From the Scholastic Bookshelf: How to Talk to Kids About Making Friends

Strong relationships are built on cultivating deep connections.

Oct 21, 2022

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From the Scholastic Bookshelf: How to Talk to Kids About Making Friends

Oct 21, 2022

Friendships are vital for building confidence and self-esteem, and deflecting bullying and negative peer pressure. For many kids, making friends comes easily — but for others, it may be more challenging.

To kickstart the process, you can help your child hone in on their listening and communicating skills, which will encourage them to strike up a conversation with others. 

For example, you can do some role playing and have your child pretend they’re meeting a new friend at school:

  • Challenge your child to come up with questions they can ask others 

  • Help them read and understand certain social cues

  • Identify invitations and rejections 

  • Build connections with others who share similar interests

For its 100th anniversary, Scholastic spoke with experts to identify a set of tips, articles, and books that make starting a conversation with your child about making friends easier. These resources are part of a broader initiative, called the Scholastic Bookshelf, created for Instagram to raise awareness around contemporary issues affecting children today.

Whether your child reads them with you or on their own, the following books and articles will give them a sense of the power of friendship and offer teachable moments on how to be a good friend. 

For more quick tips and book recommendations, sign up for our Scholastic Parents newsletter!

The Best Stories About Friendship for Beginner Readers

Bunbun & Bonbon are the best of friends. They’re also part of Scholastic’s graphic-novel line, Graphix. These books are ideal for reluctant readers, with simple text and fun illustrations that help with reading comprehension. They will give kids a boost of confidence with every read!

Stories About Friendship for Independent Readers

Set in middle school, the Making Friends series introduces readers to Danny, who’s starting 7th grade at a new school without any of her friends from 6th grade in her classes. When Danny gets the magical chance to literally draw up a new friend, she draws Madison, the perfect best friend in every way. But is this friendship really a two-way street? Danny learns that friends are not guaranteed and there are no shortcuts if you want to keep them. 

Similarly, “How to Be a Good Friend” in Scholastic Choices magazine offers readers advice for navigating the rough patches that are inevitable in every friendship. Whether it’s how to confront someone close who’s hurt you or how to welcome new friends into existing friendship circles, the rallying cry across these scenarios is honesty.

Be sure to visit the Scholastic Bookshelf for more resources on making friends. If you’re having conversations with your child about complex topics and seek tips or book recommendations, visit our Tough Topics hub. You’ll find a wealth of advice from Scholastic editors to help you navigate challenging conversations thoughtfully.

Related topics include:

Shop books below to celebrate friendship! You can shop all books and activities at The Scholastic Store.

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Friends and Friendship