This story highlights the value and the joy of friendship from the perspective of a little girl. As the girl moves through the beautiful countryside, she encounters several animals and learns different things from all of them. Ideal for 2-4 year old children, this book shows us that we can all learn from our friends. 

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Done with the read aloud? Use these ideas to continue the conversation with your child. 

• What animals were friends with the girl in the story, and how did they move?
• Which animal is your favorite? Why?
• Did you ever learn something from a friend of yours? What did you learn?

Things to learn from this book 

• This book teaches children about making friends which, in turn, helps them to have healthy emotional skills and strong social relationships. 
• Using different kinds of movement during storytime helps children by (a) relieving the body’s stress response, (b) building children’s “self-regulation” or the ability to control their impulses and emotions, and (c) engaging even the wiggliest toddlers get excited about books and reading. 

Try this!  

• Play an acting game! Invite your child to demonstrate the actions that the little girl learned from her animal friends. For a fun extension, try adding emotion vocabulary to the acting game:  “Can you kick like a gorilla that is feeling… furious? How about a gorilla that is feeling proud?” or “Can you explore like a scared ant? How about a curious ant?
• Invite your child to celebrate their friends by making a friendship collage or a friendship flower. During or after these activities, engage your child in a discussion about friendship and what we can learn from our friends. 

Other ideas 

• Read other books by Taro Gomi. 

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When you purchase a children’s book using the Bookshop.org links above, Tandem will receive 10% of each sale as a donation, and each Bookshop.org purchase financially supports local, independent booksellers. For more titles, please view our Tandem book recommendation list that includes children’s book titles vetted for quality and representation of diverse families.

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