Picture books about friends, compassion, and nature
The Word For Friend, by Aidan Cassie is the perfect picture book for international schools. Kemala moves to a new home and will attend a new school. But her classmates speak a different language. How can she play with them if she can’t understand them? This book cleverly uses Esperanto, complete with a word guide and information about Kemala, who is a pangolin. A great story about friendship, moving to another country and fitting in. ISBN 978-0-374-31046-2
The Seed of Compassion, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Illustrated by Bao Luu, this is a lovely autobiography in picture book format of the Dalai Lama. It tells of his childhood and his education. While the text is for slightly older readers, the story focuses on compassion and customs of Buddhists’ faith. ISBN 978-0-525-55514-8
West Coast Wild Babies by Deborah Hodge, with art by Karen Reczuch is a gentle walk through the rainforests and along the shores of the Pacific North West coast. It focuses on wildlife babies ranging from wolf cubs to gray whale pups and many in between. ISBN 978-1-77306-248-8
Nattiq and the Land of Statues, Barbara Landry and Martha Kyak
This story from the Arctic is unique in that it uses Inuktitut syllabics and romanized Inuit words throughout the story of how Seal travels and brings back stories about a land with tall trees and unusual animals. He tells polar bear and his other northern friends all about seasons and birds. A lovely picture book to discuss Arctic animals and a different environment. ISBN 978-1-55498-891-4
