Book picks similar to
Will I Have a Friend? by Miriam Cohen


picture-books
friendship
picture-book
childrens

Sammy the Seal


Syd Hoff - 1959
    Along the way he finds a school full of kids and new things to do—and he even learns to read!"So funny and so original that it promises to be one of the most successful books in this best-selling series." (Publishers Weekly)Sammy the Seal is another hilarious, original story by Syd Hoff, the celebrated author of Danny and the Dinosaur. This Level One I Can Read is perfect for shared reading with a child.

No Such Thing


Ella Bailey - 2014
    Objects would move around the house and sometimes they even disappeared. Now, some people may have wondered (especially at this time of year) if this was the work of something spooky? But not clever Georgia! She has all the explanations and none of the fear! Join her in debunking the spookiest of ghoulish and ghostly mischief in this Halloween adventure!Ella Bailey is an illustrator and writer who recently graduated from Falmouth University, England, with a first class honors degree in illustration. Although a recent graduate, her charming characters and effortless storytelling easily belie her years. Her engaging narrative rhythm, and boundless imagination, is instantly captivating. Her art blends the plucky playfulness of a modern day Mary Blair with the whimsical sincerity of a millennial. No Such Thing is her first published work.

Crickwing


Janell Cannon - 2000
    All he wants is to create his art in peace. But it's not easy being different--a cockroach with a cricked wing and a flair for sculpture is a ready target for the bigger creatures in the forest. Crickwing just wants to even the score, and leafcutter ants are so easy to pick on. ...Big mistake. INobody/I angers the leafcutter queen and gets away with it.In this epic adventure beneath the foliage, Crickwing and the leafcutter ants go head-to-head. Then a swarm of ferocious army ants threatens, and suddenly everyone is in danger. Crickwing has to do something, but what? He's an artist, not a fighter. What the leafcutters need is a hero. Or, maybe, a cockroach with a really clever idea...About the Author: Janell Cannon's picture books have won many awards and are beloved around the world. Before she became a full-time creator of books for children, she designed and produced summer reading programs at her local public library. Born and raised in Minnesota, Ms. Cannon now lives in Southern California.

My Friend Maggie


Hannah E. Harrison - 2016
    Paula thinks Maggie is the best—until mean girl Veronica says otherwise. Suddenly, Paula starts to notice that Maggie is big and clumsy, and her clothes are sort of snuggish. Rather than sticking up for Maggie, Paula ignores her old friend and plays with Veronica instead. Luckily, when Veronica turns on Paula, Maggie’s true colors shine through.      This moving friendship story has all the heart and emotion of The Giving Tree and Kevin Henkes's Chrysanthemum. The gorgeous artwork and important message make this a book to treasure. It’s truly a classic in the making.

Beach Toys vs. School Supplies


Mike Ciccotello - 2021
    Shovel thinks Ruler is a number-obsessed know-it-all. Ruler thinks Shovel is all play and no work. So when their two gangs challenge one another to a beachfront competition, the contest between beach toys and school supplies gets heated. Who will win? Who will have more fun? And will they be able to step up to help each other when unexpected disaster sweeps in?This fresh take on the end-of-summer blues is bright, dynamic, and laugh-out-loud funny!

If You Take a Mouse to School


Laura Joffe Numeroff - 2002
    Thankfully, the bestselling duo of author Laura Numeroff and illustrator Felicia Bond -- creators of If You Take a Mouse to the Movies and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie -- have teamed up to show us the hijinks a whiskered school guest could cause.Starting with asking for your lunchbox, this critter is set for mischief. The feisty mouse asks for a snack for later (cookies of course), a notebook, and pencils, and wants "to share your backpack, too." After he arrives at school, the pushy classmate tries his hand (make that paw) at math and writing on the blackboard, afterward whipping up a messy, pink science experiment and building a "little mouse house" from blocks. The schooltime antics don't stop there, but a busy mouse tends to get hungry after so much playtime. Naturally his snack is in the lunchbox, which is stored "in a safe place" with his new picture book inside.Following the whimsical style of their previous books, Numeroff and Bond have done it again. Their high-adrenaline mouse will have readers cheering while their eyes comb the illustrations for extra nibbles of fun. Although the book's main human character looks positively exhausted at the end, we can only holler for more of the little guy with the huge school spirit. Matt Warner

Baby Beluga


Raffi Cavoukian - 1983
    Raffi's signature song and the top seller in his Songs to Read series, Baby Beluga is now available in a quality board book edition perfect for his youngest fans.

Milk Goes to School


Terry Border - 2016
    Milk's dad gave her a sparkly new backpack and told her that she was the creme de la creme, but most of the other kids don't seem to agree. In fact, some of her new classmates think Milk is just little a bit spoiled. . . .In this latest hilarious picture book from Terry Border, our food friends go to school and learn that it's not just Milk that's the creme de la creme. Some other food can be just as sweet.Praise for Terry Border's picture books:Happy Birthday, Cupcake!"As in his earlier picture book, Border's characters are skillfully crafted food items with basic wire limbs arranged in simple landscapes....Preschoolers will be delighted with the visual mayhem."--Kirkus Reviews Peanut Butter & Cupcake:"Border’s witty food comedy will lure children who are hungry for clever visual entertainment."--Publishers Weekly"[Z]any creative photographs. [A] read-aloud hit."--School Library Journal

Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth


Nicola Davies - 2017
    The planet is full of millions of species of plants, birds, animals, and microbes, and every single one -- including us -- is part of a big, beautiful, complicated pattern. When humans interfere with parts of the pattern, by polluting the air and oceans, taking too much from the sea, and cutting down too many forests, animals and plants begin to disappear. What sort of world would it be if it went from having many types of living things to having just one? In a beautiful follow-up, the creators of the award-winning Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes deliver an inspiring look at the extraordinary diversity of Earth's inhabitants -- and the importance of their preservation.

Somewhere in the Ocean


Jennifer Ward - 2000
    Set to the traditional tune of "Over in the Meadow", Somewhere in the Ocean will teach young children much more than how to count from one to ten as they follow ocean-dwelling mothers and their offspring throughout their days.Complete with a glossary, musical score, and numbers hidden in the illustrations, Somewhere in the Ocean introduces readers to an array of marine life -- from manatees and sea otters to jellyfish and sea horses -- in their natural habitat.Following the success of best-selling Way Out in the Desert this author/illustrator team has once again created a lively counting book.

Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon


Patty Lovell - 2012
    Molly Lou heard all about how her grandma didn't have fancy store-bought toys when she was little. She made dolls out of twigs and flowers and created her own fun in her backyard. So Molly Lou does just that, proving that the best thing to play with is a huge imagination!

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten


Joseph Slate - 1996
    Meanwhile, Adam Krupp wakes up, Brenda Heath brushes her teeth, and Christopher Beaker finds his sneaker. Miss Bindergarten puts the finishing touches on the room just in time, and the students arrive. Now the fun can begin! This rhyming, brightly illustrated book is the perfect way to practice the alphabet and to introduce young children to kindergarten."Multifaceted and appealing, this book can be enjoyed in many ways, at home and at school."-The New York Times Book Review

Tough Chicks


Cece Meng - 2009
    They wrestle worms, rope roosters, and are often found under the hood of the tractor. All the other animals and even the farmer himself tell Mama Hen to make her chicks good. "They are good!" Mama Hen replies. But could her chicks be too loud, too independent, and too tough? Lively language and bold illustrations capture all the fun and humor of this delightfully different farmyard romp that's also a resounding endorsement for letting girls be girls (even if they're loud and tough and like to play with tractors.)

Our Favorite Day of the Year


A.E. Ali - 2020
    He’s not used to being away from home and he doesn’t know any of the other kids in his class. And when he meets classmates Moisés, Mo, and Kevin, Musa isn’t sure they’ll have much in common. But over the course of the year, the four boys learn more about each other, the holidays they celebrate, their favorite foods, and what they like about school. The more they share with each other, the closer they become, until Musa can’t imagine any better friends. In this charming story of friendship and celebrating differences, young readers can discover how entering a new friendship with an open mind and sharing parts of yourself brings people together. And the calendar of holidays at the end of the book will delight children as they identify special events they can celebrate with friends throughout the year.

My Teacher Sleeps in School


Leatie Weiss - 1984
    Marsh's class as they search for clues to prove their teacher sleeps in school, and enjoy their surprise when a mystery bus trip ends in front of a nice white house with a blue door--a house much like the ones they live in themselves.