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My Friends/Mis Amigos
Simple words and bold illustrations show children that friends are easy to find even in the most unlikely places.
40 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1983
21 people are currently reading
355 people want to read
About the author
Taro Gomi
429 books131 followersTaro Gomi (五味太郎) is a major children’s illustrator and writer. He has more than 400 book titles to his credit. His work has been widely translated into 15 other languages.
Tarō was born in Tokyo and he graduated from ID department, Kuwazawa Design Institute. His readers range from babies to adults, with an equal number of fans overseas. His work has been appreciated considerably with both domestic and international honours such as the Sankei Jido Shuppan Bunka Award, Bologna Children's Book Fair Award among others.
Along with authoring children's books, he is well-known in the fields of Stationery design, clothing design, production of young children's animated videos, CD-ROMs, essays etc.
His popular books published in English include Everyone Poops, Santa Through the Window, Where's the Fish?, My Friends and The Crocodile and the Dentist.
Tarō was born in Tokyo and he graduated from ID department, Kuwazawa Design Institute. His readers range from babies to adults, with an equal number of fans overseas. His work has been appreciated considerably with both domestic and international honours such as the Sankei Jido Shuppan Bunka Award, Bologna Children's Book Fair Award among others.
Along with authoring children's books, he is well-known in the fields of Stationery design, clothing design, production of young children's animated videos, CD-ROMs, essays etc.
His popular books published in English include Everyone Poops, Santa Through the Window, Where's the Fish?, My Friends and The Crocodile and the Dentist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
December 11, 2015
Simple, yet adorable.
Short, repetitive, and easy sentences, and a delightful ending that got me all "aaaaaw <3 ".
Short, repetitive, and easy sentences, and a delightful ending that got me all "aaaaaw <3 ".
October 20, 2020
A very animal friendly and people friendly book for kids.
I love the artwork so much! And this book was first published in 1989! Saywhaaaa?! I am thoroughly impressed 💯😍
I love the artwork so much! And this book was first published in 1989! Saywhaaaa?! I am thoroughly impressed 💯😍
May 23, 2017
Que maravilloso! (sorry, as I learn more Spanish words my reviews will get better).
childrens-books
January 15, 2022April 11, 2022
Every time I read, I’m simply struck by the complexity of the English language. When she says she learned to hide from her friend the bunny, does she mean the bunny taught her how to hide or that she is self taught in hiding herself from the bunny?
September 26, 2025
My Friends/ Mi Amigos is a great bilingual book to have in a classroom. I like this book because it encourages the children to observe and learn from around them. this Spanish text is a great way to introduce a new language. this story is great for reading aloud because it is simple but also engaging.
November 7, 2018
it's a book that i wish for every child to read
December 3, 2013
My Friends, is a great book for beginning readers. It is a simple read, yet the story is something children can relate to. It references to all different things the little girl learns to do from all of her different friends ."I learned to sing from my friends the birds," each action she learns from her friends relates to the characteristic of the animal or person she is describing. This is a very fantastic story for young readers because it helps the reader visualize each action she is learning from her friends. The book also has a great lesson that you can learn something new from everyone. This is a great book that you can use within a classroom for younger students to help teach about different animals, while also learning about the concept of friends.
January 26, 2010
This brightly illustrated pre-school book introduces the reader to a variety of friends. The little girl in this story shares her friendships with almost everyone she comes across. The book ends with the reader as the newest friend to the little girl.
One of the great things about this book is the illustrations that are weaved across the page. They really give the reader a sense of Tokyo. The farms look a bit different than we are used to seeing them. The teachers in the book are dresses a professional almost businesslike manner. It is apparent in the book that teachers are highly respected members of the community.
One of the great things about this book is the illustrations that are weaved across the page. They really give the reader a sense of Tokyo. The farms look a bit different than we are used to seeing them. The teachers in the book are dresses a professional almost businesslike manner. It is apparent in the book that teachers are highly respected members of the community.
Read
December 19, 2014Moral of the story: You can be friends with everyone!
From the viewpoint of a little girl traveling across the land and running into different animals who all show friendship in different ways, i.e. the ant teaches her how to explore. This would be a good book for young readers because there is only a short sentence on each page and the words are repetitive. Could be used as a collaborative book idea, or to be used as a morning greeting to promote relationships in the classroom.
Grade level Equivalent: 1.3
Lexile Measure®: 470L
DRA: 12
Guided Reading: G
From the viewpoint of a little girl traveling across the land and running into different animals who all show friendship in different ways, i.e. the ant teaches her how to explore. This would be a good book for young readers because there is only a short sentence on each page and the words are repetitive. Could be used as a collaborative book idea, or to be used as a morning greeting to promote relationships in the classroom.
Grade level Equivalent: 1.3
Lexile Measure®: 470L
DRA: 12
Guided Reading: G
Read
December 16, 2019I liked this book so much!
Our protagonist takes us through a series of "I learned to [verb] from my friend [noun]," and I was totally not expecting the friends to be animals! (Humans enter the story in the last few pages, and the closing page is very sweet.)
Edit (August 2019): Reading this multiple times with M, she noticed that in the "I learned to play from my friends at school" spread, one of the children is pulling our protagonist's hair. So we talked about that's not very friendly behavior, but I was definitely confused about that artistic choice.
Our protagonist takes us through a series of "I learned to [verb] from my friend [noun]," and I was totally not expecting the friends to be animals! (Humans enter the story in the last few pages, and the closing page is very sweet.)
Edit (August 2019): Reading this multiple times with M, she noticed that in the "I learned to play from my friends at school" spread, one of the children is pulling our protagonist's hair. So we talked about that's not very friendly behavior, but I was definitely confused about that artistic choice.
April 19, 2011
This story is about a little girl who makes friends everywhere she goes.
This is a great first day of school/first week of school book for PreK - K students.
Good book to use to teach students about how easy it is to make friends.
Character traits: acceptance
Art: can have students draw pictures or bring in photographs of their friends and write a story about them.
Illustrations: real photographs.
This is a great first day of school/first week of school book for PreK - K students.
Good book to use to teach students about how easy it is to make friends.
Character traits: acceptance
Art: can have students draw pictures or bring in photographs of their friends and write a story about them.
Illustrations: real photographs.
September 30, 2015
This book is so cute. It is about a young Hispanic girl who uses her imagination and stories she has read about books and talks about how she has learned things from them. She also points out that she learns things from her teachers and her friends. This is a good book about friendship. I will add this to my library for my students to read. I think they would love to read this story and it is a good independent read. I would recommend this book to teachers and parents.
October 29, 2014
Huge fans of Gomi's Where's the Fish - this one does not disappoint as my daughter loves to name each animal that teaches the little girl something new ("I learned to watch tonight sky from the - owl."). Not too tedious if you're looking for a good bedtime story and you want something quick but substantial.
December 29, 2015
I wanted to read this book after finding someone's idea to do yoga with children citing this book as their inspiration. This was a good, simple story, also in Spanish so it is good for different themed storytimes. And as a bonus, if you wanted to do a few simple yoga poses with the kids after, it would be a great way to settle some wiggles. ;-)
October 2, 2007
I love this book a little more every time we read it. (Which is saying a lot because it made me tear up the very first time I picked it up...)
The illustrations are both cute and beautiful, and the story can develop as your child ages.
The illustrations are both cute and beautiful, and the story can develop as your child ages.
January 12, 2010
An example of simple elegance in a "children's" book. In my opinion, the best kids books are ones that are elegantly simple enough to inspire one to say, "Hey! I could do that!" This is one of those books.
January 19, 2010
This book is bilingual and a little girl learns to do many things from her friends. With each turn of the page the main character is exploring the world, learning to walk, climb, etc. with the help of her friends. Everything she learns to do is described in English and in Spanish.
May 30, 2017
We received this book as a gift for my toddler. Cute illustrations and the repetition and characters are great for the preschool set interested in animals.
March 18, 2008
Jump, run, kick and more in English and Spanish with animal friends!
September 15, 2008
This is a great book that offers kids a chance to practice all their animal sounds. A great baby shower gift!
December 3, 2008
I really love Taro Gomi.
August 24, 2009
I like that this book has a mixture of beautiful, colorful illustrations and great ideas/messages about friendship. Taro Gomi is a wonderful artist and a great children's book author.
January 12, 2016
My son's favorite bedtime story from about 9 months old.
July 1, 2014
Cute little book but it has a sappy ending that I could see coming a mile away (kidding). The art is top shelf, however, and extra points for beautiful artwork and non-white characters.
May 27, 2015
Adorable!
March 17, 2017
Perfect little book!
November 12, 2017
Reading Level: 2.0
Book Level: G
Book Summary: A nameless illustrated character (a young girl) shares with the reader a skill she has learned from each of her friends, a majority of which are animals. The book gives the reader a warm fuzzy feeling at the end by directly referring to the reader as the little girl’s friend, from whom she “learned to love”. The bilingual version of the text has a Spanish translation of each sentence printed on a different part of each page/ pair of pages (as pictures tend to span across two side by side pages).
Characteristics that support the genre: My Friends/ Mis Amigos fits the genre of a “picture book” because it is a creative original story with a theme, friendship, that children can easily relate to. This topic addresses children’s needs and understandings of the world around them, through personifying the friendship theme using young student’s favorite animals. The plot of the story is so simple that it is essentially nonexistent. The beautiful illustrations in the book are used to establish the setting of the story support and comprehension of the text, which is typical of many picture storybooks. In addition, the writing style is simple and repetitive, a characteristic quality found in many children’s picture books.
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Ideas:
-Presentation: The text in this book is clean, large, well-spaced and easy for young readers to read. Additionally, the simplistic yet charming watercolor-style pictures, which occupy a majority of each page, directly correspond with the text in the passage, helping readers to comprehend the English and Spanish text.
-Conventions: The text in this story demonstrates proper conventions of simple sentences, such as punctuation, grammar, spelling and capitalization of the first word.
Classroom Integration: Writer’s Workshop activity for primary elementary grades: After reading the story, students could reflect upon the question, “Who are your friends and what have you learned from them?” Students could choose 3-5 of their friends and write and illustrate passages to answer the prompt. Teacher can also use the story to exemplify and reinforce simple convention rules. Additionally, the bilingual version of the book is a good introduction to the Spanish language and would be appropriate for introducing simple Spanish words and thoughts to a classroom where Spanish instruction is given. More importantly, this book is ideal for bilingual or ESL learners because they could rely on both the pictures and Spanish translations when learning how to read in English. It would be the perfect picture book for ESL students to take home to read with their families!
Other Suggestions: While the reading level of this story is most suitable for first or second grade students, this book can be read aloud to younger kindergarten and preschool classes during social skills/ emotional learning lessons to illustrate the qualities of friendship.
Book Level: G
Book Summary: A nameless illustrated character (a young girl) shares with the reader a skill she has learned from each of her friends, a majority of which are animals. The book gives the reader a warm fuzzy feeling at the end by directly referring to the reader as the little girl’s friend, from whom she “learned to love”. The bilingual version of the text has a Spanish translation of each sentence printed on a different part of each page/ pair of pages (as pictures tend to span across two side by side pages).
Characteristics that support the genre: My Friends/ Mis Amigos fits the genre of a “picture book” because it is a creative original story with a theme, friendship, that children can easily relate to. This topic addresses children’s needs and understandings of the world around them, through personifying the friendship theme using young student’s favorite animals. The plot of the story is so simple that it is essentially nonexistent. The beautiful illustrations in the book are used to establish the setting of the story support and comprehension of the text, which is typical of many picture storybooks. In addition, the writing style is simple and repetitive, a characteristic quality found in many children’s picture books.
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Ideas:
-Presentation: The text in this book is clean, large, well-spaced and easy for young readers to read. Additionally, the simplistic yet charming watercolor-style pictures, which occupy a majority of each page, directly correspond with the text in the passage, helping readers to comprehend the English and Spanish text.
-Conventions: The text in this story demonstrates proper conventions of simple sentences, such as punctuation, grammar, spelling and capitalization of the first word.
Classroom Integration: Writer’s Workshop activity for primary elementary grades: After reading the story, students could reflect upon the question, “Who are your friends and what have you learned from them?” Students could choose 3-5 of their friends and write and illustrate passages to answer the prompt. Teacher can also use the story to exemplify and reinforce simple convention rules. Additionally, the bilingual version of the book is a good introduction to the Spanish language and would be appropriate for introducing simple Spanish words and thoughts to a classroom where Spanish instruction is given. More importantly, this book is ideal for bilingual or ESL learners because they could rely on both the pictures and Spanish translations when learning how to read in English. It would be the perfect picture book for ESL students to take home to read with their families!
Other Suggestions: While the reading level of this story is most suitable for first or second grade students, this book can be read aloud to younger kindergarten and preschool classes during social skills/ emotional learning lessons to illustrate the qualities of friendship.
September 10, 2017
My Friends (Mis Amigos) is a story about a little girl who learns to walk, climb, study the earth, ect.
This is a great book for the first day of school, probably intended for pre-school and kindergarten students. It teaches them how to make friends and along the way learn new things like walking and climbing. I absolutely love that this book is bilingual. This really helps a child if they are learning english, they can see it in their language(spanish) and also see it in english. I love the idea of bilingual books!
The typography for this book is a bold black font for the english text, and a bold different colored font for the spanish text. Color coded so you know which one is which.
The illustrations for this book are vibrant and continue onto the page next to it on every page. Some continue into the gutter as well. The medium for these illustrations I hypothesized,are pencil drawings. The illustrations seem kind of cartoonish in my opinion, which i think is cute, and lures children in. I think children would be drawn to the whimsical details. The cover has the main character on the front smiling without a care in the world, and the scenery is trees around her and a house in the background that continue to the back of the book.
The cover is what kinda what drew me into picking this book. When i saw that it was also a bilingual book i got even more interested.
The end papers of this book are two different shades of green, and one page has reviews about the book.
Before reading this book i would ask the students what they think the book will be about based on the cover illustration and title.
Since this book teaches children how to make friends and learn new things along with it, for a class activity i would have the students draw or bring in a picture of their friends along with a story they have written about that picture and if their friend has taught them anything.
This book was simple and adorable and taught a lesson. I am really glad i stumbled upon this book.
This is a great book for the first day of school, probably intended for pre-school and kindergarten students. It teaches them how to make friends and along the way learn new things like walking and climbing. I absolutely love that this book is bilingual. This really helps a child if they are learning english, they can see it in their language(spanish) and also see it in english. I love the idea of bilingual books!
The typography for this book is a bold black font for the english text, and a bold different colored font for the spanish text. Color coded so you know which one is which.
The illustrations for this book are vibrant and continue onto the page next to it on every page. Some continue into the gutter as well. The medium for these illustrations I hypothesized,are pencil drawings. The illustrations seem kind of cartoonish in my opinion, which i think is cute, and lures children in. I think children would be drawn to the whimsical details. The cover has the main character on the front smiling without a care in the world, and the scenery is trees around her and a house in the background that continue to the back of the book.
The cover is what kinda what drew me into picking this book. When i saw that it was also a bilingual book i got even more interested.
The end papers of this book are two different shades of green, and one page has reviews about the book.
Before reading this book i would ask the students what they think the book will be about based on the cover illustration and title.
Since this book teaches children how to make friends and learn new things along with it, for a class activity i would have the students draw or bring in a picture of their friends along with a story they have written about that picture and if their friend has taught them anything.
This book was simple and adorable and taught a lesson. I am really glad i stumbled upon this book.
May 11, 2021
“My Friends, Mis Amigos” by Taro Gomi is a fun picture book about a little girl and her friends. Each friend has taught her an important lesson that she would love to share with the readers. But did you know the little girl has many different friends? The little girl is friends with the animals by her house, the books she reads and the people at her school. They have all taught her so many different things. Friendship is such a powerful thing. We often learn so many things from the guidance and love from others. Taro Gomi does a wonderful job presenting the joy that friendship can bring. We see the friendship that the little girl has formed and how it made her to who she is. Taro also does a wonderful job not limiting what friendship is or looks likes. Friend can be found wherever we go. Not just limited to people, but books we read, our teachers, and animals. The does a great job presenting the diversity of the friendships we find in things and others.
Most importantly, Gomi does a fantastic job presenting both Spanish and English in a way that is understandable and accessible for all readers. Both translations are equally represented and beautifully placed with the illustrations throughout “My Friends, Mis Amigos”. They truly created a platform where both languages would stand out on their own and be honored. This was my favorite component about the book. Taro Gomi provides a book where readers can feel joy and happiness from the friendships they have while learning a new language they have never seen before. How cool is that!
Most importantly, Gomi does a fantastic job presenting both Spanish and English in a way that is understandable and accessible for all readers. Both translations are equally represented and beautifully placed with the illustrations throughout “My Friends, Mis Amigos”. They truly created a platform where both languages would stand out on their own and be honored. This was my favorite component about the book. Taro Gomi provides a book where readers can feel joy and happiness from the friendships they have while learning a new language they have never seen before. How cool is that!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews