Annotated Bibliography, 4^th Grade - What are friendships all about?

Brokaw, Nancy. (1999), Leaving Emma.  Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company

When Emma learns that her forever best friend, Tem, is moving away at the end of the school year, she is miserable. Then she finds out that her dad is going to Turkey for five months on business and her mom will be visiting him often.  Emma feels as though everyone is leaving her and her great-aunt Grace comes to stay doesn't make her feel any better. But Great-Aunt Grace turns out to be a good listener and to have some useful ideas, especially on making new friends.

Canfield, Jack. (2002), Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Love & Friendship.

            Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications Inc.

This book explores the topics of love and friendship. Like other volumes in the Teenage Soul series, teens share their thoughts and feelings on the issues that matter most to them. The stories in this book depict teens' feelings about breakups, forgiveness, love and kindness, their closest relationships and many other topics, from the happiest moments of their lives to the darkest days they struggle to put behind them.

Clements, Andrew. (2004), Things Not Seen.  Australia: Puffin Books

Bobby Phillips is an average fifteen-year-old boy until the morning he wakes up and can’t see himself in the mirror. Could he be invisible?  There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby’s new condition; even his dad the physicist can’t figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, and no life. Then he meets Alicia. She’s blind, and Bobby can’t resist talking to her.  However, people are starting to wonder where Bobby is and he has to find out how to be seen again—before it’s too late.

Creech, Sharon. (2003), Granny Torrelli Makes Soup.  NY: Joanna Cotler Publishing

Twelve-year-old Rosie and her best friend, Bailey, don't always get along.  However, Granny Torrelli seems to know just how to make things right again with her warm words and family recipes. She understands from experience that life's twists and turns can't break the unique bond between two lifelong pals.

Creech, Sharon. (2004), Heartbeat.  NY: Joanna Cotler Publishing

This story is told in free-verse poems. Twelve-year old Annie loves to run, but has no interest in racing or becoming a member of a team. For her, the pure joy comes from feeling the earth beneath her bare feet and the wind in her face. Her friend, Max, doesn’t understand why she won’t join the track team with him.  However, Annie's perfect world begins to unravel when she learns that her mother is pregnant and her Grandpa is slipping into dementia.

Creech, Sharon. (1996), Walk Two Moons.  NY: Harper Trophy

Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle's mother has disappeared. While tracing her path on a car trip from Ohio to Idaho with her grandparents, Sal tells a story to pass the time about a friend named Phoebe Winterbottom whose mother vanished and who received secret messages after her disappearance.  Despite her father's warning that she is "fishing in the air," Salamanca hopes to bring her home.  Through courage and strength, she is able to face the truth about her mother.

Henkes, Kevin. (2003), Olive’s Ocean.  PA: Greenwillow Books

As Martha and her family prepare for their annual summer visit to New England, the mother of her deceased classmate comes to their door. Olive Barstow was killed by a car a month earlier, and the woman wants to give Martha a page from her daughter's journal. In this single entry, the 12-year-old learns more about her shy classmate than she ever knew: Olive also wanted to be a writer and she wanted to see the ocean, and she hoped to get to know Martha Boyle. At the Cape, Martha is again reminded that things in her life are changing. She experiences her first kiss, her first betrayal, and her first real boyfriend.  Her relationship with Godbee, her elderly grandmother, allows her to examine her intense feelings, aspirations, concerns, and growing awareness of self and others.

Kline, Suzy. (2003), Herbie Jones Moves On.  NY: Putnam Publishing

Herbie’s best friend, Raymond, is moving to Texas, and Herbie has to learn to get over losing his best friend, and "move on."  However, before giving in the boys make several attempts to sabotage the sale of the house. Nevertheless, the "sold" sign appears and the friends prepare to separate. After a surprise farewell party, Ray shows up again in school with his own surprise that his family is not moving after all.

Konigsburg, E.L. (1996), The View from Saturday.  Athenuem Publishing

This book is told in 4 perspectives, Noah Gershom, Nadia Diamondstein, Ethan Potter, and Julian Singh. Mrs. Eva Marie Olinski is their coach and teacher and she decides to pick these 4 students who call themselves "The Souls" for the Academic Bowl. Throughout the competition, each character flashes back to their journeys. After being paralyzed waist down in a car crash, Mrs. Olinski comes back to teaching and leads “The Souls” to victory.

Krauss, Ruth. (2001), I’ll be You and You be Me.  NY: Michael Di Capua Books

This book is told from a child's perspective, about love and friendship It is a collection of poems, stories, short plays, and fairy tales that focuses on the ups and downs of friendships.

Lee, Jeffrey. (2003), True Blue.  Delacorte Books for Young Readers

After recovering from the physical and emotional trauma of a car accident, Molly must attend a new middle school.  On Molly's first day at school, she meets Chrys, a painfully shy boy shrouded in a too-large overcoat. He is teased by the other students, especially the school bully. They develop a friendship while working on a science project. When Molly discovers Chrys's butterfly wings unfurled from under his bulky coat, this story takes a far-fetched twist.

Livingston, Myra, Cohn. (1987), I Like You, If You Like Me: Poems of Friendship.

            IL: Margaret K. McElderry Books

This collection of poems about friendship includes pieces that represent a variety of cultures, periods, and styles. Over 50 poets are represented and poems are categorized into nine sections to reflect diverse perspectives on the subject, such as loneliness, best friends, missing a friend, and falling out of friendship.

Matlin, Marlee. (2002), Deaf Child Crossing.  NY: Simon & Schuster Children's

Publishing

Nine-year-old, hearing impaired, Megan is thrilled when Cindy moves in down the street, even though the two couldn't be more different. They make an unlikely friendship that is tested when the two decide to attend summer camp together. There is another deaf child in their bunk, and suddenly Megan seems to forget the promise she made to Cindy to be “Best Friends Forever.” Cindy struggles with this rejection, even as it forces her to step out from behind Megan's shadow and learn to speak up for herself.

McCaffrey, Laura Williams. (2003), Alia Walking.  Clarion Books

Alia wants nothing more than to be selected as a keenten, a warrior woman. However, her friend Kay is sure to be chosen and Alia is not nearly as certain about herself. When Kay stumbles upon a shelter in the woods belonging to two Beechians, enemies of their people, the girls see a perfect opportunity to prove their courage and worth. But then strange events unfold, and Alia begins to question everything that has always been certain in her life—her friendship with Kay, her opinions of the Beechians and of war, even her singular desire to become a keenten.

Munson, Derek. (2000), Enemy Pie.  NY: Chronicle Books

The narrator’s summer is ruined when Jeremy Ross moves in and becomes number one on his enemy list. Fortunately, his father has a secret recipe for a pie that is guaranteed to help get rid of enemies. Dad works on mixing the ingredients and baking the pie and explains to his son that he must spend all day with Jeremy before giving him the pie.  In doing this, he decides Jeremy is not so bad after all.

Paterson, Katherine. (1987), Bridge to Terabithia. HarperTrophy Publishing

The story begins with Jess Aarons wanting to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade. Then a tomboy named Leslie Burke moves into the farmhouse next door and changes his life forever. Not only does Leslie not look or act like any girls Jess knows, but she also turns out to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. Despite their superficial differences, it's clear that Jess and Leslie are soul mates. The two create a secret kingdom in the woods named Terabithia, where the only way to get into the castle is by swinging out over a gully on an enchanted rope. Here they fight off imaginary giants and the walking dead, sharing stories and dreams, and plotting against the schoolmates who tease them.

Peck, Lee. (1992), Coping With Cliques.  NY: Rosen Publishing Company

This book explores problems that teens often face through short, easy-to-read chapters and numerous third-person vignettes. The author provides suggestions on building self-esteem, dealing with peer pressure, making new friends, getting out of a clique, helping parents understand about their teens' need for independence, coping with comparisons with siblings, finding organizations to join, planning group activities, and more. It also includes a section devoted to hotlines and other sources of help and a list of further reading that includes many YA novels.

Philbrick, Rodman. (2001). Freak the Mighty.  NY: Scholastic

An eighth grader who describes himself as a "butthead goon," has lived with grandparents ever since his father was imprisoned for murdering his mother. Mean-spirited schoolmates and special education haven't improved his self-image, so he is totally unprepared for a friendship with Kevin, who they call Freak.  Freak is a genius with a  birth defect that's left him in braces and using crutches.  Together they become Freak the Mighty.

Romain, Trevor. (1998), Cliques, Phonies, & Other Baloney.  Minnesota:  Free Spirit

            Publishing

This book was written for every child who has ever felt shut out or trapped by a clique.  It blends humor with practical advice as it explains how to form positive, healthy relationships.  The author uses up-to-date terms and comical cartoons to support his points.

Sha'Ban, Mervet Akram. (1998), If You Could Be My Friend: Letters of Mervet Akram

Sha'Ban and Galit Fink.  London: Orchard Books

This is a collection of letters written between 1988 and 1991.  It is based on the correspondence between a Palestinian Arab girl living in a refugee camp located between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, and a Jewish girl living in Jerusalem. The letters detail the ups and downs of an emerging and struggling friendship between two girls whose peoples are fighting each other for the same piece of homeland.

Spinelli, Jerry. (2002), Stargirl.  NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers

From the first day she arrives at quiet Mica High, everyone wonders who she is and why she is in their school.  Though she has an eccentric style, she captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She also sparks a school-spirit revolution until they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become normal.

Stoddard, Sandol. (1990), I Like You.  NY:  Houghton Mifflin Company

This is a tiny book that expresses the true meaning of friendship.  “It is the book that Romeo would have given Juliet; Charlie Brown would have given Snoopy.”  The messages are simple are supported by simple, but interesting drawings.

Sydor, Colleen. (2003), Smarty Pants.  Lobster Press

Norah, who is seen as bold and bright spends a week with her spirited great-aunt Norah.  When Norah refuses to take her great-aunt's advice, she's warned that something "eye-popping, heart-stopping, holy-moly horrible" will happen. This is a comical story about the being your own person and Norah’s wonderful friendship with her great-aunt.

Vernick, Audrey, Glassman. (2003), Bark and Tim: A True Story of Friendship.  Johnson City, TN: Overmountain Press

This story is based on the childhood of an African-American artist. One Christmas, Brown received his best friend ever, Bark who a mutt, but the boy loved him. The pup joined the family picnics, kite flying, and particularly enjoyed tormenting Mama and her cat. After several years, Bark died, but Tim hoped that the angels would nap next to him and let him chase their white kites.

Weeks, Sarah. (2002), Guy Wire.  NY: Laura Geringer Books

Guy can't imagine life without his best friend, Buzz. They've been inseparable since second grade.  So when an accident threatens to tear them apart, Guy finds himself clinging to precious memories of the friendship he'd wished for all his life.  The ups and downs and complications of their friendship are comical and easy to relate to.

Wolff, Virginia Euwer. (2003), Make Lemonade.  NY: Scholastic

When LaVaughn takes a babysitting job to earn money for college, she has no idea how much impact she will have upon the lives of a 17-year-old and her children. Soon it turns into much more than an after school job.  From this, LaVaughn learns how tough it is for a teen mother to pay for basic necessities. She experiences several meaningful life lesson

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Last Updated:  April 15, 2004

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