Shared Space by Maddie Frost
I’m using the description from the book subtitle here because, truly, they said it best: A Hilarious Story About an Orderly Mouse and Messy Pak-Rat Learning Boundaries and Friendship for Kids. It’s excellently done, and my kids have been picking it up daily.
Between Two Windows by Keisha Morris
Two children, two apartment windows across a courtyard, and the magic of becoming friends.
Cranky by Phuc Tran, illustrated by Pete Oswald
A wonderfully grumpy crane named Cranky has a bad day, and his construction-site friends help him through it. The lesson is that even your most loved people can have a hard day, and friendship is showing up anyway.
The Big Cheese by Jory John, illustrated by Pete Oswald
From the makers of The Bad Seed and the rest of that beloved snack-food universe. A wheel of cheese who is very sure he is the best gets a humbling and learns, somewhere along the way, that being the biggest cheese in the room isn't really the point. We talked a lot about how this applies to sports and what good sportsmanship looks like when you’re winning.
That's My Carrot by Il Sung Na
Two rabbits, one carrot, a polite tug-of-war that escalates. A perfect book for siblings or anyone whose kids fight over the last of literally anything. (So… all of us.)
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Patrice Barton
A quiet boy at school feels invisible and is illustrated in black-and-white while everyone else is in color, but slowly comes into color as one new kid notices him and pulls him in. We talk a lot about keeping our eyes open for people who need a friend, and this was a beautiful demonstration of why.