving to learning to compromise to practicing good table manners, these engaging activities help kids develop and use their social skills super powers.
Book Info:
Page Number: 152 pages
Type of Books: Kindle, Paperback, Spiral-bound
Language: English
Reading Ages: 6 to 10 years old
2. My Friend is Sad (An Elephant and Piggie Book) or in Spanish Mi Amigo Esta Triste
The Piggie and Elephant Books by Mo Willems are the best friendship books. This is just one of the many books that show the sweet relationship and friendship between Elephant and Piggie. These books are funny and heartwarming and favorites for kids of all ages. In this sweet book, Piggie does everything he can to cheer his friend up.
Concept:
Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.
Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.
Gerald and Piggie are best friends.
In My Friend is Sad, elephant Gerald is down in the dumps. Piggie is determined to cheer him up by dressing as a cowboy, a clown, and even a robot! But what does it take to make a sad elephant happy? The answer will make even pessimistic elephants smile.
Book Info:
Page Number: 64 pages
Type of Books: Paperback, Hardcover
Language: English or Spanish
3. Be Kind (Be Kind, 1)
Being kind to other kids shows empathy and concern for others. Kids may not know how to show empathy in a setting with their peers. In this book a child is made fun of in school and another child thinks about what she can say or do to make her feel better. What I like about the book is that is feels genuine as the little girl is simply processing different scenarios in her head. It's also a good book that addresses bullying.
Concept:
"Be Kind is a sweet and thoughtful picture book about kindness that gets the message across without being heavy handed." - Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
A New York Times bestseller!
When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate wants to make her feel better, wondering: What does it mean to be kind?
From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving story explores what kindness is, and how any act, big or small, can make a difference―or at least help a friend.
Book Info:
Page Number: 32 pages
Type of Books: Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover
Language: English
Reading Ages: 3 to 6 years old
4. Evelyn Del Rey Se Muda or Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away
Many of us have experienced moving away and leaving our friends. This book in Spanish touches on exactly that, a friendship between two niñas that will soon be changed as one is moving away. The girls make the most of their last moments together to create a lasting memory.
Concept:
Evelyn Del Rey is Daniela’s best friend. They do everything together and even live in twin apartments across the street from each other: Daniela with her mami and hamster, and Evelyn with her mami, papi, and cat. But not after today—not after Evelyn moves away. Until then, the girls play amid the moving boxes until it’s time to say goodbye, making promises to keep in touch, because they know that their friendship will always be special.
The tenderness of Meg Medina’s beautifully written story about friendship and change is balanced by Sonia Sánchez’s colorful and vibrant depictions of the girls’ urban neighborhood.
Book Info:
Page Number: 32 pages
Type of Books: Kindle, Hardcover , Audiobook
Language: Spanish
Reading Ages: 5 to 7 years old
5. The Things I Love About Friends
This is a sweet book for the little ones about friends to get them introduced about the concept of friendship. While it may be too simple for the older kids it's a good one for toddlers.
Concept:
There are so many things to love about friends — sharing ideas, interests, feelings, and fun times. It’s important to learn how to be a good friend. This book in The Things I Love series by Trace Moroney celebrates the everyday situations that form the basis of our children’s experiences. Spending time with your children and giving them love and care, helps them to celebrate who they are, building resilience and self-esteem.
Book Info:
Page Number: 20 pages
Type of Books: Paperback, Hardcover, Board book
Language: English
Reading Ages: 2 to 7 years old
6. Garcia and Colette Go Exploring
I LOVE this book. It's such a great book that touches on the subject that sometimes you need to explore things on your own in order to appreciate what you already have. It's so true in relationships as sometimes you have time apart from your friends but come back knowing there is somethng special you have. I also love that the character Garcia is hinted to be Latino in subtle ways as they squeeze in a Spanish word or two.
Concept:
Exploring outer space and the ocean is exciting, but what if you left something very important at home?
Best friends Garcia and Colette are eager to go exploring, only they can’t agree on where to go. Garcia loves everything about space (Stars! Planets!) and Colette is obsessed with the sea (Waves! Fish!).
Staying home is not an option, so they each get busy. Garcia builds a rocket ship that’s snazzy and silver. Colette’s shiny submarine is perfect for deep-sea dives. And they wish each other well on their travels.
It turns out the Milky Way really is amazing and the ocean floor is truly spectacular, but Garcia and Colette both realize they left something very important back home.
Exploring your favorite place can be terrific, but maybe the company is more important than the destination.
Book Info:
Page Number: 32 pages
Type of Books: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook, Hardcover, Audio CD
Language: English
Reading Ages: 3 to 5 years old
7. Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship
A great book that not only touches on the subject of bullying but how being a good friend can make a difference in that person's (or in this case Apple's) life. The pressures of fitting in affects many kids and this books helps kids them navigate that scenario.
Concept:
It takes a firm apple to stand up to bullies.
When Mac, an apple, meets Will, a worm, they become fast friends, teaching each other games and even finishing each other's sentences. But apples aren't supposed to like worms, and Mac gets called "rotten" and "bad apple." At first, Mac doesn't know what to do—it's never easy standing up to bullies--but after a lonely day without Will, Mac decides he'd rather be a bad apple with Will than a sad apple without.
"Charming . . . Social norms force Mac and Will apart; surprisingly effective, fruit-related pathos ensues before the two friends decide to buck convention and like whom they like. Who cares what anyone thinks?"—The New York Times
Book Info:
Page Number: 32 pages
Type of Books: Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover
Language: English
Reading Ages:5 to 7 years old
8. I'm Like You, You’re Like Me / Yo soy como tú, tú eres como yo: A Book About Understanding and Appreciating Each Other/Un libro para entendernos y apreciarnos
I love this book because it's bilingual and at the back of the book there is a guide for parents to engage and ask children questions about acceptance, listening, kindness, cooperation, and understanding self and others, so important when learning about relationships. It's also available in an English only version too.
Concept:
It’s fun to find ways I’m like you and you’re like me. It’s fun to find ways we’re different.” In this colorful, inviting English-Spanish book, kids from preschool to lower elementary learn about diversity in terms they can understand: hair that’s straight or curly, families with many people or few, bodies that are big or small.
With its wide-ranging examples and fun, highly detailed art, I’m Like You, You’re Like Me/ Yo soy como tú, tú eres como yo helps kids appreciate the ways they are alike and affirm their individual differences. A section for adults in the back provides tips and activities (in both English and Spanish) for parents and caregivers to reinforce the themes and lessons of the book.
Book Info:
Page Number: 36 pages
Type of Books: Kindle, Paperback
Language: English & Spanish
Reading Ages: 3 to 8 years old
9. The Girlsor in Spanish Amigas
I don't have early childhood friendships because I moved a lot, but my husband does and I admire their longevity. To have dear friends that you've known your entire life is truly remarkable. This book is about a group of friends that grow into young ladies and women but still have their friendship in common.
Concept:
A timeless picture book for friends of all ages, The Girls celebrates kindness, supportiveness, and the power of true friendship.
Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize Illustrated Book of the Year 2019
Meet the girls: Sasha, Lottie, Alice, and Leela.
These four best friends spend their days playing beneath the branches of their favorite apple tree. As the tree grows tall and reaches across the sky, so do they . . .
. . . growing from little girls into big girls . . .
. . . and from big girls into women!
Through their shared secrets, dreams, worries, and schemes, their friendship grows ever stronger. Even when their adventures take them in different directions, the girls always stay rooted together.
The Girls is a celebration of lasting friendship for every girl . . . big or little.
Book Info:
Page Number: 32 pages
Type of Books: Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover
Language: English
Reading Ages: 3 to 7 years old
10. Lupe Vargas and Her Super Best Friend / Lupe Vargas y su super mejor amiga
Love the concept behind this book about a strong minded girl and her friend. They have big plans and her chismosa neighbor is not too keen on them. A fun entertaining book for kids.
Concept:
Lupe and her best friend make play believe and have a spat and make up. :...especially appealing to young girls and adults looking for narratives in which girls are strong characters with intelligence and spunk. ―Foreword Magazine
Book Info:
Page Number: 32 pages
Type of Books: Kindle, Paperback, Spiral-bound
Language: English, Multilingual, Spanish
Reading Ages: 4 to 8 years old
Final Thoughts
Hope you found some friendship books to check out with the kids.
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