Introduction

This resource is a compilation of children’s books that address friendship for kindergartners and first graders although they could be used for younger or older students.  I searched for the books on the lists of suggested books on friendship prepared by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAECY) and the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (SCEFEL).  After searching the Harvard Reading Lab, Boston Public Library, Cambridge Public Library, COOP and the public libraries in Bergen County, New Jersey (the county which includes my hometown), I was able to collect some of the books on the lists.   (Most of the books on the lists are not easily available, if at all.)  After reading the books, I chose for this resource only those books that meet the needs of the kindergarten and first grade teachers at my site.  While the books in this resource cover many aspects of friendship, the books chosen have two main themes: (i) becoming a caring and kind friend and (ii) being friends with those who are different from you. 

This resource is organized by the theme of the book.  That is, books focused on becoming a caring and kind friend are together while books focused on being friends with those who are different are also together.  Each entry includes the name of the book, the author, a brief list of topics discussed in the book, a brief synopsis of the book, suggested questions to raise with students, and suggested activities to expand the ideas contained in the book.