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Lissy's Friends
What do you do when you’re the new girl at school? If you’re Lissy, you make a friend. A paper friend. And to Lissy’s surprise, her little origami bird opens his eyes and says hello! So she quickly makes more friends. And soon Lissy has more friends than she can count! But what do you do when your friends have to leave? If you’re Lissy, you make another friend . . . but this time one that stays. Utterly imaginative and charming, Lissy’s Friends is a fresh take on the importance of friendship.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 11, 2010
This is such an almost unbearably adorable story. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “making friends.” It does stress the importance of friendship, and kids will respond to its message, I think.
It’s so interesting to me that this author-illustrator’s art style remains nearly identical throughout her various books, but it works for me better in some books than in others. Here it works moderately well, mostly because Lissy’s friends are just so cute and colorful.
I loved origami when I was a child, though I never graduated beyond making relatively simple things. I loved seeing the animals that Lissy makes in this book.
Even though we always came back to our same apartment in San Francisco, my father traveled for his work and through age 11 I had to travel with him, so I was the new girl in school a few times, twice entering a class in the middle of the school year. I would have been impressed with Lissy’s way to cope with being the new girl, and I would have cheered on her success at making friends, of paper and with other children. The story is both poignant and amusing.
The two pages long inside back cover gives and shows instructions for how to fold a paper crane. I feel like a dunce when I look at it. Perhaps if I tried I could succeed at making an origami paper crane; the instructions look clear, but I remember making simpler things.
It’s so interesting to me that this author-illustrator’s art style remains nearly identical throughout her various books, but it works for me better in some books than in others. Here it works moderately well, mostly because Lissy’s friends are just so cute and colorful.
I loved origami when I was a child, though I never graduated beyond making relatively simple things. I loved seeing the animals that Lissy makes in this book.
Even though we always came back to our same apartment in San Francisco, my father traveled for his work and through age 11 I had to travel with him, so I was the new girl in school a few times, twice entering a class in the middle of the school year. I would have been impressed with Lissy’s way to cope with being the new girl, and I would have cheered on her success at making friends, of paper and with other children. The story is both poignant and amusing.
The two pages long inside back cover gives and shows instructions for how to fold a paper crane. I feel like a dunce when I look at it. Perhaps if I tried I could succeed at making an origami paper crane; the instructions look clear, but I remember making simpler things.
January 30, 2020
Dang. Making friends. I can do that the way Lissy does, can't I? At least the crane, as diagrammed in the back? Off to try....
Ok, well, I almost succeeded. I did have to look up other instructions, and it would work better with real origami paper (make sure that you at least have paper colored differently on each side so you can keep track) and if the paper is perfectly square. But with practice it would be fun.
Does anyone know if there are easier origami shapes for beginners?
Ok, well, I almost succeeded. I did have to look up other instructions, and it would work better with real origami paper (make sure that you at least have paper colored differently on each side so you can keep track) and if the paper is perfectly square. But with practice it would be fun.
Does anyone know if there are easier origami shapes for beginners?
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April 24, 2014Lissy's Friends is a great book to represent culture. Lissy moves to a new school but doesn't make friends right away so she 'makes' them instead. Her friends are made from origami which represents her culture and who she is. I really liked the illustrations in this book. I thought that the bright color made it a very positive experience. I think that Lin take 'imaginary friends' to a very different and creative way. At the end of the book, Lissy's classmates notice her very interesting origami and want to befriend her. When she gains actual real friends she no longer needs her origami friends so they blow away. I thought this was a great way to explain transitions and show that Lissy eventually made friends at her new school. At the end of the book we see the origami traveling the world and keeping in touch with Lissy. I loved this aspect of the book. Instead of taking her imagine away, Lin just interpreted it differently. I think this would be a great book for teaching about visual representation. It could also be read on the first day of school and children could bring show and tell to explain who they are.
February 12, 2013
My daughter received this for the Lunar New Year and it's positively delicious. Probably best for girls, ages 4-6, and a few boys, too! As usual, Grace Lin's illustrations are bold and delightful, and this is a great little story, especially for any children who are new to a group or school, or anyone who ever feels left out from time to time (so, everyone).
June 25, 2013
This book will come in handy when teaching kids about making new friends and even being the new student. I am sure lots of kids can relate to that. I used this book in a lesson I did in my Kindergarten internship and we all made our own imaginary origami friends at the end.
July 15, 2018
Lissy is having trouble making friends at her new school, so she makes some origami friends. Eventually, the origami helps Lissy make some real friends.
The first half of this book is kind of sad watching Lissy have to make herself friends out of paper. They're very cute but you can't help but feel for Lissy. Eventually, Lissy's talent helps break the ice with some kids and could actually be a real way shy new kids could make friends. If not through origami, perhaps they could think of some other way to break the ice. So the book provides a good opportunity to talk about how to make friends. Make sure to have some origami paper on hand and instructions because readers are likely going to want to try some out themselves.
The first half of this book is kind of sad watching Lissy have to make herself friends out of paper. They're very cute but you can't help but feel for Lissy. Eventually, Lissy's talent helps break the ice with some kids and could actually be a real way shy new kids could make friends. If not through origami, perhaps they could think of some other way to break the ice. So the book provides a good opportunity to talk about how to make friends. Make sure to have some origami paper on hand and instructions because readers are likely going to want to try some out themselves.
July 21, 2018
Lissy, being the new girl at school, had no friends so she uses her imagination to make friends. Lissy friends went everywhere with her. One day Lizzy’s friends went away and that made her sad but her friends going away helped Lissy make more friends.
Lissy’s Friends was a well written heartwarming story with beautiful and colorful illustrations.
Lissy’s Friends was a well written heartwarming story with beautiful and colorful illustrations.
April 17, 2018
This was cute and had an unexpected twist to it.
June 3, 2020
Lissy has recently moved to a new school and is having problems making friends so she folds some of her own. Cute ending. Elementary and u
August 16, 2020
Lissy is the new girl at school.
She's lonely, so she folds origami animals to be her friends.
Eventually, those animals connect her to a real friend.
She's lonely, so she folds origami animals to be her friends.
Eventually, those animals connect her to a real friend.
July 28, 2022
A sweet friendship-themed story!
September 13, 2025
First the new girl "makes friends" using origami. Then origami helps her make friends.
November 13, 2014
Lissy just moved to a new school and had not made any friends at school yet. She often plays alone on the playground and eats lunch alone. Out of boredom, one day at lunch Lissy makes a origami crane out of the lunch menu. She names it "Menu" and becomes her first friend at school. "Menu" comes to life in Lissy's imagination. Lissy makes more origami friends and takes them everywhere with her. She takes them to the playground with her and they all get blown away. Lissy is very upset because of this. A little girl, named Paige, finds "Menu" and returns it to Lissy and they soon become friends. Lissy teaches Paige how to make origami and in return Paige introuduces Lissy to new, real life friends.
I found this book to be a little odd. I thought it was a sweet story but found it strange that a girl was perfectly fine with only having a friend in folded paper animals. The ending was very sweet. Lin includes a postcard from her lost origami friends. They landed in Paris and are continuing to travel the world. Other than that the book was a little slow but beginning readers would love it.
Of course in my class, this book would inspire my students to want to learn the art of origami. The back includes how to fold a paper crane. I would have my students create any animal possible with origami. We would then construct stories about our "friends" like where they met, what their friend likes and dislikes, etc.
Age appropriateness: Pre Kindergarten-2nd grade
Themes: origami, bashfulness, friendship, school
I found this book to be a little odd. I thought it was a sweet story but found it strange that a girl was perfectly fine with only having a friend in folded paper animals. The ending was very sweet. Lin includes a postcard from her lost origami friends. They landed in Paris and are continuing to travel the world. Other than that the book was a little slow but beginning readers would love it.
Of course in my class, this book would inspire my students to want to learn the art of origami. The back includes how to fold a paper crane. I would have my students create any animal possible with origami. We would then construct stories about our "friends" like where they met, what their friend likes and dislikes, etc.
Age appropriateness: Pre Kindergarten-2nd grade
Themes: origami, bashfulness, friendship, school
February 3, 2016
Summary: A young girl named Lissy moved to a new school and had no friends the first day, so she made a paper crane and named it Menu. Throughout the day, she made more and more animals that became her “friends”. When she was playing with them outside, the wind took them away. Another girl noticed Menu and brought it to her, starting a new friendship. The girls played together and made paper animals. Lissy had now made many friends.
Theme: Be yourself and good things will come of it.
Personal Response: I think this book is good for learning that if you just be yourself, you can make friends that will accept you and have fun with you. I personally had a tough time with the idea of coming to college and meeting new friends but I was myself and it made it all worth it because I found the best friends I could ever have.
Recommendation: This book would be good for students to learn about identity and friendship and will help them see that they do not have to worry about changing themselves just to make friends and that if they are themselves, they will be able to find the people who are genuinely friends.
Key Quote: “When Lissy jumped on, the merry go round was empty! She looked up and saw her paper friends flying away”
Theme: Be yourself and good things will come of it.
Personal Response: I think this book is good for learning that if you just be yourself, you can make friends that will accept you and have fun with you. I personally had a tough time with the idea of coming to college and meeting new friends but I was myself and it made it all worth it because I found the best friends I could ever have.
Recommendation: This book would be good for students to learn about identity and friendship and will help them see that they do not have to worry about changing themselves just to make friends and that if they are themselves, they will be able to find the people who are genuinely friends.
Key Quote: “When Lissy jumped on, the merry go round was empty! She looked up and saw her paper friends flying away”
September 21, 2014
This is a wonderful tale that helps to show how difficult being the new kid in school can be. The narrative is short and perfect for reading aloud. And the illustrations are colorful - we just loved the origami animals. We talked a little about how important it is to welcome new children and help them feel part of the group and our oldest talked about a new boy who doesn't speak English well and how hard it is to communicate with him.
Overall, I think this is a good book to read at school or at home to help children empathize with new children in the classroom. Our girls have only had to experience this one time and at least it was at the beginning of the school year. It was a tough transition, especially for our oldest and I'm glad that we don't plan to move again. We really enjoyed reading this book together.
Overall, I think this is a good book to read at school or at home to help children empathize with new children in the classroom. Our girls have only had to experience this one time and at least it was at the beginning of the school year. It was a tough transition, especially for our oldest and I'm glad that we don't plan to move again. We really enjoyed reading this book together.
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June 8, 2016Lissy doesn't seem to be making friends at her new school. So instead of sulking alone, she decides to make her own out of origami paper. Soon she is having a blast, but when her friends disappear she wonders what will happen next. Other kids find her origami skills really cool so she begins to teach them and everyone soon becomes friends.
The media used pen, paint, ink , and colored markers to tell this story.
Again this stroy is about unlikely friendships but it also highlights that your unique talents can help foster friendships.
The media used pen, paint, ink , and colored markers to tell this story.
Again this stroy is about unlikely friendships but it also highlights that your unique talents can help foster friendships.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2013
3.5
A cute story about how difficult it can be to make friends. Lin does a great job of humorously showing the sometimes disconnect between what child say/mean and what their parents (mis)understand. I enjoyed the book design, art (Lin's art is well-suited for this story), and the tale itself--until the end which I felt was a little too neat. However, the letter from Lissy's old friends at the very end was a nice touch and made me smile.
A cute story about how difficult it can be to make friends. Lin does a great job of humorously showing the sometimes disconnect between what child say/mean and what their parents (mis)understand. I enjoyed the book design, art (Lin's art is well-suited for this story), and the tale itself--until the end which I felt was a little too neat. However, the letter from Lissy's old friends at the very end was a nice touch and made me smile.
March 28, 2011
If you have ever struggled with making friends in school then this book will tug at your heart strings. This book is so relatable with so many children especially students who are new to the class. This would be a sweet book to read to a class with a new student. It would help encourage the other students to be friends with the new boy or girl.
July 13, 2013
Loved it. This is a good book to discuss different cultures and being nice to new students. I would have children being in something they like to do at home and share it with their friends. It would show that they should embrace differences, because they might actually learn something new from them.
November 1, 2013
This is a good book for younger children that may be introduced into a new place. Being the new kind at any age is not a fun experience. It can be very scary and stress full to make new friends. I believe that this book could be a great teaching tool for the classroom because it explains loneliness in an easy and creative way.
November 2, 2007
New girl in school Lissy fights loneliness by creating her own origami friends. Her paper animals come to life, but are carried away by the wind. Will Lissy have the same success making "real" friends?
March 28, 2011
Youngsters are introduced to the art of origami in Lissy's Friends. I loved the concept of this book -- Lissy is shy around her classmates, so she makes some friends--literally--out of folded origami paper. Cool illustrations too.
September 26, 2011
This is a good tool to use in the classroom when you know someone is having trouble making friends. This could even be used when a new student joins the class and it can be followed by everyone showing something special about theirselves.
October 4, 2016
An adorable book about Lissy who's the new girl in school who doesn't have any friends until she starts making origami animal friends. Grace Lin's illustrations are so colorful and gorgeous. A great book about making friends.
June 23, 2023
For some reason, I missed including this on my Grace Lin reading challenge so I'm glad I ran across this picture book. A lonely girl folds origami animals to make up for the friends she doesn't have.
February 12, 2008
Paper cranes are my weakness.
June 19, 2008
Nice pictures and it's fun to name all the paper animals.
August 6, 2008
I probably would never have picked this book out but it came to us free. My son likes the animals that Lissy makes. It would be a good book for kids moving to a new school.
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March 1, 2010lizzy has NO friends- finds it hard to interact - makes paper mates with origami -etc....
July 31, 2010
A good find for our K-2 Friendship week.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews