Baker's Dozen Selections: Friendship

Explain to families that this book can help listeners focus on visual literacy as well as writing/drawing. Point out the thought bubbles, asking children to tell what the characters are thinking. Then suggest a writing/drawing activity in which children draw thought bubbles. Share these projects with other family members, asking them to “read” the thought bubbles. An enrichment activity for families would be to play “name that song” together just as Squirrel and Bear do in the story. Adults and children take turns singing or humming a song, and the other tries to guess. 

After examining the cover illustration, adults and children can notice that the first pages show a gift arriving for a new baby. Consider together whether that might be the bear and baby from the book’s cover. If so, the child has probably loved this bear since infancy.

When reading this book with younger children, adults can point to each picture and use simple words to describe what’s happening.  This POINT AND TELL technique will help children’s vocabulary grow.  Children may want to “read” along with adults and label or describe some of the pictures themselves.  Simply pointing and saying one word is a good start to becoming a reader. 

Older children will be eager to examine the pictures more closely and answer questions about what’s happening in them (e.g. “Oh! Oh!  What do you think the Mommy is saying now?”)   Help children relate the story to how they feel about their own favorite toys.

The pictures in this story help to build suspense and excitement for young readers. Adults can pause on each page and prompt children to look closely for shadows, figures, and other indications that the cats are nearby. Adults can ask children to predict what they think will happen next in the story. On the pages with the illustration of the pantry, how many mice do they see in the shadows? In what ways were the mice brave? Why did they want to help the fish?

The Chopsticks learn that a variety of activities can be fun on their own as well as together. This story's theme lends itself to a parent discussion of how to encourage children to play productively alone. Talk about the kinds of activities, places, and situations that lend themselves to solitary play. Remind parents of the value of independent play.

Talk to families about the fact that this book will spark emotions in children. They will enjoy the friendship of the dog and frog, and they will feel sad that the frog does not come back. Children and parents can discuss possible reasons that the frog did not return. Children may want to relate times that they have experienced a loss. Explain to parents that the ending is so important in that the dog found a new friend, but still had a part of his old friend with him when he gave his “froggy smile” and used the frog’s words.

Families who are not city apartment dwellers, may want to preview the story by looking through the illustrations, talking with children about ways that Amanda’s city living differs from theirs--- concrete surrounding the building, laundry drying on balconies, and SO many nearby children to play with!  While reading the story, adults can point out how the children’s artwork brought cheer and happiness to the families in the building—and add, just as your child’s artwork does for you! 

After reading, adults can support children’s imaginations by playing the game, “Where are you and What are you doing?”  Turn to the double-page spread of the children’s artwork.  Then say, “Let’s pretend that we live in that building and want to help make the picture.” Take turns pointing to a spot in the picture where you would like to be, and tell what you would draw there, as well as the colors you would use. Your child might like playing this game with illustrations in other books as well.   

Take this opportunity to introduce your child to chapter books. On reading the book’s title, emphasize the words “and other stories,” pointing out that this book contains more than one story. Then turn to the Contents and read the titles of each of the chapters, pointing out the page numbers and the pictures beside them. As your child names the pictures, you might want to wonder together what those pictures might have to do with the stories. Show your child how to find where each story starts using the page numbers listed. If your child is still a beginning listener, read just one chapter at a time. You can start at the beginning or let your child decide which story to hear first. The chapters are short and always funny, providing a great way to build any child’s attention span.

Help families understand how to talk about friendship with their children. As children enter preschool and other social settings, they may discover that they do not want to be friends with everyone. Explain to parents that they should tell their child it’s okay if they are not friends with every person, but they must respect and be kind to everyone. Connect this idea with the story. Some animals didn’t make the best friends for Harry and others were just right. 

Families will find that there is so much to look at in this book. The expressions and body language of the characters are perfect complements to the text. Before reading the story with children, adults may want to walk through the pages, giving attention to the speech bubbles. Speech bubbles can be a fun vehicle for children and adults alike to interact with the characters in a book and understand what they may be feeling. Because the illustrations contribute to a deeper understanding of the characters as well, adults can pause after reading the text on each page to allow children to look at the illustrations. ​

Encourage adults to preview the story prior to reading with children by taking a picture walk. When focusing on text alone, a reader might miss aspects of the story revealed through the detailed illustrations. Adults can take time to observe each illustration and practice telling the story in their own words. What might they want to point out to children when reading? Lubna and Amir find comfort and security in Pebble. Ask adults if their child has a treasured belonging that he or she carries for comfort. Did reading Lubna’s story provide insight into their own child’s connection to this belonging?

Explaining the characteristics of sloths will help children understand why Sloth is so excited for the sleepover initially and why it becomes challenging once she is there. Adults can talk with children about sloth facts, including how they move slowly, love to swim, cannot see in bright light, and sleep upside down. So, do you think a sloth would like a sleepover? Pause during the story to ask children to look closely at each character’s facial expressions. Can they guess how they might be feeling during each activity? 

Point out to families that this story is told through “speech bubbles” and simple text. After reading the story to children once or twice, let children help read the book. Show children that Gerald (the elephant) has gray speech bubbles and Piggie has pink ones to match their skin colors. Have the child choose a character to read, with the parent being the other character. Beginning readers can read the actual words, while younger children can come up with their own to recall what happens in the story. The colored bubbles will help children know when it is their character’s turn to speak.

This story’s familiar setting gives families and children much to think and talk about. Adults and children can share times when they both have been confronted with a need to be brave. Where possible, adults can introduce ideas of how we decide about doing something we fear. For example, to be sure that the activity is safe, children can ask a trusted grown up or older sibling for advice. They can also watch others do the activity first, or even start by doing just a small part at a time. 

This story also presents a good opportunity to point out individual differences in people. Some of us love to try out new things right away, while others need to take our time. Adults can point out that on the Dedication Page, the illustrator Marc Rosenthal declares that he is actually a “scaredy-cat!”