Franklin's New Friend

Franklin the Turtle

by Paulette Bourgeois, Brenda Clark (Illustrator)

Franklin the turtle thinks the new kid in school is big and scary. But young Moose likes to do everything Franklin does, and he soon becomes a special new friend.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Fiction, Animals, Kids, School

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bourgeois graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational therapy from the University of Western Ontario in 1974. She was a psychiatric occupational therapist for three years before deciding to focus on her writing. She studied journalism at Carlton University then worked as a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen and CBC Television. She became a freelance journalist in Washington, D.C. contributing pieces to Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Reader's Digest and Maclean's. She returned to Toronto in 1983.

In 2003, she became a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2007, she received an Honourary Doctor of Laws from her alma mater, the University of Western Ontario.

Reviews

[Kaitlin Ackerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Franklin Makes a Friend at least a few times a week! I cannot express enough how much I love Franklin and the storyline of him becoming buddies with Moose, someone who is so different from anyone he is used to. Of course, this budding friendship occurs through the careful guidance of Mr. Owl and Franklin’s mother. I highly encourage this book and may even consider reading a different Franklin book some time! 😄

[Sofia Setchkova · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing moose
spored men tova e prepratka kum rasizma

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, good art, good message, nice arc. Clementine didn't seem super into it / it put her right to sleep, but maybe that's really just another pro.

[Elisabeth Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great message about making new friends! We love Franklin

[Sophie Golding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Franklin the tortoise has always lived in the same place and has had lots and lots of friends. One day a moving van comes to town bringing Moose and his family who Franklin is very scared of and doesn’t want to make friends with. Moose is however Franklin’s new classmate and all of the children seem to be scared of him because he is so big! After break Mr Owl has a word with Franklin and asks him to work with Moose, when he refuses Mr Owl asks him to think about what it would be like to be the new person with no friends when he has so many and how scared Moose must be. After this Franklin taught Moose to get books from the library, how to cut a circle and even introduced him to his friends at lunch. Franklin realises Moose isn’t half as scary as he thought and they become special friends.

The message that came from Mr Owl about how to treat new children in the class and getting the children to put themselves in the position of being the new child and how they might feel, could easily be used within an actual classroom setting in preparation for a new child in the class. The lovely illustrations in this book clearly help to show the emotions of the animals such as the sad and nervous expressions of Moose which could make it easier for children to understand the characters feelings. This wasn’t the most interesting or exciting of reads however I do think the message coming from the story would serve a good purpose in a classroom

[Will McComber · Rating 1 out of 5]

I HATE FRANKLIN!!!!!! HE IS SO STUPID!
This absolute criminal is on the FBI's Most Wanted for a reason. He's commited countless hate crimes, numerous amounts of arson, and is registered.
I have a bad history with him, seeing as he brutally murdered my wife before I could. I was absolutely distraught by this news, of course. I couldn't believe what I had heard. I since have vowed to finding this lunatic, and send him back to hell where he may suffer for all eternity.

[Clayton Happy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read many of the books out of this series and I wanted to read this one simply to see how Franklin meets and interacts with his new friend. This book is basically like the others in the series, however I did enjoy it and feel as though I was engaged while reading it. This is a great book for students who can not yet read chapter books but are beginning to transition.

[Raymond Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad I found this series. The color illustrations are beautiful and the books teach good messages to children.

[Madeline Clements · Rating 4 out of 5]

Franklin books are also a classic from my childhood. This story teaches not to judge a book by its cover.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for teaching kids to make new friends.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a child I loved this book! It shows the importance of being nice to new children at school and would be great for PSHE lessons.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

love these books

[Chris Hays · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork and stories speak volumes to my son. I like them better than some of his other favorites.

[Rini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Franklin meets a new scary animal that just moved in. Moose is huge and Franklin is scared to meet him but they become fast friends

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone always has to pull Franklin aside like, "you cannot dislike someone just because they are a moose." He's so stubborn.

[zunggg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey, it's Franklin, doing what he always does and learning a worthwhile Lesson with minimal joking around.

[Benjamin Strunk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught a really good lesson about not judging a book by its cover. It’s funny that Franklin is the only one with a name and all his friends are “Bear,” “Fox,” and now “Moose.”

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book to help children understand how it feels to be 'the new kid' at school or on the block. The only reason I didn't place this as 4 star (because the storyline was worth it) Franklin the turtle is a bit on the 'whiney' side for my taste and that is a negative in my book so one star was taken off for that.

Franklin sees movers moving new furniture into the house in the neighborhood. He becomes scared because the furniture is for GIANTS! He then realizes that a family of moose are moving in. He's never seen moose before and are afraid of them because they are so big and so different than him and his friends. When he gets to school the next day he finds out that his new classmate is a 'little' boy from the moose family but he's SO BIG! Mr Owl reminds everyone to be nice and welcoming to moose, and assigns Franklin to be Moose buddy for the day. Franklin doesn't want to and at first doesn't do a good job; going off and playing with his old friends and doing things away from Moose. But then Mr Owl pulls him aside and reminds him that not matter what our size we all can be scared in our life. And for him to think about if it was him moving to a new house, new neighborhood, school etc how would he feel... then Franklin changes his mind and realizes that Moose was lonely and frightened too. At the end of the book they are best buddies teaching children that making new friends is a good thing.

[Alexsandra Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading Franklin books, it reminds me of my childhood. This story talks about friendship and how Franklin meets a new friend. It is important for children to know how to establish a relationship with a friend. The pictures are very clear in this book and do a great job keeping the children engaged in the reading. This book is an example of a fable where animals come to life to tell a story usually having a moral. The moral of this story is friendship. This fable is a good one because not only where these just books but it used to be a show and children could watch it too. So some children might be familiar with this turtle named Franklin before they go on and read this book. I recommend this book to educators to read to their students because it has good illustrations and the moral of the story is great.

[Selene Vasquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Franklin becomes scared because there is a "giant" moose family moving in into his neighborhood. He is scared because they are so much bigger than him and his friends. The following day he notices that the moose is in his classroom and his teacher assigns Franklin to be his buddy for the day. Of course Franklin does not want to be friends with the moose because he is scared but after spending the day with him he realizes the moose is not scary at all!

I think the message being sent in this book is great to read in a classroom of young children, mr owl tells Franklin and his classmates to put themselves in the new kid position and how they might feel if they were the new kid. great story.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good read for kids to teach them not to judge a book by it's cover. Franklin has a new family move in next door and he is afraid of him because he's big. The story is about Franklin learning that just because everyone looks different, we all have the same feelings and emotions and you might just find a new friend in someone you never expected.

My daughter actually liked this story. The colors in the illustrations were bright and it wasn't too wordy but enough for us to spend more than 2 minutes reading the book. We always look at and talk about the cover after the story. She really liked Franklin's hat. =)

I picked this book up because I remembered reading Franklin when I was little. I think we'll be picking up more Franklin books in the future.

[Margo Martin]

I would use the book Franklin’s New Friend in the classroom right before getting a new student. This book tells a story about a moose family that moves on Franklin’s street. The next day when Franklin goes to school, the intimidating large moose is in his class, and Mr. Owl the teacher assigns him to be moose’s buddy. At first, Franklin does not like being Moose’s buddy but by the end of the day, Franklin and Moose become good friends. Later that day, Franklin went to Moose’s house and Moose confesses he was really nervous no one was going to play with him. From that day on, Moose and Franklin were great friends.

[Amy Schmitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Franklin's New Friend tells the story of Moose, the new animal in town. When Franklin first sees Moose he becomes scared because he is so big. Franklin avoids Moose in school even though he is assigned to be his buddy. Once Franklin is able to see past Moose's size, he realizes they have a lot in common and that Moose would make a great friend. This story shows the importance of giving everyone a chance at being a friend. If you are too quick to judge you might miss out on making a great new friend.

[Jenn Swanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moose just moved to town and Franklin the turtle is assigned to show him the ropes. Franklin however is scared of the moose because he is big and different. I enjoyed this story. It had a good message behind it and the illustrations were beautiful. My daughter unfortunately did not hold this book in the same regard as I did. She said the Franklin book was too serious and she enjoys books with humor in them. I still would recommend this book regardless of what my child says.

[Michelle Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Franklin books and so did my own children. This one would be great to read to a class that knew they were getting a new student. Great to let children know that people may be different from us but we probably still have many things in common. We need to get to know people before we start forming opinions of them.

[Chenoa Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Franklin makes a new friend with the Moose family that moved in the neighborhood. At first, Franklin is afraid of the Moose because he is tall. Great read for students in Pre-K to 1st grade. This book is also good for students who are afraid to be friends with others that might intimidating because of their size. Good community builder.

[Jenna Arntz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Franklin Is not used to new people. He has always had the same friends, but when a moose moves into his street he is afraid of him. After a while he realizes that him and moose have a lot in common and they become really good friends. I think this would be a great read aloud. It would be a useful aide in teaching students to not judge people before they know them.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this episode of Franklin, a new family of moose moves into town. At first Franklin is intimidated by the sheer size of the moose, but they soon become friends.

Typical Franklin illustrations.

[Morgan]

The Franklin Series is a great one for young readers around the 2nd and 3rd grade levels. Franklin is a school aged turtle who comes across very relate-able issues such as children around this age. These are good to have in the classroom.

[Dharwiyanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tadinya Franklin nggak mau berteman dengan Moos, murid baru di kelasnya, karena Moos besar dan sepertinya mengerikan.

Mengajarkan anak untuk nggak menilai orang dari penampakan luarnya ;).