With a Friend by Your Side

PreS-Gr 3—Kerley explored the importance of water in A Cool Drink of Water (2002), parents and kids in You and Me Together (2005), and peace in A Little Peace (2007, all National Geographic). Now, in this oversize volume, excellent photographs of friends from around the world are paired with simple but touching text to demonstrate that all people need friends to care about. The photographs have a nice mix of young and old from places as close as Pennsylvania and California, to as far away as China and Jakarta. Back matter is included to extend the usefulness for older readers. There is a map showing where each of the photos was taken and captioned thumbnails of each photo. There is also a page with a short passage about the importance of being kind to all people and a brief note to parents and caregivers with some online resources for helping kids make friends, and how to handle bullying. A few well-known quotes about friendship add a final touch ("The only way to have a friend is to be one." Ralph Waldo Emerson).