February is the month most known for Valentine’s Day, celebrating romantic love between partners. However, there are many other different kinds of love that should always be celebrated, in particular, the love between friends. This month, we’re highlighting books with friendships that you don’t expect to work but instead do; from ghosts and humans to an assassin and a prince, these unlikely matches will help you in celebrating the diverse range of love that friendships represent.
Barclay, Eric
Sheep Dog and Sheep Sheep. 2019 (Picture Book).
Sheep is an expert at two things: dancing and watching the other sheep. But then one day, she meets a new hairy friend who claims to also watch sheep. Sheep knows that can’t be right since she’s the pro! So, Sheep decides to get everything Sheep Dog needs to get the job done, but each time she leaves, something almost happens to Sheep — only for Sheep Dog to save the day. Even with Sheep Dog doing Sheep’s job better than she can do it, this picture book on friendship shows that even the best watchers must look out for each other.
Q. SE. B2353sh
Barnett, Mac
Illustrated by: Christian Robinson
Leo: A Ghost Story. 2015 (Picture Book).
You would like being friends with Leo: he likes to draw, he makes delicious snacks, and most people can’t even see him — because Leo is a ghost. When a new family moves into his home and Leo’s efforts to welcome them are misunderstood, Leo decides it’s time to see the world; but his town has changed considerably since Leo became a ghost. And then Leo meets Jane — a kid with a large imagination and an open position for a worthy knight. That is how Leo and Jane become friends, and where the adventures of Sir Leo the Ghost and King Jane the Human begin.
SE. B2646l
Kelly, Erin Entrada
Hello, Universe. 2017 (Middle Grade).
Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his loud and boisterous family; Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart and brave but secretly lonely and loves everything about nature; Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister Gen is always following her around; and Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just act normal so that he can concentrate on basketball. These four are not friends — at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. The disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find the missing Virgil. Friendship blooms between the very different kids as they perform the rescue and put a bully in his place.
S. K29595he
Gaiman, Neil.
Illustrated by: Jill Schwarz
Cinnamon. 2017 (Picture Book).
A long time ago in India, there lived a princess named Cinnamon. Cinnamon had pearls for eyes that were incapable of sight; and Cinnamon had been mute her whole life. In an effort to help, her mother and father offered many riches to anyone who could get Cinnamon to speak. Numerous teachers tried everything they could think of, but nothing worked, and Cinnamon still did not speak. Until one day, a tiger came to the palace, armed with knowledge of the world. And the tiger talked. Cinnamon’s parents put Cinnamon and the tiger together, and the tiger taught the sheltered Cinnamon about some of the things she had been missing. A friendship sparked as this talking tiger got Cinnamon to utter her first words.
Q. SE. G127ci
Maas, Sarah J.
Throne of Glass. 2012 (Teen).
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian and his Captain of the Guard Chaol Westfall offer Celaena her freedom on one condition: she must act as Prince Dorian’s champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for four years, and then be granted her freedom. Through training, the contests, pretending to be someone she’s not for court life, and contestants being murdered, the assassin, the prince, and the Captain of the Guard work together to face it all — and friendships form amid the harrowing events.
S. M112t
Mead, Richelle
Bloodlines. 2011 (Teen).
Sydney Sage is an alchemist, a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. She helps to protect vampire secrets — and human lives. Even if they’re protecting their secrets, the alchemists hate vampires, and the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiances in question, her future is on the line. In order to show her loyalty lies with the alchemists rather than the vampires, Sydney is sent on a mission: she must act as protector to vampire Jill, who’s forced into hiding from mortal danger. Sydney has to pose as Jill’s roommate and sister at a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants, or needs, is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires, and now she has to live with one. As threats and distractions abound, Sydney must work very hard to stay separate from Jill and her guardians to show that she can do her job — but it’s much harder than she thinks when friendship begins to bloom between her and the vampire.
S. M46121b
Perez, Celia C.
Strange Birds: A Field Guide to Ruffling Feathers. 2019 (Middle Grade).
Ofelia Castilla (a budding journalist), Aster Douglas (a bookish foodie), and Cat Garcia (a rule-abiding birdwatcher) all receive a mysterious invitation to a lavish mansion. Unable to pass up the promise of adventure and mischief, they meet the kid behind the invite, Lane DiSanti, and it’s certainly not love at first sight for all of them. But they soon bond over a shared mission to get the Floras, their local Scouts troop, to ditch an outdated tradition. In their quest for justice and independence, the girls discover they can be their unique, individual selves while supporting one another, and finding the sisterhood they didn’t know they needed amidst their fight for justice.
S. P4151st
Schwab, Victoria
City of Ghosts. 2018 (Middle Grade).
Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspectors, a ghost-hunting team with a new show that sends them around the world to find proof of the supernatural. But Cass herself can really see ghosts, and her best friend Jacob just happens to be one. The Inspectors head to the ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland for their show, and Cassidy and Jacob come along. There, Cassidy is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them as friendly as Jacob. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an in-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cassidy isn’t so sure — especially when the only friend she has is a ghost himself. However, she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn’t belong in this world, and Cassidy must use her powers in an epic fight through the worlds of the living and the dead in order to save herself.
S. Sch912ci
Schwab, Victoria
This Savage Song. 2016 (Teen).
Kate Harker and August Flynn are heirs to a divided city, where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection from them. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own human father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent — but he’s a monster, one who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music from his violin. When August gets the chance to be normal by keeping an eye on Kate, attending the school that she does, he jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt, the pair must flee for their lives. As they wade through the city of humans and monsters and corruption and peril, the human that wants to be a monster and the monster that wants to be human form a friendship that could help save their lives.
S. Sch912t
Tahir, Sabaa
A Torch Against the Night. 2016 (Teen).
In this second book in the An Ember in the Ashes quartet, Elias and Laia are running for their lives. Elias was once a Mask, a soldier trained to kill and keep the order of the Empire; Laia was once a slave, working for The Commandant, the most terrifying Mask of all. The two have fled Blackcliff, the school that trains Masks like Elias, and are now fugitives of the Empire. And Helene Akiva is chasing after them. Once best friends, Helene and Elias are now enemies, but it’s hard to let go of those ties when Helene is tasked with killing him. And Elias and Laia, two people from very different backgrounds and who should be enemies, are slowly forming a friendship as they try to survive the soldiers and Masks sent after them. Old friendships and new friendships and complications for both abound in this sequel.
ZN
Tag Archives: friendship
Sometimes the Best Friendships are the Most Unexpected Ones
In August, many countries around the world celebrate Friendship Day! What a wonderful opportunity to be thankful for the friendships we never expected to have. And what better way to do that than to read stories that teach us to always keep an open mind and an open heart? When searching for stories about unlikely friendship, try searching the subjects “friendship” and “juvenile fiction” or “juvenile literature” along with other subjects that might hint at differences in the characters, such as “prejudice” or “opposites.” Another approach would be to search the keyword phrase “unlikely friendship.”
Intermediate and Young Adult Fiction
Cohen, Joshua C.
Leverage. 2011.
High school sophomore Danny excels at gymnastics but is bullied, like the rest of the gymnasts, by members of the football team, until an emotionally and physically scarred new student joins the football team and forms an unlikely friendship with Danny.
[SSHEL S Collection S. C6605l]
George, Madeleine.
Looks. 2008.
Two high school girls, one an anorexic poet and the other an obese loner, form an unlikely friendship.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S. G2936l]
Green, John.
Paper Towns. 2008.
One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin “Q” Jacobsen basks in the predictable boringness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q’s neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S. G823p]
Griffin, Paul.
Burning Blue. 2012.
When beautiful, smart Nicole, disfigured by acid thrown in her face, and computer hacker Jay meet in the school psychologist’s office, they become friends and Jay resolves to find her attacker.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S. G8756b]
Harlow, Joan Hiatt.
Firestorm! 2010.
A twelve-year-old street urchin and the son of Chicago’s most important jeweler strike up an unlikely friendship in the days before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and both are nearly trapped when the city goes up in flames.
[SSHEL S Collection S. H227f]
Hubbard, Kirsten.
Like Mandarin. 2011.
When shy, awkward fourteen-year-old Grace Carpenter is paired with the beautiful and wild Mandarin on a school project, an unlikely, explosive friendship begins, but all too soon, Grace discovers that Mandarin is a very troubled, even dangerous, girl.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books]
Napoli, Donna Jo.
Mogo, The Third Warthog. 2008.
When Mogo is cast out of his burrow to make room for a new litter, he learns how to survive and as an unlikely friendship with a young baboon blooms, Mogo finds the joy of friendship and love.
[SSHEL S Collection S. N162m]
de la Peña, Matt.
We Were Here. 2009.
Haunted by the event that sentences him to time in a group home, Miguel breaks out with two unlikely companions and together they begin their journey down the California coast hoping to get to Mexico and a new life.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S. P3706w]
Sheldon, Dyan.
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. 1999.
In her first year at a suburban New Jersey high school, Mary Elizabeth Cep, who now calls herself “Lola,” sets her sights on the lead in the annual drama production, and finds herself in conflict with the most popular girl in school.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Childrens Books S. Sh433c]
Spinelli, Jerry.
Stargirl. 2000.
In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S. Sp46s]
Twain, Mark.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 1994.
The adventures of a boy and a runaway slave as they travel down the Mississippi River on a raft.
[SSHEL S Collection S.C591H1994]
Wein, Elizabeth.
Code Name Verity. 2012.
In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping secret all that she can.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S. W432cn]
Yolen, Jane.
The Rogues. 2007.
After his family is evicted from their Scottish farm, fifteen-year-old Roddy forms an unlikely friendship with a notorious rogue who helps him outwit a tyrant landlord in order to find a family treasure and make his way to America.
[SSHEL S Collection S. Y78r]
Picture Books
Alemagna, Beatrice.
Bugs in the Garden. 2011.
What happens when the bugs venture out into the big, wide garden to find some new friends? This sturdy board book introduces lovable bugs who learn how to accept creatures they are initially afraid of.
[SSHEL S Collection SE. Al25b]
Bramsen, Carin.
Hey, Duck! 2013.
A plucky duckling attempts to befriend a cat that just wants to be left alone.
[SSHEL S Collection SE. B7323h]
Brown, Peter.
You Will Be My Friend! 2011.
Lucy, a young bear, starts her day determined to make a new friend but her enthusiasm leads to all sorts of problems until, just as she is about to give up, an unexpected friend finds her.
[SSHEL S Collection Q. SE. B812y]
Cannon, Janell.
Stellaluna. 1993.
Knocked from her mother’s safe embrace by an attacking owl, Stellaluna lands headfirst in a bird’s nest. This adorable baby fruit bat’s world is literally turned upside down when she is adopted by the occupants of the nest and adapts to their peculiar bird habits.
[SSHEL S Collection SE.C164S]
Folguiera, Rodrigo.
Ribbit! 2013.
When a pig visits a frog pond, sits on a rock, and says only “Ribbit!” news spreads fast, but only the wise old beetle has an explanation.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books SE. F713r]
Lionni, Leo.
An Extraordinary Egg. 1998.
Jessica the frog befriends the animal that hatches from an egg she brought home, thinking it is a chicken.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books SE. L661e]
Liu, Cynthea.
Wooby & Peep: A Story of Unlikely Friendship. 2013.
Wooby lives in a nice, quiet neighborhood where everyone minds his own business. And he likes it that way. Then noisy, energetic Peep moves next door with her banging and smashing and crashing. She even gives a “wild” PARTY! At first, shy Wooby is beside himself — until he realizes that he and Peep have more in common than he ever imagined.
[SSHEL S Collection SE. L7402w]
Long, Ethan.
Scribbles and Ink. 2012.
Scribbles the cat and Ink the mouse are two artists with very different styles. A disagreement over whose creative process is the best leads to a big mess. Discovering that they are no longer having any fun, the duo tentatively tries to collaborate and creates a masterpiece.
[SSHEL S Collection SE. L851s]
Polacco, Patricia.
Pink and Say. 1994.
The true story of a remarkable wartime friendship between a young white Union soldier and a young black Union soldier who are captured by Confederate soldiers and sent to Andersonville Prison.
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books Q. SE. P757pi]
Sidjanski, Brigitte.
Little Chicken & Little Duck. 2007.
Despite the objections of their parents, who do not want them to play together, Little Chicken and Little Duck find a way to stay friends.
[SSHEL S Collection Q. SE. Si139l]
Non Fiction:
Antle, Bhagavan.
Suryia & Roscoe: The True Story of an Unlikely Friendship. 2011.
Who can imagine an orangutan being friends with a dog? Is it even possible? With Suryia and Roscoe it is! When Suryia the orangutan first meets Roscoe, a stray dog, they become best friends from the start.
[SSHEL S Collection SE. An879s]
Hatkoff, Isabella.
Own & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship. 2006.
The inspiring true story of two great friends, a baby hippo named Owen and a 130-yr-old giant tortoise named Mzee (Mm-ZAY).
[SSHEL S Collection and the Center for Children’s Books S.599.63 H286o]