Healthy Relationships Read Alouds & Resources

Friendship:

Me, Too!

by Annika Dunklee

There are many reasons why Annie is best friends with Lillemor, who is from Sweden. They’re the same age, they like the same colors, they like doing the same things … But then Lilianne, a new girl from France, arrives. Annie can’t stand that Lillemor has become friends with Lilianne, and that Lilianne seems to have more things in common with Lillemor than Annie does — even their names. 

Me, Me, Me

by Annika Dunklee

When best friends Annie, Lillemor and Lilianne learn their school will be having a talent show, Annie says they should enter as an all-girl singing group. Her friends are all in — until Annie tries to force everyone to go along with her choice of song, costumes, band name and lead singer. When Lillemor and Liliane tell Annie they’ve had enough of her attitude, the band splits up, with Annie intent on performing solo. But it doesn’t take long for her to realize it’s just not the same without her friends. 

Family:

He Came with the Couch

by David Slonim

This book explores the idea of who belongs in your family in a very lighthearted way. It is a good conversation starter for the characteristics that belong to those we consider to be family.

The Family Book

by Todd Parr

The Family Book celebrates the love we feel for our families and all the different varieties they come in. Whether you have two moms or two dads, a big family or a small family, a clean family or a messy one, Todd Parr assures readers that no matter what kind of family you have, every family is special in its own unique way.

We Belong Together

by Todd Parr

This book explores the ways that people can choose to come together to make a family by showing one perspective on the adoption experience.

Stella Brings the Family

by Miriam B. Schiffer

Stella’s class is having a Mother’s Day celebration, but what’s a girl with two daddies to do? Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem.

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story

by Kevin Noble Maillard

Fry bread is food.
It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate.

Fry bread is time.
It brings families together for meals and new memories.

Fry bread is nation.
It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond.

Fry bread is us.
It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.

Families

by Kerry Mccluskey & Jesse Unaapik Mike

Talittuq is excited to start his first day of grade two. He notices that a lot of his friends’ families are very different from his own. Some have one mom and one dad. Some kids live with their grandparents. Some live with two dads or two moms. As Talittuq hears about all the fun his friends have had with their families, he learns that families come in many different shapes and sizes, and what holds them all together is love!

Still a Family: A Story About Homelessness

by Brenda Reeves Sturgis

A girl and her parents have lost their home and must live in a homeless shelter. Even worse, due to a common shelter policy, her dad must live in a men’s shelter, separated from her and her mom. The family still finds time to meet at the park to play hide-and-seek, slide on slides, and pet puppies. While the young girl wishes for better days when her family is together again under a roof of their very own, she reminds herself that they’re still a family even in times of separation.

And Tango Makes Three

by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell

 

At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family was the same. And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo got the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own.

Bullying, Bystanders, and Peer Influence:

Weird!

by Erin Frankel

Luisa is repeatedly teased and called “weird” by her classmate Sam, even though she is simply being herself. Luisa initially reacts to the bullying by withdrawing and hiding her colorful nature. But with the support of her teachers, parents, classmates, and one special friend named Jayla, she is able to reclaim her color and resist Sam’s put-downs.

Dare!

by Erin Frankel

Jayla feels threatened by her classmate Sam, who has bullied her in the past. Sam is now bullying Jayla’s friend Luisa, and she enlists Jayla to participate. Jalya reluctantly joins in but soon realizes it is wrong. With the help of caring adults and friends, Jayla comes to sympathize with Luisa and finds the courage to dare to stand up to Sam and put an end to the bullying.

Tough!

by Erin Frankel

Sam wants to keep things orderly and “cool” at school. She thinks people need to have a tough skin in order to fit in and withstand others’ meanness and lack of cooperation. Sam teases her free-spirited classmate Luisa and enlists a friend, Jayla, to help. But when Sam is confronted by a concerned teacher about her bullying, and Jayla turns on Sam and befriends Luisa, Sam begins to show some heart and rethink her treatment of others.

 

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