Tag: books

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Falling into Traditions by Reading

There are so many opportunities to create and carry on family traditions during the holidays. We don’t have to create traditions that are a huge production— sometimes a quiet night at home with people you love is the best way to spend your time. Have you ever considered making books or reading part of your holiday traditions? There’s not much that is better than finding a cozy corner in your house, curling up with a soft blanket, and reading some good books, and Fall time is the perfect time to cozy up with your family and read some fun books together! 

To get you started, I’ve selected a few books about Fall that will get you in the spirit of Autumn!

It’s Fall! by Linda Glaser with cut-paper illustrations by Susan Swan

This darling book follows a little boy as he explores and experiences Fall, learning about all the things that happen during this time of year. He notices the leaves changing colors, the animals starting to get ready to hibernate, the leaves falling, and the temperatures cooling. They plant bulbs in their yard in preparation for next Spring, snd he plays in the piles of leaves that have fallen off the trees. 

The illustrations in this book are phenomenal— they were all created out of paper then photographed for the book. 

Sammy in the Fall by Anita Bijsterbosch

Sammy is a curious little tiger who loves going on adventures with his stuffed horse, Hob. Together, they do all sorts of fun Fall activities, like picking apples, raking leaves and jumping into the piles, collecting acorns, doing crafts, and playing in the rain. 

The illustrations are adorable and the story is fun and engaging for younger kids.

The Roll-Away Pumpkin by Junia Wonders and illustrated by Daniela Volpari

Marla Little finds herself in quite a predicament: her giant pumpkin has started to roll away, and she can’t catch it. As she runs behind it, trying to stop it from rolling any farther, she exclaims, “Diddle-dee-doo! Oh, what shall I do?” She follows her pumpkin through town, and with every place her pumpkin rolls by, she gathers a new towns person to help her stop the pumpkin. Soon, the baker, the butcher, the farmer, the milk man, and the parade marchers are all running after the roll-away pumpkin with Marla. The pumpkin starts to get close to where some people are trying to cook a feast for the townspeople. Acting quickly, Marla flips a giant cauldron onto its side just in time for her giant pumpkin to roll right into it, where it stays until it is made into a delicious soup for all the people.

This story is a fun one to read with little kids, and is easy to get them involved in it with the repetition of Marla exclaiming “Diddle-dee-doo! Oh what shall I do?” every time she adds a new person to her pumpkin rescue efforts.

Full of Fall by April Pulley Sayre

This book features photographs of all the beauties that Fall holds. It highlights the rich, vibrant colors of the changing leaves, describes the sounds and sights of the leaves falling from the trees, and what happens to the leaves as they fall, dry up, and begin to decompose. The photographs capture the textures of nature during this time of year, and show just how beautiful and wonderful Fall is.

Apples and Robins by Lucie Félix

This book is so unique! Rather than traditional illustrations to tell the story, the author uses shapes cut out in the middle of the pages to form pictures. This format helps readers to see that everything around them is made up of shapes, put together to form new shapes and objects. The story is very simple, telling about picking apples and building a bird house for the robin. A storm comes and blows the leaves, apples, and birdhouse out of the tree, and again, uses shapes to rebuild the birdhouse. 

This book was so fun to read. The cut out shapes made it engaging and fun to follow!

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Reading is truly one of the best ways to connect with people around you— especially younger kids. It’s a great way to build language skills as well as build relationships and establish traditions. I hope you take some time soon to pick up a good book and share it with someone you care about! 

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Bullying is Never the Answer

If you’ve been in the classroom for any length of time, you have likely witnessed first hand just how mean and destructive bullies can be. It’s a problem that seems to have existed for as long as humans have been around, and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. In fact, it’s becoming more prominent with social media being so accessible. Students need to understand  that bullying is never ok and is never the answer. The repercussions of being the target of a bully are long lasting and can be quite detrimental to a person’s health, confidence, and self image. 

As teachers, it is crucial that if we see something, we say something, and that we teach our students to do the same. We need to teach our students what bullying is, what it can look like, how it feels to be the victim, and how to address it when/if we see it happening. I found a few picture books that did a great job of teaching these concepts— take a look!

Giraffe is Left Out written by Sue Craves, illustrated by Trevor Dunton

Giraffe, Little Lion, and Monkey are all friends. When Leopard moves into their class, Giraffe is not excited. He does not want to let Leopard join their friend group, and purposely excludes Leopard from any and all activities. Leopard is sad and feels left out. When it comes time to pass out invitations to his birthday party, Leopard gives one to everyone else, but doesn’t give one to Giraffe. Now Giraffe is the one who feels left out. Soon, he begins to understand just how mean it is to leave people out, and he learns that Leopard is actually a really good friend. Giraffe mends his ways and becomes a friend to Leopard in the end.

I liked how this book showed that excluding people is a form of bullying, and that it can be hurtful to others.

Billy Bully by Alvaro & Ana Galan, illustrated by Steve Simpson

When Billy Bully comes to the playground to play with the other kids, he takes over and makes the fun go away. He takes toys, cuts in line, pushes, breaks others’ things, tricks people, and won’t take turns. No one wants to play with him. With every mean thing he does, another kid leaves the playground. Soon, he is left with no one to play with, and he starts to realize that the things he was doing weren’t nice. One by one, he goes to his friends and apologizes and makes up for the things he had done. Soon, all the kids have come back to play together.

The illustrations in this book are so cute, and the story is easy to follow. There is also a counting element as Bully’s friends leave and come back one by one. I loved how it depicted several ways that someone can be a bully to help kids understand that bullying can take on many forms.

Eddie the Bully written and illustrated by Henry Cole

Eddie is mean, mean, mean. He says unkind things about his friends, teases them, ruins their art projects, and more. No one likes to play with him. He’s always picked last for teams, left out of the fun, and ignored. When Carla, a new girl, moves into their class, she is assigned to sit right next to Eddie. Everyone expects Eddie to say and do mean things to her, but before he has the chance, Carla compliments Eddie on his sweater and tells him that everyone must want to be his friend! Eddie is unsure what to say to this, because he knows that it isn’t true. Carla asks Eddie to help her make new friends, and Eddie agrees. He quickly learns that it feels good to be nice, so he changes his ways and starts over, this time, being a friend to everyone.

Similar to Billy Bully, this story shows different ways that bullying can happen, helping kids to understand that bullying isn’t just one thing.

Bullies Never Win by Margery Cuyler, illustrated by Arthur Howard

Jessica is a first grader who worries about a lot of things, one of which is Brenda, a girl at school who likes to bully and be mean. Brenda finds a way to make fun of everything Jessica does, so Jessica slowly stops doing all the things she loves to do. Jessica finally has had enough and breaks down crying to her mom. Her mom suggests that she stand up for herself or tell their teacher. Jessica is worried about what she will do or say to Brenda to make her stop being a bully. The next day at lunch, Brenda continues to tease and say mean things. Jessica has had enough, and stands up and tells Brenda that, “… bullies never win!” Brenda is embarrassed and doesn’t say anything else to Jessica. That night, Jessica feels proud of herself for standing up to Brenda.

I loved how this story showed how to stand up to a bully. It was an empowering story!

Bully written and illustrated by Jennifer Sattler

Bully is a bull frog, and he wants all the lily pads on the pond all for himself. He won’t let any other pond friends eat them, smell them, or look at them. Soon, he has chased everyone away and is all alone. There is only one flower left, and he wants it just for himself, so he sits on it to protect it. A bee comes up to him and tries to save the flower by reminding Bully that he’s sitting on it. Bully is mean and asks the bee what he’s going to do about it. The bee has an idea, and buzzes away to gather his friends. Together they reclaim the pond and chase Bully away. The lilies begin to grow again, and the pond is back to its thriving self. Bully moves to a new pond, but is sad to see that it’s just a pond of mud, and he is all alone. Still, all he cares about is that the pond is all his.

This story showed that it can be powerful to stand up to a bully as a group— strength in numbers. 

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Bullying is never the answer, and students need to know that. These books do a great job of teaching that and showing that bullying can take on many forms. Bullying is a problem that many kids will face, either directly or indirectly, and it’s important that students be equipped with the tools they need to stand up to bullies and speak up when they see it happening. We may not be able to completely eradicate bullying from our schools, but we can certainly make a difference by teaching our students to respect and watch out for one another.

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Halloween Picture Books

Holiday themed books add such a fun element to holidays! They are usually only pulled out once a year, making them even more special. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite Halloween themed books for you— check them out! 

Pumpkins on Strike by Jennifer Jones

The pumpkins are tired of being mistreated— they are always getting painted on, cut up and carved, and they just won’t take it anymore! They band together and go on strike, refusing to let anyone else mistreat them. Once the humans realize how they’ve been hurting the pumpkins, they try to make things right by throwing a celebration for their pumpkin friends.

This book has cute illustrations and emphasizes the importance of treating others with respect and kindness.

Pig the Monster by Aaron Blabey

Another book in the Pig the Pug series, this book follows Pig on a Halloween rampage. Pig wants all the candy for himself, and will do just about anything to get it. At the end of the night, he spreads out his candy and begins to frantically eat his loot. His friend Trevor warns him not to eat a chocolate bar, but Pig doesn’t listen and ends up in trouble because of it. Trevor saves the day, and Pig learns a lesson about not being greedy and not overeating candy.

The Pig books are always a good time, with great illustrations, stories written in rhyme, and a good lesson at the end of the book. This book was no exception, and is just as delightful as the other books in the series.

Goodnight, Broom by Deb Adamson and Illustrated by Ma Pe

This book is a cute spoof on the children’s classic, Goodnight, Moon. It shows a cute little witch getting ready for bed, saying goodnight to all the spooky things in her room. 

The illustrations are fun and engaging, and the story is a sweet Halloween bed time story.

Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago

Gustavo is a lonely, shy ghost. He is always being left out and doesn’t have any friends. The idea of making friends terrifies him, but he wants so badly to have a friend. He tries so hard to fit in, but no one seems to see him. He decides he has to be brave and let people see him for who he is. He decides that he will put on a violin concert and invites the other kids to come listen. The day of the concert comes, and he is very nervous. No one comes to hear him. He begins playing anyway, and gets carried away in the music. Soon, all the other monsters show up and apologize for being late. They are very impressed with his music and can finally see Gustavo for who he is. Gustavo soon has many friends and feels so loved.

The pictures in this book are adorable, and the story teaches a powerful lesson about being true to yourself. 

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

This book is probably my all time favorite Halloween book. Written in rhyme and repetition, Room on the Broom follows a witch as she keeps losing things while flying on her broom. Every time she lands to find what she lost, she picks up a new friend… until her broom just can’t handle the weight of all the friends. The broom snaps and they all go tumbling down, only to be met by a big, mean, hungry dragon. Covered in swamp goo, the new friends band together to scare the dragon away and save their witch friend. 

The rhyming and repetition in this book make it very engaging and fun for kids and adults alike. Along with being a fun read, the story teaches a great lesson about including and making room for everyone, as well as working together to help friends. 

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And there you have it! There are so many fun Halloween picture books out there, and I had a hard time narrowing it down to just these five. If you haven’t read these already, head to your local library and check them out! Or, if someone else has already snagged them, you can find read alouds of each of these books on YouTube.

What are your favorite Halloween picture books?

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How They Croaked– A Totally Fascinating Read

It’s often tricky to find books that will capture the interest of reluctant readers. It’s a fine balance between providing a challenge, but not too much of a challenge: you want to find a book that isn’t so far below grade level that they get bored quickly, and you definitely don’t want to find a book that is so far off from their current reading level that they get frustrated and end up giving up all together. 

Thankfully, there are authors that just understand this, who write books that are engaging, just challenging enough, and will capture and hold the attention of their readers. One of those authors is Georgia Bragg— she has a knack for writing books that are so much fun! One book of hers in particular, is at the top of my “Books for Reluctant Readers” list: How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous. 

In this book, Bragg details the awful demises of nineteen historically famous people like Cleopatra, George Washington, Marie Curie, and Edgar Allen Poe, among others. Each chapter focuses on one individual, and recounts a little about their life and what they are famous for, then describes their ultimate fate. Sometimes a little gruesome, always historically accurate, and always fascinating, each chapter is educational and engaging. Chapters are short— usually about 2-5 pages, and the book overall is a very quick read (I sat down and read it in its entirety in just a couple of hours). It’s a great option for kids between ages 9-13, but would honestly be a great read for ages 14+ as well. 

While I never had the chance to teach this book to my students, I did recommend it several times. If I had had the chance, I would have taught it to my 8th grade classes. Not only does it provide readers with interesting facts, it lends itself to excellent teaching opportunities. Below are a few ideas for teaching it with a whole class:

  • Split your class up into partnerships and assign a chapter to each group. Have them read their assigned chapter then create a slideshow or other sort of presentation to teach the rest of the class about their famous person and their demise. 
  • Read the entire book as a whole class, focusing on a chapter or two every day.
    • With each chapter, display pictures of the person it’s about. 
    • Some of the chapters discuss different medical technologies, practices, methods, etc. that are different than we have today. Take time to educate students about these different medical practices.
    • After you have finished reading the whole book, assign students to pick a famous person who is NOT in the book and create their own chapter about their person, including illustrations or pictures.
    • Make a timeline showing the birth and death dates of all nineteen people from the book.
  • For sake of time, choose your top ten favorite chapters and only teach those ones to the whole class. Have students choose four more chapters to read independently. 
  • As you read the book, have students fill out the “All You Need to Know” worksheet provided below.

Not only is this book a great non-fiction read, it also provides super cross-curricular instruction, as it contains both historical and scientific elements, and allows for a plethora of learning opportunities. 

Give it a go with your classes; I bet they’ll love it. And if you don’t have junior high aged classes or kids, read it yourself and enjoy!

If you enjoyed Croaked, you might also like How They Choked also by Georgia Bragg. In it, Bragg details how famous people royally messed up. It’s equally as engaging and educational as Croaked.

** Free printable is for classroom or personal use only. It is not intended for resale in any way. **

How They Croaked WSDownload
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Even Kids Get Anxious

You wake up and feel great, until you start to think about the things you will be doing during the day. Suddenly, you don’t feel so great anymore. You start to sweat. Your throat feels tight, and your mouth gets dry. You can feel your heart start to beat faster and faster. Your tummy feels like it’s doing somersaults, and your mind is going as fast as a race car. You convince yourself that staying in bed is the best option, because then you don’t have to face the day, and that is certainly easier than confronting the things you are worried about. 

Perhaps you have found yourself in this situation a few times. Maybe this is your reality every day. Or, maybe you are one of the lucky few who doesn’t ever really worry about things to this extent. Whatever the case may be, there’s no denying that anxiety and worry are real. As adults, we can usually pinpoint what it is that is making us worried, and can take the necessary steps to cope with it. For kids, however, it might not be the same. Since kids are still trying to figure out what different emotions feel like, they may not recognize anxiety for what it is; they may see it as a big, scary monster inside of themselves. 

Thankfully, there are a lot of resources at our fingertips for helping our students and kiddos who deal with anxiety. One of those amazing resources is picture books! I love using picture books to teach about abstract concepts— they give kids a visual way to see the idea, and they tell about it in a way they understand. A trip to my local library presented me with several children’s books about anxiety. The following are ones that I particularly enjoyed:

Wilma Jean the Worry Machine written by Julia Cook and illustrated by Anita Dufalla

Wilma is a cute elementary aged girl who wakes up every morning and pretends to go back to sleep so she doesn’t have to face the day. Her mind is full of ‘what if’ questions— What if they serve buttered carrots at lunch? What if she gets chosen to do a math problem in front of the class and she gets the answer wrong? What if her friends don’t want to play with her at recess? What if she doesn’t get picked for a team at PE? What if her mom gives her a gross snack after school? 

The ‘what if’ questions consume Wilma and make it hard for her to do things and enjoy her day. Her mom notices this happening  and decides to take action. Together, Wilma, her mom, and her teacher create a plan to help quiet Wilma’s worries. They talk about the worries Wilma can control and the ones she can’t. The teacher introduces the “worry hat” that Wilma can put on whenever she feels worried— she can ‘think’ her worries into the hat, then take it off knowing the worries have left her mind.

The illustrations are just perfect, and this story does an incredible job of describing what anxiety feels like and offers some great coping strategies that kids can easily use.

My Monster and Me written by Nadiya Hussain and illustrated by Ella Bailey

This book follows a little boy as he talks about his Monster. This Monster has been around as long as he can remember, and seems to follow him everywhere he goes. His Monster shows up at interferes with just about everything the boy does. He can’t seem to escape it. 

One day, the Monster gets so big that the boy just can’t take it anymore. Frustrated, he goes to his grandma’s house, where grandma helps him talk through what is bothering him. The more he talks about it, the smaller the Monster becomes, until the Monster is small enough to fit in the boy’s pocket. Now that he knows how to make the Monster smaller, the boy is able to go out and enjoy things and have fun with his friends. 

I loved the analogy of a monster for anxiety. It really can feel like that— like a huge, fuzzy mean creature trying to take over everything, and it can be consuming. In the story, the boy turns to a trusted adult to sort out his feelings and make sense of everything. 

The illustrations are darling, the story is simple, but the lesson is deep!

Pig and Horse and the Something Scary written and illustrated by Zoey Abbott

Pig wakes up one morning not feeling herself, so she decides to go see her friend, Horse. She tells Horse that she feels something scary inside of her, but she can’t say what it is because she is trying to ignore it. Horse is a helpful friend and suggests that they go for a bike ride. When that doesn’t work, she suggests that they go for a swim. When swimming doesn’t take away the feeling, she has the idea to get Pig to laugh really hard. But even that doesn’t work. 

Horse thinks for a minute and suggests that Pig just let it all out. Pig is afraid and hesitates, so Horse comes up with the idea that they invite the scary feeling to tea. Together, they whip up some yummy treats and tea and sit down to have a tea party. When she feels ready, Pig lets out her worries— first, the night, then the idea of being alone, and lastly, the character from her bedtime story the night before. Each of these fears is represented in the book by a different colored “cloud” of sorts coming from Pig’s mind. 

As she releases each fear, Pig and Horse try different ways to make each worry become smaller and smaller until it vanishes. Ultimately, Pig feels much better for having let her worries go. 

I loved this book for a few reasons— first, Pig recognized that she felt different, so she sought out the help of someone she loved and trusted. Second, the fears were given a color and description to make them feel tangible. Third, Pig and Horse came up with coping skills together, and Horse did them right along side Pig as she let her worries go. The idea of not having to face worries alone would be so comforting to a child dealing with anxiety. Imagine already feeling out of sorts and worried, then having to cope with it alone! The thought of that would increase anxiety, which would put a child back at square one. Having someone to help makes a world of difference!

Way Past Worried written by Hallee Adelman and illustrated by Sandra de la Prada

Brock is past worried. His heart is pounding and his mind is racing. He has been invited to his friend Juan’s birthday party, but he has to go alone, without his brother. Brock is worried that the other kids at the party won’t like him, won’t play with him, and will laugh at him. He’s worried that his superhero costume isn’t good enough and that he wouldn’t have anything to say to the other kids. 

His anxiety takes over and causes him to freeze up as he enters the party. Rather than going to join the other kids, he retreats to a tree, where he finds a new friend, Nelly, who is also experiencing anxiety. Together, they talk through their worries then decide to be brave like superheroes and join the party. 

Nelly and Brock join the other kids and have a great time, glad that they decided to not let their worries get in the way of their fun day. This book is so great— the illustrations are super cute and the story tells of a kid in a situation that is familiar to most kids. Because most kids know what it’s like to attend a birthday party, they can imagine what it would be like to have to go alone, and can more easily put themselves in Brock or Nelly’s shoes. 

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I hope you’re able to use one or more of these books if you ever find yourself in the position that you’re helping a student or your own child make sense of their anxious feelings!

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Reading: Worth the Fight

We’re just over a week into the new school year, and one of my kids has already pushed back over required reading time. For the past several years, his teachers have set a required time for reading every night, ranging from 20-30 minutes. As an avid reader and former teacher, I’ve obviously been on board with these daily reading requirements. It’s a no-brainer for me. 

This year, however, his teacher won’t be assigning a specific amount of time or number of pages to read each night. Instead, students have a chart on their school computers where they can log any minutes they read, though it’s not a requirement or an assignment. Naturally, my son took that to mean, “I can read for even just one minute and put that in my log!” Fourth graders, right?! You can imagine his dismay when I told him that even though his teacher wasn’t going to assign reading time, my husband and I were. Despite his nightly protests, we have held strong to this boundary, and most nights, after his 30 minutes are up, he asks if he can read just a little bit more— and who am I to say no to that?!

You might wonder why I choose to pick this battle. After all, it would be much easier to give up the fight and not have to listen to the whining and protesting every night. I’d probably even gain “cool mom” status with my son if I didn’t have him read. But honestly, I am not out to win “cool mom” status, and pushing through the whining is 100% worth it to me. 

You see, I’ve encountered so many teenagers who struggle to read. Kids who really are very smart and capable, but just are not where they “should” be in regards to reading. Kids who are terrified to read out loud in front of their peers because they are not confident in their reading abilities. One way to combat this is to have kids read regularly— even a short 15 minutes a day can make a world of a difference in reading ability. 

Reading goes so far beyond opening a book and following along. It opens doorways to many other skills! Reading increases vocabulary, improves writing skills, boosts confidence, encourages imagination, and increases knowledge, among other benefits. Reading is a life long skill. I know not everyone will continue to pick up a novel and read as adults, but the foundational skills gained through reading in the younger years are vital. Even on days I don’t pick up a book to read for fun, I am still reading things all day long— a menu at a restaurant, a recipe as I cook dinner, the labels on food at the store, road signs, texts, social media posts, and so on. The ability to read is one that cannot be put on the back burner. 

In order for young kids to become better readers, they must keep reading. If someone wanted to be a better football player, they would continue to play football. The same goes for reading. It is simply a skill that must not be ignored. I might even go as far as to say that reading is one of the most important skills that can be learned. It is, after all, something that is used in every other subject they will learn. It is a skill that they will use no matter what career path they use. 

So the next time your child or one of your students complains about reading time, remind them that you are actually helping them— Helping them become better readers, writers, thinkers, and doers, because reading is the key to opening doors to the future.

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Making Friends Can Be Tricky

Think back to your childhood and the friends you had. Maybe you’re still friends with those same people. Perhaps you just check in on them occasionally via social media, or maybe you’ve lost contact completely. Regardless of your friendship status with them now, one thing is certain— those early friendships made a lasting impression on you and helped shaped you into the person you are today. Childhood friendships helped you to understand what friendship means and what it looks like. They taught you what it means to be a good friend, and sometimes, unfortunately, what it means to be a not-so-good friend. 

Childhood is such a crucial time for molding and shaping young minds. Learning how to be a friend is a skill that is taught at an early age. As this new school year begins, it’s a good time to remind kids what good friendships look like, and to encourage them to make new friends too. Picture books are such an excellent teaching tool, so I headed to my library and found a few books that teach really good lessons on friendship.

In no particular order, these were my favorites that I found:

Friends Stick Together by Hannah E. Harrison

Rupert is a rhino who is quite proper and reserved. He doesn’t enjoy attention, loud things, or annoying friends. Levi is a tick bird who is the complete opposite of Rupert— he is loud, annoying, and likes lame jokes. Levi won’t leave Rupert alone and makes a scene everywhere they go. Rupert tries everything he can think of to get Levi to go away, but nothing works until he finally just tells him he wants to be alone. Levi does go away, but soon, Rupert starts to notice that life isn’t quite the same without his friend. After he realizes he misses Levi, Rupert apologizes and is happy to have Levi back.

This story beautifully illustrates that two different personalities can still be friends. It also touches a little bit on symbiosis— an excellent little tie into science!

When A Friend Needs A Friend by Roozeboos

Aya and Oskar are friends. Oskar can build almost anything, and is quite good at it. Together, they create stories about the things he builds, and love to visit a construction site where all the workers know them. Oskar can get very loud when he gets very excited, but also can get very quiet when he is sad. Sometimes he just wants to be left alone for a long period of time. At first, Aya didn’t know why and thought she had done something wrong or had hurt his feelings somehow. After visiting the construction site by herself, she learns that sometimes Oskar just has big emotions and needs some time to process them. She patiently waits for Oskar to be ready to play again, and remains his friend through it all.

I loved that this book teaches kids that it’s okay to feel what you feel, and that it’s ok to need your space. I also really liked that it showed that friendships can still remain strong, even when one person needs a little bit of a break. Having friends who are there for you through the good and the bad is so important.

Best Friends in the Universe by Hector and Louie Written by Stephanie Watson and Illustrated by Le Uyen Pham

Hector and Louie are the very best friends. They like to tell jokes, dance, and make up new foods together. They tell each other secrets and have all kinds of fun together. One day, Hector accidentally slips and tells Louie’s biggest secret. This begins a fight between the two of them. They stop playing together, and soon notice that their lives just aren’t the same without each other. Soon they have made up and are back to their regular silly antics.

Friendships aren’t always easy, and disagreements and disappointments can happen. This book did a great job of showing that, and also showing how people can apologize and still be friends. The illustrations in this book are darling and make it even more fun.

Buddy’s New Buddy Written by Christina Geist and Illustrated by Tim Bowers

Buddy is so sad when his best friend moves away. He begins a new school year without any friends, and is feeling quite sad about it. His big sister teaches him how to make new friends. Soon a new student moves into his class, and he starts to notice that they have lots of things in common. The become friends quickly and have all kinds of fun together.

As someone who moved often during my childhood, I appreciated this book. Making friends can be tricky, especially when you’re new or when someone you love moves away. This book shows kids to keep trying and to not give up when trying to make a new friend. Sometimes you just have to be patient, but there is always a friend out there for everyone.

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As the new school year gets going, take a few minutes to encourage your students to be a good friend and to be friends with the kids who don’t have friends. They’ll never know just how much of an impact they might have on someone!