Tobin Learns To Make Friends

Author: Diane Murrell

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Making Friends, keeping friends, Friendship, Manners, Rules

Year of Publication: 2001

Publisher & Location: Future Horizons, Inc., Arlington, TX

ISBN#s:

• ISBN13: 9781885477798
• ISBN: 1885477791
• BINC: 7104044

Target Age Level: Pre-K and Lower Elementary

# of Pages: 31

Quality of Illustrations: rough, child-like drawings and coloring (basic)

Brief Summary: Tobin is a lonely red engine who cannot seem to make friends. But with the help of his buddies, he discovers that there are little things he can do to be nicer to those around him. Tobin soon finds that he is surrounded by friends who truly enjoy working and playing with him. Parents and teachers can use this book to teach friendship skills to children who find social interactions challenging. Important social lessons include: sharing, being polite, taking turns, talking quietly, the importance of personal space, and more! NOTE: This book was written by a mother of a child with Asperger's Syndrome to teach him how to make and keep friends, building upon his interest in trains.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: This book is fairly straight-forward and has titles, like "Friendship" and "Borrowing," etc. every few pages so that the user can turn to the section that is most helpful for the child at the time. It can be read as an entire story, or used in sections to teach social skills. This book "says it like it is" when it comes to friendship rules, adopting a structure often used with the Power Cards strategy developed for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Because of this, some of the friendship rules are listed in a positive light (like "take turns") while others are stated negatively (like "don't interrupt"), which might turn some people away from this book. The structure is very much a direct teaching format, presumably to help the author's son, the inspiration for the book, learn the skills well.

Activity: Write down each of the things Tobin does (good choices and bad choices alike) on pieces of paper, have the kids each choose one (one at a time), and state if that is something that will help them make friends or if it is something that will cause them to lose friends.

How To Lose All Your Friends

Author: Nancy Carlson

Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: Friendship

Year of Publication: 1997

Publisher and Location: Puffin

ISBN#  978-0140558623

Target Age Level: Lower Elementary

# of Pages: 32


Quality of Illustrations: Colorful, but a little bit amateur


Brief Summary: This book contains ways to lose your friends, such as not sharing, not smiling, cutting in line, and tattling.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: The reverse examples are a fun way to look at friendship and are common situations children experience.

Activity: As a class, write a book with the students’ own ideas about how to lose all their friends.  Each student can write an example and illustrate a page for the book.

Since We're Friends: An Autism Picture Book

Author: Celeste Shally
Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: Difficulties Making/Keeping Friends
Year of Publication: 2007
Publisher and Location: Awaken Specialty Press:
ISBN# 0979471303
Target Age Level: Lower Elementary
# of Pages: 32
Quality of Illustrations: Great, colorful, and fun pictures.
Brief Summary: There are two boys who are friends. One friend has mild autism. This book describes their friendship and how the "typical" friend helps his friend with autism in a variety of situations.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: The child with autism in this book is still able to interact with peers. It is important to explain that this is not how autism looks in every situation.
Activity: The "typical" friend does a lot of things to help out his friend, which may be overwhelming to some children when discussing how to befriend students with disabilities. Have the students identify all the ways the "typical" friend is able to help his friend with autism, and the characteristics of a good friend. Have the students pick one way they can help someone they know (regardless of whether that friend has a disability).

Tacky, the Penguin

Author: Helen Lester

Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: insensitivity for individual and group differences.

Year of Publication: 2006
Publisher and Location: Houghton Miffin/Walter Lorraine Books - Boston, MA
ISBN-10: 0618737545
Target Age Level: 4-8 Kindergarden
# of Pages: 32
Quality of Illustrations: Excellent

Brief Summary:
Tacky doesn’t behave like the other penguins and his friends finds him annoying. But his unique personality and out-of-the-box thinking saves the penguin community.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children:
It’s a lesson of tolerance on differences and an inspiration to enjoy the uniqueness on every human being.

Activity:
Have children measure items in the room with different penguin feet, then write/illustrate in journals about what they did.
Posted by Nalu de Araujo Nunes

Fat Kid Rules The World

Title: Fat Kid Rules the World

Author: K.L. Going

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Difficulties Making and Keeping Friends, Substance abuse, parent-child relationships

Year of Publication: 2003

Publisher & Location: Penguin Putnam

ISBN#: 0-399-23990-1

Target Age Level: middle school, high school

# of Pages: 187

Quality of Illustrations: none

Brief Summary: Seventeen-year-old Troy Billings is six-foot-one and weights three hundred pounds. He has no friends. His dad is ashamed of him. His mom died. His brother is embarrassed by him. He sees no reason for living. Standing along the subway tracks, he is contemplating ending his life when a filthy, scrawny homeless person begins speaking to him. The homeless guy is none other than the legendary Curt McCrae, the best punk rock guitarist in the city. Curt saves Troy’s life; then, for reasons that Troy cannot possibly understand begins an unusual friendship. Curt insists that Troy become the new drummer in his band. There’s just one problem: Troy doesn’t play the drums.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book: Graphic language

Post Reading Activities: Discuss reasons that people stereotype and refuse to be friends with others. This book talks extensively about how Troy feels about being obese and how he feels others view him. This book could be used to discuss those stereotypes and the hardships it places on people dealing with the crisis of obesity. This book also highlights prescription drug abuse which could be discussed with a reader in an effort to understand the addition.

A Color of His Own

Author: Leo Lionni

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Making and keeping friends

Year of Publication: 1997

Publisher & Location: Random House Children’s Books, New York

ISBN#: 0-679-88785-7

Target Age Level: Preschool, Lower Elementary

# of Pages: 32

Quality of Illustrations: Good

Brief Summary: A chameleon thinks that he has no color of his own as he frequently changes colors. Then one day a chameleon has an idea to remain one color forever by staying on the greenest leaf he can find. When another chameleon suggests they travel together, he learns that companionship is more important than having a color of his own. No matter where he goes with his new friend, they will always be alike.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: None

Activities: Have students color a picture of the chameleon with his many different colors. Then have them team up with a classmate and draw pictures of both of them doing or representing some of the things they have in common.

Freak the Mighty

Author/Authors: Rodman Phillbrick

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: FRIENDSHIP, DEATH, INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Year of Publication: 1993

Publisher & Location: Scholastic Paperbacks

ISBN #: 0439286069

Target Age Level: Upper elementary

# of Pages: 176

Quality of Illustrations: None

Brief Summary: Maxwell Kane lives with his grandparents after his father allegedly killed his mother. He is picked on and also is in special education which adds to his low self-esteem. He then meets Kevin (aka freak) who has a rare birth defect where his body does not grow like it is supposed to. Kevin is very smart and has a very active imagination. Max carries Kevin all over the place and Kevin is the “brain” of their duo friendship is called Freak the Mighty. In the end of the story, Kevin dies and Max is left with his memory of their friendship. Max’s dad also kidnaps his son and attempts to harm him as well. This story has multiple emotional/crisis issues that can be talked about.

Post reading activity:
I found a website that a teacher put together that has questions after every chapter or two. This would be a good guide to use when asking questions. There is also a Jeopardy game which would be fun to use. The link is http://www.cowden-herrick.k12.il.us/staff/burruscasey/elearning/ftm/activities.html .

Being Bindy

Author: Alyssa Brugman

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Friendship, Divorce, Bullying

Year of Publication: 2006

Publisher & Location: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

ISBN#: 0385732945

Target Age Level: Jr. High, High School

# of Pages: 208

Quality of Illustrations: None

Brief Summary: Set in Australia. Bindy is in 8th grade. Janey, her best friend growing up, has decided that Bindy isn’t cool enough anymore. Janey ditches her for a new “cooler friend”. Janey’s new friends dress provocatively, smoke pot, and are very mean. Janey humiliates Bindy a few times, and it very mean and hurtful.
Bindy’s parents are divorced. Bindy struggles with her relationship with her mother. Bindy’s father starts to date Janey’s mother which puts further strain on Bindy and Janey’s relationship. Bindy does have a support system of her father, brother, and two new friends.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: There is some vocabulary and references that may not be understood due to it being written by an Australian author.

Activity: Discuss the struggles Bindy has when her "best friend" changes. (It's a very typical experience for teen age girls.) The student could identify the feelings that Bindy is experiencing and relate it to their own experiences.