Customer Reviews

Our Friendship Rules

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Pitch-perfect, non-preachy, told in an authentic voice with a perfect economy of words, and so very very real, OUR FRIENDSHIP RULES is a seamless marriage of story and picture.

Our narrator, Alexandra, is a visual thinker and a budding artist, so it is perfectly fitting that more than half of this story is told via Imre Geis's crisp and joyful illustrations and crafty-girl collages (many of which allow the reader a peek into Alexandra's notebooks and sketchbooks).

As a career children's bookseller and mother of two, I would personally recommend this book to children from age 5 to 13, as well as to parents, teachers, librarians, and adult friends in need of re-writing their own 'friendship rules.'

The perfect book for kids of all ages. Great way to begin a disscusion about what being a friend means, how to be a good friend and how to deal with hurt feelings. Perfect for home or the classroom . The illustrations bring the story to life.

This is an incredibly beautiful book. It's an amazingly honest rendering of girls' friendships, their strengths and their pitfalls. Most impressively, it is hopeful without being either preachy or saccharine. You will love it!

Written by former hate-violence prosecutor Peggy Moss and ninth grader Dee Dee Tardif, Our Friendship Rules is a children's picturebook about the true value of friendship. Two girls, Alexandra and Jenny, have been best friends for a long time. But when Alexandra is drawn by the allure of a new student, she'll do almost anything to become the cool girl's best friend - even tell Jenny's most private secret. Then she learns what it feels like to lose her best friend, and see the pain she's caused. Can a broken friendship be rebuilt? What are the rules that should govern a friendship? A straightforward story about learning to get along with and respect others, illustrated with distinctive collage-style paintings by Alissa Imre Geis.

As a teacher educator, I've used Peggy Moss' book Say Something to begin important discussions about bullying, teasing and moving beyond being a bystander. Her new book, Our Frienship Rules, will be equally valuable in beginning critical converations about how children treat one another in schools. Using a book to begin this discussion is a fantastic way to initiate the exploration without making any particular individual student uncomfortable ... because we're talking about a book. But then, of course, personal stories flow forward, and soon we are all engaged in the challenging but vital work of making schools safe for all students. Highly recommended to all teachers, counselors and other youth workers as well as parents who want to talk to their own children about what matters

Someone asked me what I thought of Peggy Moss's new book. My answer: "It's important." Our Friendship Rules sheds light on the choices that girls must make- - that we all must make. It's a story of friendship, of betrayal, of forgiveness and redemption. At once lyrical and realistic, this book summons the better angels in all of us. It's inspiring.

The beauty of this story is in the truth of the writing--the authors don't pull any punches, but they manage to create something along the way that is different--they show kids that even though friendship might be tested, there is almost always a way to make things right again.

Friendships require maintenance. This book empowers students to create rules and limitations within their friendships. Our Friendship Rules has served as a guide for my students. I ask students to create their own list of friendship rules after we read the book. Ask your kids, what should you do when someone breaks a friendship rule? How does forgiveness play a part in friendships? "To have a friend, you've got to be a friend." We need to TEACH and MODEL what that beautiful quote means. This is a MUST for your book shelf.