39 Uses for a Friend
Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Rebecca Doughty
Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
A Color of His Own
Author: Leo Lionni
Illustrator: Leo Lionni
Publisher: Random House
Recommended Age Range: 2 to 5
In this classic story, a lonely chameleon simply wants A Color of His Own – like all the other animals; yet, no matter where he goes, or what season it is, this dream eludes him. However, when another chameleon appears, he learns that while their color may not last forever, their friendship always will.
A Dog Wearing Shoes
Author: Sangmi Ko
Illustrator: Sangmi Ko
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Greyhound A Groundhog
Author: Emily Jenkins
Illustrator: Chris Appelhans
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade Books
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Selection
Website
Arnie the Doughnut (The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut Book 1)
Author: Laurie Keller
Illustrator: Laurie Keller
Publisher: Square Fish (reprint)
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
Be a Friend
Author: Salina Yoon
Illustrator: Salina Yoon
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 8
Website
Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend
Author: Dan Santat
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
I love this story because it takes the idea of imaginary friends and gives it a little twist – here’s how: Imaginary friends already exist on an island far, far away; yet, they cannot leave until a child imagines the “friend” into existence. And so, they wait, unless, of course, you’re Beekle, who goes in search of his friend and finds real-life adventures waiting and, of course, a real-life friend. A terrific story about the power of imagination and friendship.
Awards: Caldecott Medal, 2015; Huffington Post Best Overall Picture Book of the Year; NPR “Great Read;” ALSC Notable Book for Children; A Chicago Public Library Best Picture Book of the Year
Blue
Author: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Illustrator: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Publisher: A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
Website
Awards: ALA Children’s Timetable Book 2019; Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibit Selection 2018/2019; School Library Journal Best Books of 2018; NPR Best Books of 2018; Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of 2018; Washington Post Best Books of 2018; Wall Street Journal Best Books of 2018; Bank Street College of Education Best Books of 2018; CCBC Choices Best Books of 2018; Amazon Best Books of 2018; Evanston Public Library Best Books of 2018; Winner, Wanda Gag Read Aloud Honor Book, 2019
Carrot & Pea: An Unlikely Friendship
Author: Morag Hood
Illustrator: Morag Hood
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 7
Awards: Winner of the UKLA 3-6 Book Award 2018; A 2018 Read for Empathy Book
Website
Friends
Author: Mies Van Hout
Illustrator: Mies Van Hout
Publisher: Lemniscaat USA
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
Mies Van Hout’s Friends is a delightful, and honest, look at friendship. Through chalk-like drawings and simple words Friends shows that, even with its ups and downs, there is nothing better than a best friend.
Friendshape: An uplifting celebration of friendship
Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrator: Tom Lichtenheld
Publisher: Scholastic Press, an Imprint of Scholastic
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
Website
Just the title makes you smile and once you open it, well…you won’t be disappointed. With the help of a circle, rectangle, triangle, and square, children will learn not only how to make a friend, and be a friend, but what friendship really feels like – no matter the shape they’re in. ☺ Brilliant.
Awards: Chosen for 2016 Illinois Reads PreK List; National Parenting Publications Silver Award 2015
Hiding Heidi
Author: Fiona Woodcock
Illustrator: Fiona Woodcock
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Awards: Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Award 2017; Longlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize 2017
Website
King of the Sky
Author: Nicola Davies
Illustrator: Laura Carlin
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Awards: The New York Times Book Review, Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award
Little Blue and Little Yellow
Author: Leo Lionni
Illustrator: Leo Lionni
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
Little blue and little yellow are the best of friends. But, one day, things get a bit mixed up and they become…green. When, at first, their parent’s don’t recognize their own children, the friends are at a loss; that is, until their tears clear things up. When apologies and hugs appear so does green – for everybody. A classic.
Awards: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Winner 2009
Look!
Author: Jeff Mack
Illustrator: Jeff Mack
Publisher: Owlkids Books Inc. (U.S Edition)
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 5
When a gorilla can’t get the attention of his TV-watching friend, he takes matters into his own hands. Using a book, and some crazy antics, the gorilla does almost anything to get the boy to play with him, that is, until…CRASH! But, not to worry, the book saves the day and the friendship; to see, you’ll just have to take a Look!
Awards: An Amazon Best Book of the Month
Mr. George Baker
Author: Amy Hest
Illustrator: Jon J. Muth
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
Awards: A Reading Rainbow Book; IRA Teachers’ Choices
Sam: the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world
Author: Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 5
Website
Sophie’s Window
Author: Holly Keller
Illustrator: Holly Keller
Publisher: Greenwillow Books, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Sophie’s Window shows just what can happen when you try, try, try. Caruso, a bird too scared to fly, discovers this lesson with a little unwelcome help from the wind and a lot of wonderful help from her new puppy friend Sophie. A book not only about never giving up, but one that celebrates the power of friendship.
Stick and Stone
Author: Beth Ferry
Illustrator: Tom Lichtenheld
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
Website
Through simple rhyme, Stick and Stone shows what friendship truly is. Whether “sticking” up for a buddy, or helping a pal get unstuck, these guys are inseparable, until…Not to fear, these friends have a happy friending. ☺
Awards: An Amazon Best Books of 2015
That Neighbor Kid
Author: Daniel Miyares
Illustrator: Daniel Miyares
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Awards: Wisconsin State Reading Association’s Reading List
The Antlered Ship
Author: Dashka Slater
Illustrator: The Fan Brothers
Publisher: Beach Lane Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
Adventures and friendship abound when a curious fox boards a ship to discover answers to many of life’s questions.
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Selection; A Kirkus Best Children’s Book of 2017; Amazon’s Picture Book of the Year; An IndieNext Pick; A Chicago Public Library’s Best Picture Book of 2017
The Farmer and the Clown
Author: Marla Frazee
Illustrator: Marla Frazee
Publisher: Beach Lane Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
Friendships can come in the most unlikely of places. When a young clown falls from a train; it is a farmer who takes him into his home and treats him like family. A beautifully illustrated book about the power of kindness and the gifts we receive from each other.
Awards: An ALA Notable Book; 2015 Boston Globe Horn Book Picture Book Award; A Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year 2014; A Kirkus Best Children’s Book of the Year 2014; A New York Times Book Review “Notable Book of 2014;” An NPR Favorite Book of 2014; Fall 2014 Kid’s Indie Next List; A 2014 Junior Library Guild Selection; Horn Book Fanfare Book 2014; A Boston Globe Best Picture Book of 2014; A Shelf Awareness BestBook of 2014; A Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book for 2014; Huffington Post’s “Best Friendship” Book of 2014; USA illustration nominee for the IBBY Honour List; 2015 Golden Kite Honor for Picture Book Illustration; NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children Honor Book; Southern California Independent Booksellers Association 2015 Children’s Picture Book Award; A CCBC Choice Award; A Bank Street Best Book of 2015
The Friend
Author: Sarah Stewart
Illustrator: David Small
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
The Friend is a heartwarming book about the friendship between a young girl and her housekeeper, Bea. Each day, after working together, they visit the shores of the beach as they relax from a job well done. In an unexpected twist, the little girl decides to go into the water on her own. With powerful images and words, The Friend is more than a story about friendship; it is a story of love and the power we have to “save” and inspire the lives of others.
The Friend Ship
Author: Kat Yeh
Illustrator: Chuck Groenink
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 5
Website
The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors
Author: Drew Daywalt
Illustrator: Adam Rex
Publisher: Balzer & Bray, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
Awards: 2019 Red Clover Award Winner; 2019 NM Children’s Choice Award Winner, Grades k-3; Flicker Tale Award Winner, Picture Book; 2019 Colorado Children’s Book Winner, Picture Book; 2019 Grand Canyon Reader Award, Picture Book; 2018-2019 Great Lakes Great Books Award Winner, Grades 2-3; 2018 MD Blue Crab Young Reader Award Honor, Transitional Fiction; 2018-2019 Buckaroo Award Winner; 2018-2019 Black-Eyed Susan Award Winner, Picture Book; 2018-2019 VRC Award Winner Primary; 2019 WA Children’s Choice Picture Book Award Winner; 2019 Beehive Award Winner; 2019 Capitol Choices, Ages 7-10; MSL Cream of the Crop -2018; ILA – Children’s Choices-2018; Spring 2017 Kids’ Indies Next List, Ages 4 to 8; Booklist Top Ten Books for Youth 2017, Humorous Picture Book; SLJ’s Best Books of 2017, Picture Books; Goodreads Choice Awards 2017, Picture Books; Brightly Best Children’s Books of 2017, According to Kids; Booklist Top of the List Editors Choice, Fiction Young Readers; LA Public Library Best of 2017: Children’s Books; NPR’s Book Concierge, 2017 Great Reads; The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books 2017 Blue Ribbon, Picture Books
The Lonely Mailman
Author: Susanna Isern (trans. By Jon Brokenbrow)
Illustrator: Daniel Montero Galan
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 8
Awards: 2017 Foreword INDIES Winner; Independent Publisher Book Awards 2018, Bronze Medal Winner-Children’s Picture Books (All Ages)
The Town of Turtle
Author: Michelle Cuevas
Illustrator: Catia Chien
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 7
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles
Author: Michelle Cuevas
Illustrator: Erin E. Stead
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers Group
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Awards: Time Magazine Top Ten Book of the Year; People Magazine Best Children’s Books of 2016; SLJ Best Books of 2016; Boston Globe Books of 2016
Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug
Author: Jonathan Stutzman
Illustrator: Jay Fleck
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 5
Awards: Amazon Best Books of 2019 selection; Scholastic “Top 10 Books of the Summer” selection
Website
When Pencil Met Eraser
Author: Karen Kilpatrick and Luis O. Ramos, Jr.
Illustrator: German Blanco
Publisher: Imprint, Macmillan Publishing Group LLC
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
Awards: Parents Magazine Best Children’s Books of 2019
Why?
Author: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Illustrator: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Publisher: A Neal Porter Book, Holiday House
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Awards: Society of Illustrators Original Arts Exhibit Selection, 2019/2020
Website