Discover Books
Find the perfect book for your child
1 filter active
Showing results for friendship
2–5 yrsLittle Blue Truck Makes a Friend
Alice Schertle
Little Blue Truck meets a new friend who is too shy to play. A gentle, warm story about reaching out, being patient, and the joy of making a new friend — perfect for children starting childcare or playgroup.
friendshipkindnesssocial
2–5 yrsCorduroy
Don Freeman
A teddy bear in a department store longs for a home, and a little girl named Lisa saves up her own money to give him one. A warm story about belonging, friendship, and unconditional love.
friendshipbelonging
3–5 yrsRoom on the Broom
Julia Donaldson
A kind witch picks up passengers on her broomstick — a cat, a dog, a bird, and a frog — until it finally snaps under the weight. Julia Donaldson's rhyming storytelling is at its warmest and most generous here.
friendshipteamworkrhyme
Carla's Glasses
Debbie Herman
Carla is nervous about wearing her new glasses to school. Will her friends still like her? A warm and reassuring story about accepting differences and finding out that being yourself is always the right choice.
friendshipbelongingschool
3–6 yrsMeesha Makes Friends
Tom Percival
Meesha loves making things but finds it hard to make friends — until she finds a way to connect that feels just right for her. A gentle, affirming story for children who feel socially anxious or different.
friendshipanxietyconfidence
3–6 yrsTime for School, Little Blue Truck
Alice Schertle
It's the first day of school and Little Blue Truck's friend is feeling nervous about going. Blue offers gentle encouragement all the way to school, showing that with a little support, even the biggest days become manageable.
friendshipanxietyencouragement
3–6 yrsCarla's Sandwich
Debbie Herman
Carla brings unusual sandwiches to school — full of pickles, jam, olives — and gets teased for it. But when lunchtime comes, things take an unexpected turn. A funny, affirming story about confidence and being unapologetically yourself.
friendshipindividualityschool
3–6 yrsKnuffle Bunny Too
Mo Willems
Trixie discovers that another girl at school has the exact same Knuffle Bunny — and what follows is a beautiful accident. The second Knuffle Bunny is as funny and touching as the first.
friendshipfamily
3–7 yrsThe Smeds and the Smoos
Julia Donaldson
The red Smeds and the blue Smoos never mix — until two young ones fall in love. A charming alien love story that celebrates diversity, acceptance, and finding common ground, told in classic Julia Donaldson rhyme.
friendshipbelongingdiversity
The Lion Inside
Rachel Bright
An inspiring story that shows we all have a lion inside of us! "That day they BOTH learnedThat, no matter your size,We all have a mouseAND a lion inside."A mouse feels small and insecure and determines that what he needs to do is learn how to roar like a lion. He knows he has to act brave when he approaches a lion to learn how. In a hilarious turn of events, the lion is afraid of mice! The mouse comforts the lion, they become friends, and we learn that there's a lion and a mouse inside all of us.The inspiring text by Rachel Bright and the fun, bold illustrations by Jim Field teach young readers an important lesson. Regardless of how big or mighty we are, we can all live our dreams and do what we want to do. Fans of Aesop's "The Lion and the Mouse" will enjoy The Lion Inside!
friendshipconfidence
Being Frank
Donna W. Earnhardt
Frank says exactly what he thinks — always. Which is honest, but sometimes causes problems. A funny and surprisingly nuanced story about the difference between being truthful and being kind.
friendshipempathyemotions
The Big Cheese
Jory John
A cheese who thinks he's the most important ingredient in every dish learns a lesson in humility. Jory John's most gently satirical book — funny for kids, resonant for adults.
friendshiphumility
4–8 yrsIda, Always
Caron Levis
Based on the true story of two polar bears at the Central Park Zoo, this achingly beautiful picture book follows Gus as his best friend Ida grows very ill. A gentle, honest story about loving someone who is dying and learning to carry them with you always — for children facing the loss of someone they love.
friendshipBig Changeemotions
4–8 yrsIra Says Goodbye
Bernard Waber
Ira's best friend Reggie is moving away — and Ira doesn't know how to feel about it. A warm, funny picture book that captures the complicated mix of sadness, denial, and eventual acceptance that comes with losing a friend to distance.
friendshipBig ChangeMoving
5–7 yrsToday I Will Fly
Mo Willems
Gerald the elephant says he cannot fly; Piggie says she will try. A perfectly structured early reader about believing in your friends, with Mo Willems' trademark simplicity and wit.
friendshipencouragement
Juice Box Bully
Bob Sornson
Pete is the new kid and he's used to getting his way — until his classmates refuse to be bystanders. A picture book about the power of speaking up, told through the lens of a whole class working together to change the culture.
friendshipbullyingempathy
5–8 yrsDays with Frog and Toad
Arnold Lobel
Five more tender stories about the seasons of friendship — from flying a kite to telling ghost stories. A warm and satisfying chapter in Lobel's beloved series.
friendshiproutine
5–8 yrsThe Invisible Boy
Trudy Ludwig
Brian always feels invisible at school — until a new boy arrives and notices him. A gentle, moving picture book about the difference one act of inclusion can make.
friendshipbelongingempathy
5–8 yrsFrog and Toad Are Friends
Arnold Lobel
Five gentle stories about the friendship between Frog and Toad — two completely different characters who need each other. Arnold Lobel's early reader is a quiet classic about what real friendship looks like.
friendshipkindness
5–8 yrsFrog and Toad Together
Arnold Lobel
Five more stories of Frog and Toad navigating willpower, bravery, and the comfort of a good friend. A masterpiece of simple storytelling with surprising emotional depth.
friendshippatience
5–8 yrsWhat to Say When You Don't Know What to Say
Davina Bell
A beautifully honest picture book about the awkward, important moments when we don't know what to say — when a friend is sad or something hard has happened. Teaches children the power of simply showing up.
friendshipempathyemotions
5–8 yrsGetting to Know Ruben Plotnick
Roz Rosenbluth
When a new boy joins the class, the narrator is determined to make friends — but Ruben Plotnick is harder to get to know than expected. A funny, relatable story about persistence, empathy, and the awkward art of making friends.
friendshipbelongingempathy
6–9 yrsThe Magic Faraway Tree
Enid Blyton
At the top of the Faraway Tree lives Moon-Face, Silky the elf, and Saucepan Man — and a different magical land arrives at the top every week. Enid Blyton's classic series is the perfect serial bedtime read: exciting enough to keep children listening, structured enough to pause at chapter's end.
friendshipadventureimagination
6–9 yrsIvy and Bean
Annie Barrows
Ivy is quiet and reads all day. Bean is loud and always in trouble. Their parents think they'll never be friends. Annie Barrows's series about two very different girls who become inseparable is exactly what friendship looks like — unexpected, messy, and completely irreplaceable.
friendshiphumor
6–10 yrsThe Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
Roald Dahl
Billy teams up with the Giraffe, the Pelican, and the Monkey — the Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company — to clean a duke's house and fulfil their wildest dreams. One of Dahl's most cheerful and sweet books.
friendshipadventurehumor
6–10 yrsThe Adventures of Captain Underpants
Dav Pilkey
George and Harold have hypnotised their principal into thinking he's a superhero in underpants and a cape. The most frequently challenged children's series of recent years — and one of the most effective tools ever created for turning reluctant readers into book lovers.
friendshipmischiefadventure
7–10 yrsAmber Brown is Not a Crayon
Paula Danziger
Amber Brown and Justin Daniels have been best friends forever — until Justin's family announces they are moving away. A warm, funny early chapter novel that captures the specific heartbreak of losing your very best friend.
friendshipBig ChangeDivorce
7–10 yrsMr Stink
David Walliams
Chloe makes an unlikely friendship with a tramp called Mr Stink and hides him in the garden shed. Funny, touching, and full of Walliams' trademark warmth — a story about friendship, class, and standing up for what's right.
friendshipfamilyhumor
7–10 yrsGangsta Granny
David Walliams
Ben thinks his granny is boring — until he discovers she's secretly an international jewel thief. A hilarious adventure with a genuinely moving twist that has made children and parents cry in equal measure.
friendshipfamilyhumor
7–10 yrsCat Kid Comic Club
Dav Pilkey
Petey's long-lost daughter Li'l Petey starts a comic club for a group of baby frogs. A funny, heartfelt series about creativity, kindness, and the joy of making things.
friendshipcreativityhumor
Sideways Stories From Wayside School
Louis Sachar
Meet the delightfully eccentric and unusually gifted pupils of Wayside School in this instalment of the brilliantly quirky Wayside School series – from Louis Sachar, author of the bestselling novel Holes As recommended on Radio 4 Kids Book Club, August 2024 There has been a terrible mistake. Instead of having thirty classrooms side by side, Wayside School is thirty storeys high! (The builder said he was sorry.) Perhaps that's why all sorts of strange and unusual things keep happening – especially in Mrs Jewls's classroom on the very top floor. There's the terrifying Mrs Gorf, who gets an unusually fruity comeuppance; Terrible Todd, who always gets sent home early; and Mauricia, who has a strange ice-cream addiction. Meanwhile, John can only read upside down, and Leslie is determined to sell her own toes. From top to bottom, Wayside is packed with quirky and hilarious characters who are all brought to life in this new edition with delightful illustrations by Aleksei Bitskoff throughout. This is an unmissable, irrepressible story of mixed-up mayhem from Louis Sachar, the bestselling author of Holes.
friendship
8–12 yrsThe One and Only Bob
Katherine Applegate
Bob the street dog from Ivan's mall is searching for his lost sister when a hurricane threatens everything he has built. A worthy companion to Ivan — funny, warm, and genuinely exciting.
friendshipadventureanimals
8–12 yrsHarriet the Spy
Louise Fitzhugh
Harriet keeps a secret notebook full of sharp, honest observations about everyone around her. When it's discovered, everything falls apart. A witty, ahead-of-its-time novel about empathy, honesty, and finding your voice.
friendshipcuriosityempathy
8–12 yrsThe Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
Karina Yan Glaser
The five Vanderbeeker children have two weeks to convince their grumpy landlord not to evict them from their beloved brownstone. Karina Yan Glaser's warm, funny, fast-moving series is about community, belonging, and what it means to fight for the place that holds you.
friendshipfamilyresilience
Dork Diaries Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
Rachel Renee Russell
Nikki Maxwell is starting at a new school and is absolutely determined not to be a dork. Rachel Renee Russell's illustrated diary series is a perfect companion for girls who love Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
friendshiphumor
Dork Diaries Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
Rachel Renee Russell
Nikki is invited to a party — but so is her nemesis MacKenzie. A funny, relatable sequel for middle grade readers navigating the social jungle of school.
friendshipconfidencesocial
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson discovers he is a demigod — son of Poseidon — and has been accused of stealing Zeus's master lightning bolt. Rick Riordan's fast, funny, brilliantly inventive series has turned more reluctant readers into book lovers than almost any other series of the past twenty years.
friendshipadventureidentity
Auggie and Me
R J Palacio
Three perspectives on the events of Wonder — from Auggie's classmates Julian, Christopher, and Charlotte — adding new layers to a story readers thought they knew.
friendshipempathy
9–12 yrsHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
J K Rowling
A dangerous prisoner has escaped from Azkaban and is said to be heading for Hogwarts. The third Harry Potter book is widely considered the point where the series truly comes into its own.
friendshipadventuremagic
9–12 yrsThe Sea of Monsters
Rick Riordan
Percy and his friends must rescue their satyr friend Grover from the Sea of Monsters — a modern-day reworking of the Odyssey that is even more exciting than it sounds.
friendshipadventureteamwork
9–12 yrsNew Kid
Jerry Craft
Jordan Banks would rather go to art school, but he ends up at a fancy private school where he feels like he never quite fits in. A Newbery-winning graphic novel about identity, belonging, and the courage to be yourself.
friendshipbelongingconfidence
9–12 yrsDrama
Raina Telgemeier
Callie loves theatre more than anything. Stage-managing the school musical means navigating crushes, crew conflicts, and her own big feelings. Raina Telgemeier's graphic novel is the most popular middle grade series of the past decade for good reason: she draws feelings in a way words alone cannot.
friendshipanxietyemotions
9–12 yrsBridge to Terabithia
Katherine Paterson
Jess and Leslie become best friends and create a magical kingdom called Terabithia in the woods. Then something happens that changes everything. One of the most important books about grief and friendship ever written for children.
friendshipadventureemotions
9–12 yrsThe Titan's Curse
Rick Riordan
Percy and his friends must rescue the goddess Artemis and a new half-blood who has gone missing. The stakes get higher and more personal in this third Percy Jackson adventure.
friendshipbravery
9–12 yrsAnne of Green Gables
L M Montgomery
An elderly brother and sister accidentally adopt a talkative, red-haired orphan girl instead of the boy they ordered. L M Montgomery's 1908 classic is one of literature's great portraits of an irrepressible, imaginative spirit.
friendshipconfidencecreativity
9–12 yrsHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J K Rowling
A boy discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is a wizard and has been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. J K Rowling's first novel launched one of the most beloved series in publishing history — a story about friendship, bravery, and the magic of finding where you belong.
friendshipadventurebravery
9–12 yrsHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
J K Rowling
Harry's second year at Hogwarts is disrupted by a mysterious voice in the walls and students turning to stone. The second book raises the stakes and deepens the world Rowling has created.
friendshipbraverymagic
10–12 yrsHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
J K Rowling
Harry is unexpectedly entered into a deadly magical tournament that will change everything. The longest and most dramatic Harry Potter yet — the turning point of the entire series.
friendshipadventurebravery