Friends

A Visitor for Bear - Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton.

A very grumpy bear finds that he can't do without an initially unwanted visitor. The bear is a real drama queen and so it's great to read aloud his protestations of "I am undone!" as he throws himself to the ground. And his visitor, a small gray mouse is as cheeky as can be, another fun character.

Hooray for Fish - Lucy Cousins.

Bright colours and a large format book, make this one very popular with toddlers. A little fish introduces us to his friends, saving his best friend for last. Although my secret favourites are the Twin Fin Fin fish. (This one may be difficult to get hold of outside the UK, ask your local book store if they can find one for you).

How do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? - Jane Yolen and Mark Teague.

This is one of a series of books about how dinosaurs would behave if they were children. It's a really fun concept and the dinosaur's scientific name is always hidden somewhere in the illustrations. And the answer to the question in the title is "surprisingly nicely".

Duck on a Bike - David Shannon.

I love this book, there's plenty of opportunity for making animal noises and the illustrations are actually better (in my opinion) than the books that shannon is more famous for (No, David and Good Boy Fergus). It's a fable that a child will never grow out of. I think it's profound that each of these farm animals could hold three opposing opinions at the same time, just like people.

Froggy Plays Soccer - Jonathan London and Frank Remkiewicz.

The kids go crazy for Froggy, he jumps a lot, flops around, picks his nose, doesn't listen to grown ups and can't follow instructions. No wonder he's so popular! This is a good story about teamwork and a rare book about sport.

We'll be singing "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed", "The More we get Together" and "Slippery Fish" which is actually about the foodchain and not friendship, but I think it's important to know your predator from your prey. The poem is "Some People" by Charlotte Zolotow.