Friendship                                                       

Building friendships help children to increase their social skills and build relationship skills that will help them later in life. -Straightforward Consulting

The Brand New Kid
by Katie Couric

Lazlo S. Gazky, a new kid in class, has just come to this country from Hungary. Lazlo's first days at Brookhaven School are a nightmare: His "different" looks and manner set him apart from the other children and inspire the kind of teasing elementary school kids and their parents will quickly recognize. After initially joining in the taunting, Ellie McSnelly and Carrie O'Toole offer Lazlo their hands in friendship and prove to the rest of the class that looking different is not such a bad thing.

Building a Bridge.
by Lisa Shook Begaye, Libba Tracy (Illustrator)

From Horn Book :
Anna is unsure about making friends at her new school, since her pale hair and skin mark her as different from her Navajo classmates. But when the teacher encourages her to build a bridge with Juanita, Anna discovers she is not so different after all. The illustrations are graceful, but the overstated message, while laudable, leaves little to the imagination. -- Copyright © 1994 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

Almond Cookies and Dragon Well Tea.
by Cynthia Chin-Lee, You Shan Tang (Illustrator)

Erica visits the home of Nancy, a Chinese-American girl, and makes many delightful discoveries about her friend's cultural heritage.

Everett Anderson's Friend.
by Lucille Clifton, Ann Grifalconi (Illustrator)

At first, Everett is disappointed that his new neighbor isn't a boy. Eventually, he decides that a girl who can run and win at ball isn't so bad, after all.

Annie Bananie : Best Friends to the End.
by Leah Komaiko, Abby Carter (Illustrator)

Libby hopes to win the friendship of Annie Bananie, the new girl at Nichols School, by having her over for Lucky Lunch Day, but that means prodding her Grandma Gert to cook more than just potatoes.

An Extraordinary Egg.
by Leo Lionni

Now in Dragonfly comes the tale of three colorful frogs. One finds a pebble. Another declares it a chicken egg. But what happens when a baby alligator hatches instead? "Kids will giggle at the frogs' repeated references to the friendly newborn as `the chicken.' They'll be even more tickled when the frogs chuckle at the `mother chicken' who, finally reunited with her offspring, greets her `sweet little alligator'...In his 40th book, Lionni is in typically fine form" (Publisher's Weekly).

George and Martha-The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends.
by James Marshall, Maurice Sendak

From Amazon.com:
Like all best friends, George and Martha do everything together--go to the movies, play at the beach, and just hang around not doing much of anything. No matter that they happen to be gigantic hippopotami, they learn the same lessons humans do about the ups and downs of true friendship. George and Martha teach each other (and adoring readers) that even in a close friendship, privacy is important, practical jokes can sometimes backfire, and among other things, pouring split pea soup into your loafers to spare the chef's feelings is not the best laid plan. In this volume, all 35 episodes are brought together to celebrate friendship and two of the most lovable book characters ever created.

Bridge to Terabithia.
by Katherine Paterson, Donna Diamond (Illustrator)

In this classic novel, the friendship between young Jess and Leslie grows as they meet in Terabithia--their secret hiding place--and only ends with the tragic death of one of them. Set in contemporary rural America, "the story is one of remarkable richness and depth, beautifully written."--The Horn Book.

Chicken Sunday.
by Patricia Polacco, Edward Miller (Illustrator), Stuart J. Murphy

After being initiated into a neighbor's family in a solemn backyard ceremony, a young Russian-American girl and her African-American "brothers" determine to buy their "gramma" Eula a beautiful Easter hat. But their good intentions are misunderstood, until they discover just the right way to pay for the hat that Eula has her eye on.

Ruby The Copy Cat.
by Peggy Rathman

Angela wears a beautiful red bow. So does Ruby. Angela writes a poem about a cat. So does Ruby. But when Angela gets fed up with Ruby, the little copycat has to find the one special thing that makes her original.