I'm Going to Make a Friend

A nice little book that can be used to start a conversation around lots of different issues related to children's friendships. On the face of it, I'm Going to Make a Friend is a story about a little boy who moves to a new area where he doesn't know anyone and who decides to use his creative talents to make his perfect friend out of junk modelling and other materials. This opens up the next part of the story about what qualities his perfect friend could have and the fun they could have together. When a real little boy wants to pick up the newly made friend, there's an accident. But this isn't the end of the world - it's an opportunity for BOTH boys to build a new friend for them all to play with.

I'm Going to Make a Friend is a lovely book to support discussions around friendship and belonging. What qualities do our children look for in their friends? Do they need to consider playing with other children who don't fit these criteria? Might they learn something new and make an unexpected friend if they do?

This book is simply written and beautifully illustrated and will appeal to most children. The conversations about what we like about our current friends and what we might like to consider in new friends is a great opportunity to build links between children, especially as we start planning visits to new classes and schools. We could even collect some junk modelling and build our perfect friend, listing the qualities they have on a 'how to make a friend' instruction sheet. What a marvellous display this would make for September!

Picture book / Reviewed by Wendy Kelly, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+

A child moves to a new house and is worried about making new friends. How long will it take? What games will they want to play? Will they have their own ideas? In the end, they realise, you just have to give it a go!

How to Make a Friend is a delightful, reassuring book which explores all the emotions it takes to form a friendship. Text and illustration work beautifully together in this book as the pictures show the child using junk modelling to create a friend, encouraging readers to explore the idea of 'making a friend' and what this really means. At times, the child's robot-style creation seems to come to life through their imagination, but reverts to an inanimate form when the child interacts with others.

As the child struggles with all the questions filling their head about what they might expect from a friend, the story offers a perfect springboard for discussion and role play to develop and explore these ideas.

The child - never identified as a boy or a girl - does have a constant companion - the cat which follows them around, their expression mirroring the feelings of the child. There are many details in the pictures for readers to discuss and enjoy as they explore the developing friendship. There are plenty of pages to pause on, to discuss what might be happening, what might be said - and what might happen next. The end papers are also worth lingering over - the child (and their cat!) play alone at the beginning; the two children(and the cat!) play together at the end.

A brilliant book for both home and school, I'm Going to Make a Friend is just lovely! 

Picture book / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+