There’s something truly heart-warming about reading and talking about friendship with my children. They are at the start of their young lives, ready to make and build friendships, so seeing them come to life in their stories is both important and enjoyable. We have a lot of picture books in our house, a lot, but I noticed recently that some of my favourites are those that centre around friendships. The children very much enjoy them, too, of course, so I thought it would be fun and useful to put together our top 10 picture books about friendship….
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Picture Books About Friendship
Herman’s Letter by Tom Percival
A book of a firm friendship, letter writing (with lift the flap letters) and beautiful illustrations. I love this one, as do both of the kids.
Rabbit’s Nap by Julia Donaldson
Despite her friends unintentionally interrupting her nap, in the end they come together to look after Rabbit. We have all of the Tales of Acorn Wood books, all with a circle of friends within them and fun stories with lift the flaps.
Marmaduke the Very Different Dragon by Rachel Valentine
I find this book to be so sweet. Marmaduke is endearing, and manages to find a friend for life, with a bond of friendship that others envy.
Sharing a Shell by Julia Donaldson
This is currently one of my son’s favourite reads. I can recite it all off by heart, and I’m happy doing so as it is such a fun story about friendship, and as it says ‘three friends sharing a shell, happy as house-mates can be’. (Oh, and if you like this one, do check out my Sharing a Shell Small World Play)
Pip & Posy: The Bedtime Frog by Axel Scheffler
We have all of the Pip and Posy books here, as Little Man adores them. All are sweet tales of friendship, but I think this one is fabulous showing how caring and selfless Pip is when Posy is in need.
Bubble Trouble by Tom Percival
Reuben and Felix’ story, a tale of rivalry and friendship’s ability to overcome it.
The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson
These pair join forces and set off to see the world together, and in the end, it is the tiny snail who rescues his friend.
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
I adore Oliver Jeffers’ books. All so beautifully illustrated, with original tales gently told. This story is of a burgeoning friendship that the boy himself doesn’t initially recognise.
Superworm is popular here. The rhymes are fun and catchy and it’s lovely to see all of the creatures club together when their saviour Superworm is in need of help.
Penguin In Love by Salina Yoon
We have a few of these Penguin books, and this one is utterly adorable, as penguins find one another and their affections grow.
Bedtime stories and snuggly picture book reads are always precious, but when they tell tales about friendships and being kind to others, they are even more special. The kids and I love these stories and chatting about the characters in them, so I do hope that they stay with them.
Have you read and enjoyed any of these? Which books would you add to the list?
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Lovely post Jocelyn. Oliver Jeffers and Julia Donaldson are huge hits here too xx
Thank you. They are great writers x
These books all sound amazing, and as of yet we have none of them in our collection! Zach’s still way too young to understand what happens in the stories, but I like building up his collection ready for when he’s a bit older! xx
Oh yes, get them! My ids love these stories – if you need to start somewhere, every collection needs Pip and Posy and the Tales of Acorn Wood (perfect for little hands, too, as they’re chunky cardboard)! x
Some of these we have and love but fab recommendations, going to create a pinterest board now me thinks for H book ideas! xx
I always support the decision to create new Pinterest boards! Thanks xx
Love some of these two but a few are new to us… Must check them out! It’s so good to get kids into books early ?
Ahhh!!! My comment says two not too… Uh oh… Can I blame predictive text??!
🙂 Happens to me a lot!
It really is, a hobby for life for them then, too.