Everyone wants and needs at least one good friend. A friend they can confide in. A friend they can hang out with. A friend who finds value in them. However, not everyone has an easy time making friends.

When a child is different they may have a hard time making friends. Some kids have a hard time being a good friend. There are many picture books on the market that help kids learn what a good friend looks like.

Teaching About Friendships with Picture Books

The Boy Who Grew Flowers by Jen Wojtowicz is about a young boy named Rink who has a hard time making friends. He’s shy and quiet and very different from the other kids in his class. The teacher puts him in the back of the room and ignores him. His classmates ignore him. One day, a new girl joins the class. Angelina is curious about the boy in the back of the classroom, and the other kids are all too eager to share their gossip. Rink discovers an opportunity to help Angelina, and she in return helps him. And, a friendship is born.

There are so many topics to discuss when reading this book:

•  Discuss how differences are just different not bad.
• What is gossip, and why is it wrong?
• How do you think Rink felt at the beginning of the story? At the end?
• How could the teacher have made the situation different from the start?
• What do you think about Angelina’s flower surprise at the end?
• If Rink was in your class, how would you treat him?
• Would it be difficult to treat him differently than the rest of the kids did?
• Is it okay to make friends with someone who is different?