The Friendship Book
Age 3+
Picture Books
A joyful look at the friendships we make and how to nurture them from award-winning author Zanni Louise and illustrator Nicky Johnston
Friends can come from anywhere! From school, the park, the shopping square.
A bookstore, circus, from the zoo ...
But how will we know what to do?
How do we find friends, make friends or be a friend? Zanni Louise and Nicky Johnston weave a story of building friendship and community through kindness, inclusion and imagination in this delightful journey through a day of meeting, greeting, laughing and playing together.
A perfect gift for every child, whether moving to a new neighbourhood, starting school, or starting a new class.
Resources
Creators
Based in the Byron Bay hinterland, Zanni Louise is passionate about writing quality books for children and inspiring people to write their own stories.
Zanni has written 16 books for children, including picture books and junior fiction. Her books have been described as quirky, warm and funny, and are sold in many foreign territories. She’s been twice listed in the CBCA Notables, and her picture book Archie and the Bear was selected for the highly prestigious international children’s catalogue: The White Ravens.
Nicky Johnston is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. She has over 30 children’s book titles to her name published in Australia and overseas. Nicky’s illustration style is often described as whimsical, playful, narrative, emotive and colourful. She loves to work in watercolour, ink, pencils, and pastel.
A primary teacher and an acclaimed presenter, Nicky’s love of books sees her thoroughly enjoy taking illustrator workshops and visiting schools regularly. She is passionate about inspiring young children with a love for reading, writing, and drawing, encouraging them to use their imagination and develop their own ideas. Nicky lives in Melbourne with her husband and four sons.
Reviews
We all need good friends, and this book is a good, delightful and heartfelt reminder that it can take time to make friends, and that the ones who are there for us are the special ones. The people we carry with us through life are the friends we all deserve.
The Book Muse
It’s like a micro-lesson in how to make and keep friends without ever sounding like a micro-lesson, so your little readers will absorb the theme and ideas without realising, and readily discuss their own thoughts on this topic. I absolutely love Nicky Johnston’s illustrations and these ones are particularly adorable. The children radiate joy and happiness throughout their various adventures and outings. Also, a shout-out to the designer because this binding is dreamy – with it’s texture and size especially.
Just So Stories
This book not only celebrates making new friends – whether we reach out to others or vice versa – but through its charming rhyming text and cheerful illustrations that depict the exuberance of childhood perfectly, children learn the sorts of traits that help build lasting friendships, including sharing, compassion, empathy, and just being content in each other’s company. And yet it’s not preachy, acknowledging that “friendship’s made of lots of things” , that sometimes it takes time to let someone in or be let in, and that some friendships are “for now. And some to last” – even that friends will sometimes disagree, but even that can be done respectfully. Through the diversity of the characters in the illustrations it is clear that age, appearance, and origins are not barriers to enjoying the connections as everyone values the fun and spontaneity of the moment.
The Bottom Shelf
