Children's Books About Friendship When It Gets Complicated

Maya keeps trying to join in, and Chloe keeps following the lead of the friends she already has. Woodson leaves room for readers to think about the little moments Chloe could have handled differently. E. B. Lewis's pictures make it easy to see who is left standing apart.

A boy wants Dad to help him get rid of Jeremy Ross, the new kid down the street. Dad's recipe calls for spending a whole day with Jeremy first. Read it with children who have decided how they feel about someone they barely know, and ask where that first impression starts to change.

Brian knows what it feels like to be overlooked, and he's the first child to make Justin feel welcome. A note and a class project give the boys different ways to reach out. Young readers can look at who's included in a group and what changes when one child makes room for another.

Jeremy wants the shoes other kids wear so badly that he keeps a thrift-store pair that hurts his feet. When he sees a chance to help Antonio, he has to weigh what the shoes mean to each of them. It gives a young reader a concrete choice to think about before turning the page.

Gollie can't stand Bink's bright socks, and Bink sees no reason to give them up. Their standoff is the first of three short, illustrated adventures. A beginning reader can follow the joke while thinking about how much say a friend ought to have in what you wear.

Bean thinks the girl next door will be boring because she wears dresses and sparkly headbands. Then Ivy helps her out of trouble. Sophie Blackall's illustrations and the short chapters give new readers time to catch the difference between what Bean expects from Ivy and what Ivy actually does.

Clementine cuts Margaret's hair, gets sent to the principal, and eventually finds Margaret will no longer speak to her. Hearing the week from Clementine's side lets a reader see how somebody can mean to help and still make a mess of things. Marla Frazee's pictures keep the awkwardness funny.

Dory's siblings think she should leave her imaginary friend at home when she starts school. Then she meets Rosabelle, whose imagination is just as big as hers, and has to convince her family the friendship is real. The illustrations give newly independent readers plenty of clues about how Dory sees the world.

Lulu wants to earn money walking three dogs that refuse to make it easy. Fleischman keeps offering help, which would be handy if Lulu didn't find him so irritating. The short chapters give a reader several chances to decide when accepting help is worth giving up some control.

Audrey is already having a hard time finding her place in second grade when another Audrey joins the class. Becoming Audrey L. is one more change she didn’t ask for, but getting to know Audrey W. gives her a chance to reconsider what they have in common. Try it with a child who has had to make room for someone new.

Joe's friends have moved away, and Ravi is trying to work out where he fits after moving from India. The same bully gives each boy a reason to pay more attention to the other. Short alternating chapters let readers compare what the boys know and what they assume about each other.

Astrid signs up for roller derby expecting to have Nicole beside her, but Nicole would rather go to dance camp. Derby also brings someone new into Astrid's life. The graphic novel gives both the rough practices and the changing friendship time to play out, so a reader can see what Astrid gains and what she misses.

When Soojin starts spending time with Emily and talks about taking a new name, Amina worries she might lose the friend who knows her best. Khan gives Soojin her own reasons, too. It makes a good middle-grade choice for talking about how fear of being left out can get in the way of listening.

Grace starts a button-trading fad and finds herself getting the sort of attention her best friend Ellie usually gets. The craze gets big enough that Grace needs help putting an end to it. Readers can think about what happens to the friendship when the girls are no longer happy with the roles they used to play.

Jordan Banks travels from Washington Heights to a private school where he's one of the few kids of color in his grade. He wants to make friends there and keep the ones he has back home. His drawings give readers another way to see how it feels when each group knows a different part of your life.

Beth and Chanda's dogsitting job goes wrong when they break something their client treasures. The two friends scramble to raise enough money for a replacement, taking on everything from washing cars to selling books. Read it for a friendship tested by a shared mistake and decisions about whose idea to try next.

Pacy makes a new friend, Melody, who shares parts of her Taiwanese American experience. They enter a science fair together and like the same boy. The easygoing chapters leave room for the pleasure of finding someone who understands you and the awkwardness of wanting some of the same things.

After a school shooting strains their friendship, Quinn leaves a box and a note at Cora's door asking her to help try to change the past. Following both girls gives older readers room to think about why they might want to work together and why it would be hard to begin. The book deals directly with grief and the aftermath of gun violence.