The Best Friends Book

by Todd Parr

Vibrant illustrations and clever text combine to reveal the qualities that make up a best friend, from saying you look good even if you have a bad haircut to letting you make dinner even if you serve unappetizing foods. Original. 35,000 first printing.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens

24 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2000

About the author

Todd Parr is a three-time New York Times-bestselling author and illustrator of more than fifty books for children. He has inspired and empowered children around the world with simple, hopeful, and powerful messages such as “be kind”, “love yourself” and “be who you are,” all set with vibrant images in eye-catching primary colors. His books have received numerous awards and are available in nearly twenty languages. He also is the co-creator of the popular three-time Daytime Emmy©-nominated animated TV series, "ToddWorld" with Gerry Renert of SupperTime Entertainment. Several short films for Sesame Street have also been based on Parr’s work.

Parr devotes time to numerous philanthropic causes supporting pet adoption, children’s hunger, health, and literacy. He is a frequent reader and fundraiser for The Ronald McDonald House and serves on the board of directors for the Virginia Children’s Book Festival. His corporate collaborations include Best Buy, Stouffer’s, and the San Francisco–Marin Food Bank, among others.

A native of Wyoming, Parr currently lives in Berkeley, California.

Reviews

[Gita · Rating 5 out of 5]

《بهترین دوست پیدایت می‌کند، حتی اگر گم شده باشی.》
چند روز پیش به عنوان عیدی برای مارال خریدمش؛ چون هربار که من گم می‌شوم می‌آید دستم را می‌گیرد و من را پیدا می‌کند.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally like Todd Parr books but this book, while funny, has very poor suggestions for things that a best friend would do.

[Megan Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Todd Parr uses simplicity to describe the beauty of friendship. Friends are special to us all no matter the age and this is the main point of this book. Friend keep each other’s trust through secrets and letting the other eat worms if they want to (yucky!). This is a great book to get a conversation going surrounding the power of friendship with your students and children at home. Not just between peers, but between adults they trust and people around the community. The pictures and story will make you giggle and kids will soon be reading with you. A quick book to read and good for 0-8 years old.

Great book for children with learning disabilities and and having trouble in social situations that require them to co-operate and need to learn to make friends.

[Melinda Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book addresses the subject of best friends so children can understand perfectly. I love the drawings, so unique!

[Annie Xu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best Friends Book is another great and fun read aloud for children. It is engaging with the bold colors and the silly sentences. The words used are very simple and it also has a rhythmic pattern. The use of repeated sentence structure creates a musical flow for children to be able to read fluently. It also helps children to predict what is going to be said next. For example, "My Best Friend...." eats spaghetti with two forks, helps me when unpack when I come home from vacation. The illustrations are simple shapes that helps readers build on their schema of what people look like and how to draw them. Although the people drawn in the book are all colorful, it makes a very fun and engaging book.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a terrible book. Not only did it not hold the interest of my 2.5 year old, but it had terrible examples of being a friend:

Best friends will let you make dinner for them even if you serve spaghetti and worms.

"Best friends won't share your secret notes even if the teacher catches them. " yeah, lets teach our kids about dishonesty.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

These pictures are guaranteed to make you laugh when you are down! Todd Parr is so silly. When I worked at the Provo City Library they were discarding this book b/c it was falling apart from so much use and I snagged it. :)

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

i didn't read any of his books as a child, only as an adult. i think they're pretty dynamic and really important.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Colorful story about friendship, but it didn't hold my 2 year old's interest.

[Jayetta Carter-mcfarlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would use this book to share a read-aloud experience with Pre-K to grade 2. I would then include it in the classroom library for the children to read it by themselves.

[Jazelle Washington · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is about how best friends treat each otber, and how they will stick up for each other.

[Michelle Nero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank goodness for best friends!