Help topic - making friends

Personalized books for a child who finds friendship hard

For a new school, a new street, or a party where they know nobody.

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The hard part of making a friend is almost never the friendship - it is the eight seconds before you say anything. Children who struggle here are usually not unfriendly or unliked; they are waiting for somebody else to go first, and so is everyone else in the room. A story is a rehearsal for those eight seconds. Having already watched themselves do it, with their own face on the child in the doorway, makes the real version noticeably smaller.

What to look for

Rehearse the opening

Not the friendship - the hello. That is the part that actually needs practising.

One friend is a success

Children do not need a group. The story ends with one, on purpose.

Around 4 to 8

When a child starts noticing who has somebody and who does not, this stops being abstract.

4 stories in making friends

See the whole collection
My Robot Friend - personalized children's book coverRyan and the Robot

Your child builds a clunky little robot that beeps to life and becomes the best friend a kid could invent.

Ages 2-8

From $14.90
The Case of the Missing Cookie - personalized children's book coverDetective Ada

Your child follows the clues to crack the town's trickiest mystery.

Ages 4-8

From $14.90
The New Friend - personalized children's book coverZoe's New Friend

A new playground, nobody your child knows, and one small decision: be the one who says hello first.

Ages 4-8

From $14.90
Free preview before you pay Reading level set to their age during setup Ships straight to their door

Common questions

How can I help my shy child make friends?

Lower the target: one person, one opening line, one shared thing to do. Shy children usually make good friends slowly rather than no friends, and pushing them into a group tends to confirm their worry rather than fix it.

My child is starting a new school. Which story?

Either the one about arriving somewhere new, or the one about being the one who says hello first - and read it a week or two beforehand rather than the night before.

Other help topics

bravery (28)kindness (9)big feelings (12)bedtime fears (5)gratitude (5)a child who hates reading (6)a busy brain (6)

Browse by theme instead

adventure books for kidsbooks about big feelingsbooks for childhood milestonesfantasy and magic books for kidsbooks for birthdays and holidaysbedtime books for kids

Will it actually look like them?

  • Reference portrait: Deep brown skin, tightly coiled hair, age 5The illustrated character kept from it: Deep brown skin, tightly coiled hairDeep brown skin, tightly coiled hair
  • Reference portrait: Fine, fair, barely-there hair, age 1The illustrated character kept from it: Fine, fair, barely-there hairFine, fair, barely-there hair
  • Reference portrait: Straight black hair with a fringe, age 7The illustrated character kept from it: Straight black hair with a fringeStraight black hair with a fringe
  • Reference portrait: Curly ginger hair and freckles, age 4The illustrated character kept from it: Curly ginger hair and frecklesCurly ginger hair and freckles
  • Reference portrait: Round glasses, age 6The illustrated character kept from it: Round glassesRound glasses
  • Reference portrait: Long braids with beads, age 8The illustrated character kept from it: Long braids with beadsLong braids with beads
  • Reference portrait: A visible hearing aid, age 5The illustrated character kept from it: A visible hearing aidA visible hearing aid
  • Reference portrait: A baby with no hair, 6 monthsThe illustrated character kept from it: A baby with no hairA baby with no hair

Skin tone, hair texture and freckles all carried through - including the cases most generators get wrong. See it up close

See inside a finished bookWhat happens to the photoHow we compare

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Make them the hero of the story.

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