Friendship Books For Preschool, Early Years, Kindergarten and Beyond
Once your little one hits preschool age, it’s a great time to introduce them to the wonderful world of friendship books.
Enjoy discovering these picture books and stories with your children. Friendship books help preschoolers learn about making friends, how to be a good friend, inclusion, and why friendship is so very important.
It can be especially helpful if you have an only child, as we do, to start teaching them the ABCs of friendship before you send them off into the big world of school! Learning how to share is a part of friendship, and friendship is just one of the valuable social skills kindergarteners learn about.
Kids can take the lessons they learn from these cute and funny picture books about friendship and use them in everyday situations. Does it take practice and consistency for them to apply these social skills? Certainly! But books help make it easier and are just a fun way to help your preschool kiddo learn the value of friendship.
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The books we’ve chosen here start at preschool reading age but I would recommend from age 3 all the way to 8.
Start by reading these books aloud to your preschooler and as their reading skills progress, they can read these all by themselves!
Here are our picks!
Best Books About Friendship For Preschool and Beyond
- Giraffe and Bird
- My Friend Is Sad
- The Little Book of Friendship
- Friends Forever
- Russell; The Kid Nobody Wants to Be Around
- Jake the Growling Dog
- We’re All Friends Here
- Are We Still Friends?
- Big Friends
Giraffe and Bird
Award-winning Canadian author-illustrator Rebecca Bender delivers an odd-couple tale that is anything but your average friendship story.
Giraffe and Bird can’t stand each other (or so they think) and despise each other’s annoying little habits. Until a storm blows in and separates them, then they realize how they actually miss and need each other.
Some readers compare their relationship to sibling rivalry which makes sense to me. It is a heartfelt little journey between two very different characters that really do love each other… cute, laugh-out-loud funny, and has a sweet ending. The artwork is fantastic too!
My Friend Is Sad (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
The Elephant and Piggie books are a series about two friends written and illustrated by Mo Willems.
Willem’s books are all quite funny and well-known. And they are all pretty terrific too!
They are great fun as a read-along book where different voices can be done for each friend. When your child starts reading on his own, they are at a perfect level for them to start.
In My Friend is Sad, elephant Gerald is down in the dumps. Piggie is determined to cheer him up by dressing as a cowboy, a clown, and even a robot! But what does it take to make a sad elephant happy? The answer will make even pessimistic elephants smile.
Two more Elephant and Piggie books we love are: I Love My New Toy and Can I Play Too? Willems has so many titles to choose from and they all come highly recommended as friendship books by preschool and elementary teachers (and kids!)
Out of This World Outer Space Books to Read with Your Preschooler
Reading Tips for Preschool Parents
The Little Book Of Friendship: The Best Way to Make a Friend Is to Be a Friend
by Laurie Friedman and Zack Bush
Friendships are like flowers. If you take care of them, they grow and bloom until you have a beautiful garden!
The Little Book of Friendship helps young boys and girls, preschoolers, and kids of all ages learn what they need to know about making friends, and how to be a good friend to others.
A very cute, simple book but jam-packed with great examples of how to be a good friend, what friendship means, and things to say to other kids when you meet them for the first time that will plant the seeds of friendship.
This book is a great resource for parents who want to teach their children the value of friendship.
The lessons learned in the book can easily be applied to real-life situations, such as at school, in the park, and on playdates.
Not sure what your child’s reading level is? You can get a reading assessment and a ton of other awesome literacy resources for kids ages 2-12 with Reading IQ: Age of Learning. They offer the first month totally free so there’s nothing to lose!
Friends Forever
by Kim Saunders
Kasey is the new kid on the block, looking for friends. She soon meets Jace, who is also new to the neighborhood. They become friends and playmates.
When Jace stops coming around, Kasey wonders what happened and why he isn’t the same anymore.
An excellent little story that helps young kids learn what it means to be a true friend, in good times and not-so-good times. Cute illustrations help bring the story to life.
Russell; The Kid Nobody Wants To Be Around
by Diane Young-Rodney
Russell’s annoying behavior at school sometimes hinders him from making friends. Something happens at his birthday party that changes his life—and that of another boy who takes the time to care.
This book is about kindness, caring and gives readers a fresh perspective on navigating friendship. It teaches the important lesson of inclusion and that everyone deserves to have a friend.
Hilarious Read Alouds For Kindergarten That Are Just For Fun!
Jake The Growling Dog
by Samantha Shannon
Jake the Growling Dog is a fun-loving tale about kindness, acceptance, friendship, and diversity.
Author and licensed school counselor, Samantha Shannon, and Illustrator and art educator, Kerrie Joyce, spotlight Jake, who is different from the other dogs and critters. He is often misunderstood because of his growling but he really doesn’t mean any harm!
With a little help and understanding, the others learn to love Jake despite his differences.
This story is a fun read and at the same time educates little ones about friendship and how to be kind to others. Another great choice for friendship books for kindergarten and preschool.
We’re All Friends Here
by Nancy Wilcox Richards
Our son loves this book! And so do I, incidentally. This clever, funny picture book demonstrates that there are two sides to every story.
Sonny and Arthur have been thrown together since nursery school, but the two boys couldn’t be more different. Sonny is cautious, neat, and studious while Arthur is a whirlwind of mess and noise. Sonny never gets in trouble (according to Arthur), and Arthur is always disruptive and causing trouble (according to Sonny).
But when Arthur is not on the school bus one day, Sonny realizes it’s pretty boring without his usual seatmate telling him gross stories. Maybe he and Arthur are actually a good team?
With all the humour and silliness that appeals to readers of this age, the story is cleverly told in alternating perspectives — first from Sonny’s point of view, and then from Arthur’s — that will get kids thinking about putting themselves in someone else’s shoes and learning about how misunderstandings happen.
Are We Still Friends?
by Ruth Horowitz
A finely crafted, heartwarming friendship story. Beatrice and Abel are the finest of friends. Beatrice raises bees. Abel grows apples. They make a perfect pair in every season, and so do the bees and the trees.
Until one spring morning, Abel startles a bee and gets stung! “WHEE HEE HEE!” he cries.
But Beatrice hears only the silly sounds and laughs. Is their friendship strong and steady enough to weather the stinging words and messy quarrel that stem from misunderstanding?
Friendship and nature form the perfect pair in this warm and winsome celebration of teamwork, ecology, and the art of saying “I’m sorry.” One of the sweetest books for preschool and beyond about the strength of friendship.
Big Friends
by Linda Sarah
Birt and Etho are best friends. Together they play outside in big cardboard boxes. Sometimes they’re kings, soldiers, astronauts. Sometimes they’re pirates sailing wild seas and skies. But always, always they’re big friends.
Then one day a new boy arrives, and he wants to join them. Can two become three?
The illustrations are vibrant and colorful and this book is just the right length for a bedtime story.
It also has a fantastic message about including new friends into your current friendships – viewing it as gaining a new friend not losing your current friend.
Wrapping Up
I hope you find some of the books about friendship worth a peek, whether your child is preschool age, kindergarten or even grade 1 or 2. There are some valuable friendship lessons to be learned in each and every one. What are some books about friendship that you have enjoyed reading to your little ones? We’d love to hear more suggestion so let us know in the comments.
Happy Reading! And remember…
“A friend is someone who helps you up when you’re down, and if they can’t, they lay down beside you and listen.” – Winnie the Pooh
Kelly Blakely is the founder and creative force behind Just Our View From Here. As a first-time mom over 40, she brings a fresh perspective to parenting and family life on her blog. Kelly also explores a wide range of lifestyle topics in her writing, including fashion, beauty, self-care, and well-being.
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This is such a fantastic list! I am always looking for new and engaging books for my daughter. Thank you for taking the time to share. A book that was discussed quite a bit and recommended in my mom and me group is “The First 12 Days of Preschool: Reading, Singing, and Dancing Can Prepare Kiddos and Parents!” by Jeanette Crystal Bradley. I bought this for my child before starting preschool. She absolutely adored it! I would read it to her, and she would “read” it back to me. We did the dances and sang the songs so much I think I have them memorized. Even a few weeks into school and we are still reading it! This book is a wonderful family resource for small children starting to prep for pre k. Filled with beautiful illustrations it really helps connect to a young mind and put them at ease. The animal characters are adorable and help keep the kiddos engaged. This was a huge help during those last few weeks before school started! Highly recommended!
Awesome! Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂