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Friendshape
The bestselling creators of EXCLAMATION MARK! introduce a triangle, circle, square, and rectangle who celebrate the gift of friendship.
Friends shape who we are. They make us laugh. They fill us with fun. They stand by us during life's up and downs. And even when we disagree with our friends, if they're tried-and-true, they don't stay bent out of shape for long. That's the beauty of a good buddy. This joyous book rejoices in the simple beauties of friendship, and reminds readers of all ages that it's good to have a group of pals.
Friends shape who we are. They make us laugh. They fill us with fun. They stand by us during life's up and downs. And even when we disagree with our friends, if they're tried-and-true, they don't stay bent out of shape for long. That's the beauty of a good buddy. This joyous book rejoices in the simple beauties of friendship, and reminds readers of all ages that it's good to have a group of pals.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published August 25, 2015
2 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
About the author
Amy Krouse Rosenthal
87Ìýbooks1,083ÌýfollowersSHORT BIO:
Amy Krouse Rosenthal was.
She divided her time.
NOT SO SHORT BIO:
Amy Krouse Rosenthal was a person who liked to make things.
Some things she liked to make include:
Children's books. (Little Pea, Spoon, DuckRabbit)
Grown-up books. (Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life)
Short films. (The Beckoning of Lovely, The Money Tree)
Guided journals. (The Belly Book)
Something out of nothing. (see above)
A longtime contributor to WBEZ and to the TED conference,
Amy lived with her family in Chicago and online at whoisamy.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews
October 31, 2015
Cute concept using shapes as friends. The shapes move around to support the text wordplay. Unique and thoughtful in theme. Good lessons for friends and friendship.
July 2, 2015
Rosenthal and Lichtenheld are such a phenomenal team. Loved this new offering!
September 19, 2021
Featured in a grandma reads session.
Basic, simple shapes show that acceptance of others who are different than us is easy and fun and necessary for real joy. No matter what shape some one is they will have feelings, joys, sadnesses, hopes and dreams just like yours. Accept them all and spend the rest of the party, game, project, job, lesson and picnic having fun!
Always a good lesson to revisit and emphasize. So did we.
Basic, simple shapes show that acceptance of others who are different than us is easy and fun and necessary for real joy. No matter what shape some one is they will have feelings, joys, sadnesses, hopes and dreams just like yours. Accept them all and spend the rest of the party, game, project, job, lesson and picnic having fun!
Always a good lesson to revisit and emphasize. So did we.
October 5, 2015
As the Kirkus Review points out, you almost hope that the titles is what inspired the creators from the beginning. What shape does friendship take? Can people who are as different as a circle and a square still be friends?
Although there is no real plot, there is plenty of humor and thoughtful messages in this picture book. I really like how they show the characters as shapes. For me, this helps young children see some of the metaphors but it also helps them see themselves in the book. By having just basic outlines of the shapes, with funny cartoonish expressions, Lichtenheld invites readers to seem themselves as characters in the book.
The puns keep rolling along, inviting kids to figure them out and invent their own. "Friends are always there to lean on," as the shapes all lean in together. "Friends play fair and [insert the yellow square]."
Friendship isn't always easy. When conflict happens, friends never "stay bent out of shape for long." Kids would enjoy coming up with some of their own observations about friendship, adding on to the book as they go.
Although there is no real plot, there is plenty of humor and thoughtful messages in this picture book. I really like how they show the characters as shapes. For me, this helps young children see some of the metaphors but it also helps them see themselves in the book. By having just basic outlines of the shapes, with funny cartoonish expressions, Lichtenheld invites readers to seem themselves as characters in the book.
The puns keep rolling along, inviting kids to figure them out and invent their own. "Friends are always there to lean on," as the shapes all lean in together. "Friends play fair and [insert the yellow square]."
Friendship isn't always easy. When conflict happens, friends never "stay bent out of shape for long." Kids would enjoy coming up with some of their own observations about friendship, adding on to the book as they go.
May 3, 2019
Only such a talented team of creators can make a picture book work on multiple levels, as this one does. The deceptive simplicity of this celebration of friendship enables children to focus on the friendship theme, learn shapes, identify colors, and savor the humor, either simultaneously or one element at a time. All of these components work well separately, but also add up to more than the sum of the parts. The iconic illustration style enables the art to shine as much as the text, and they both enhance each other.
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July 4, 2015Great message about friendship, still curious about the choice of shapes instead of children?!
August 27, 2015
Cheerful friendship story but the point of having shapes as characters is never quite clear.
September 8, 2015
This is the first book I've read of Rosenthal's where I found myself getting bored, tuning out, wanting to skip pages just to make it END. So disappointed. The concept felt forced.
October 12, 2015
"Friends shape who we are", indeed. Great text to share at the beginning of the year or whenever kids need a reminder. Clever illustrations match the words perfectly!
February 11, 2016
This book is just too fucking adorable & super punny!
February 28, 2016
These two are so smart! They never disappoint. Friends "don't stay bent out of shape for long"...brilliant illustration of this point. I love Rosenthal and Lichtenheld!!!
May 21, 2017
Mini life lessons dealing with friendship. It is nice to have the puns with shapes and other math. This is a normal Amy and Tom book.
September 20, 2018
Great book about friendship, colors and shapes! I read this book to my first-grades before playing shapes and colors bingo.
August 30, 2020
Adorable book on the basics of friendship.
October 22, 2019
This book is a pun masterpiece.
January 29, 2016
Opening:
We’re reading a friendship book this morning! I have some really good friends. Some I see all the time and some I don’t see very often. I still talk with my best friend from preschool! I like being able to spend time with my friends because they make me laugh. Can you tell me what’s so great about having friends? [Children respond]. Great! We’re going to be reading “Friendshape� by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. What do you notice about the cover here? Who is going to be our main character? [Children respond]. Yes! Our main characters are shapes! Isn’t that silly? Now, this book has some synonyms. Do you remember what synonyms are? [Children respond]. That’s right! Words that have almost the same meaning as other words you already know. There are going to be some unusual phrases in this book as well, so I want you to keep your ears open for them. [Opens book]. Also, take a look at the title page here. What do you see? [Children respond]. The shapes do look like they’re talking! Let’s read on to see if they will talk throughout the book.
Opening moves:
*Share a personal connection you have with the text or theme
*Prompt listeners to notice details
*Alert listeners to look out for new vocabulary or unusual phrases
Rationale:
This is a super cute book that answers the question “What’s so great about having friends?� They make you happy, they are always there for you, and even if they fight, they are still best friends. When using this book as the last in the Making Friends text set, the teacher can connect all books at the end and ask the students which great things they saw in each book. This invites more ideas from students about how to make and keep a good friend.
We’re reading a friendship book this morning! I have some really good friends. Some I see all the time and some I don’t see very often. I still talk with my best friend from preschool! I like being able to spend time with my friends because they make me laugh. Can you tell me what’s so great about having friends? [Children respond]. Great! We’re going to be reading “Friendshape� by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. What do you notice about the cover here? Who is going to be our main character? [Children respond]. Yes! Our main characters are shapes! Isn’t that silly? Now, this book has some synonyms. Do you remember what synonyms are? [Children respond]. That’s right! Words that have almost the same meaning as other words you already know. There are going to be some unusual phrases in this book as well, so I want you to keep your ears open for them. [Opens book]. Also, take a look at the title page here. What do you see? [Children respond]. The shapes do look like they’re talking! Let’s read on to see if they will talk throughout the book.
Opening moves:
*Share a personal connection you have with the text or theme
*Prompt listeners to notice details
*Alert listeners to look out for new vocabulary or unusual phrases
Rationale:
This is a super cute book that answers the question “What’s so great about having friends?� They make you happy, they are always there for you, and even if they fight, they are still best friends. When using this book as the last in the Making Friends text set, the teacher can connect all books at the end and ask the students which great things they saw in each book. This invites more ideas from students about how to make and keep a good friend.
October 9, 2019
A cute picture book about friendship featuring various shapes.
Read
November 21, 2015"What's so great about having
Friends?
We're glad you asked!
See, the great thing about having friends is ...
Everything!"
A blue circle, a yellow square, a green triangle and a red rectangle cheerfully list all the attributes of having a friend. Each quality is not only displayed textually but visually.
Three titles published within the last several months focus on developing a positive perspective so our lives, the lives of those closest to us and the lives of people we may never meet are rich and full. Collaborators author Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrator Tom Lichtenheld present Friendshape (Scholastic Press, August 25, 2015), a charming tale on the comforts trustworthy companions bring. I Used To Be Afraid (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, September 29, 2015) written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger explores conquering fears by stepping back and looking at them with different eyes. A daily ritual of a father with his children becomes Beautiful Hands (Blue Dot Press, September 29, 2015) written and illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten.
My full recommendation:
Friends?
We're glad you asked!
See, the great thing about having friends is ...
Everything!"
A blue circle, a yellow square, a green triangle and a red rectangle cheerfully list all the attributes of having a friend. Each quality is not only displayed textually but visually.
Three titles published within the last several months focus on developing a positive perspective so our lives, the lives of those closest to us and the lives of people we may never meet are rich and full. Collaborators author Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrator Tom Lichtenheld present Friendshape (Scholastic Press, August 25, 2015), a charming tale on the comforts trustworthy companions bring. I Used To Be Afraid (A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, September 29, 2015) written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger explores conquering fears by stepping back and looking at them with different eyes. A daily ritual of a father with his children becomes Beautiful Hands (Blue Dot Press, September 29, 2015) written and illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten.
My full recommendation:
November 15, 2019
Friendshape--An Uplifting Celebration of Friendship by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld asserts that friends "shape who we are." They provide many benefits. They help us divide our troubles, create fun, share our celebrations, and stand by us in good times and in bad. They remember to apologize and forgive each other. That's a lot of goodness!
But the real message of this book is: Friends do not have to look alike. And yet both children and adults struggle to learn to befriend individuals whom they perceive as "other." In fact their differences often help us in significant ways. They influence us to grow and change in response to the relationship.
Adoption-attuned (AQ) Lens: Adoptive families will find an easy and obvious segue to discussions about racial and cultural differences among friends and even families. How do these differences inform who we are and how we interact with one another? How does difference influence the way our families are received in school? Whom do we choose to befriend? How does the way our friends view us and our families influence our own inner dialog as well as the interactions we all share.
But the real message of this book is: Friends do not have to look alike. And yet both children and adults struggle to learn to befriend individuals whom they perceive as "other." In fact their differences often help us in significant ways. They influence us to grow and change in response to the relationship.
Adoption-attuned (AQ) Lens: Adoptive families will find an easy and obvious segue to discussions about racial and cultural differences among friends and even families. How do these differences inform who we are and how we interact with one another? How does difference influence the way our families are received in school? Whom do we choose to befriend? How does the way our friends view us and our families influence our own inner dialog as well as the interactions we all share.
September 24, 2015
This is an amazing book that has a triangle, circle, square, and rectangle as characters who celebrate the gift of friendship. This book is a lovely illustration of friendship and claiming that friends shape who we are.
This joyous book celebrates the simple beauties of friendship and is a wonderful example for children to acknowledge the different bonds and relationships with their personal and family members. This book is ideal for a 3 year old to embrace friendship and interact with other children. It encourages the integration and inclusion of every individual, hence promoting positive develop, such as confidence and self esteem.
This book can relate to the curriculum, especially in the mathematical area. The shapes and colours make it easier for children to identify them and the difference between them. Not only are the colours a method for visual children to remember the shapes, but this book can be a good resource to reinforce what is learnt in the lesson. Children can also play games and guess the shapes.
February 3, 2018
Adorable!!! Amy and Tom have the best books. Clever, witty, sweet, tender, funny, and deep all in one. Every time. This one may touch closer to home because it is about friendship, which is a favorite subject of mine. As a story and concept I think the preschool crowd will like this--though I think they will love it even more seeing the 4 basic shapes they know coming a bit to life! Good for lap-reads and read-alones as well.
11/6/17-11/9/17 Used in Morningside Elementary visits. Read in K class. They LOVED this!!!!
11/29/17 Used as opener in Friends theme for Preschool ST. The adults really loved it--lots of laughs. The kids loved seeing the shapes. But it was still too distant a concept for them to connect the shapes to the letters they resembled. Definitely a difference between them and the K class. But that's OK! That's why I do my early literacy moments to help them in identification, writing, and sounding out the letters!
Looking forward to trying this one at home.
They liked--SD especially.
11/6/17-11/9/17 Used in Morningside Elementary visits. Read in K class. They LOVED this!!!!
11/29/17 Used as opener in Friends theme for Preschool ST. The adults really loved it--lots of laughs. The kids loved seeing the shapes. But it was still too distant a concept for them to connect the shapes to the letters they resembled. Definitely a difference between them and the K class. But that's OK! That's why I do my early literacy moments to help them in identification, writing, and sounding out the letters!
Looking forward to trying this one at home.
They liked--SD especially.
November 12, 2015
This clever, pun-filled book about friendship reminds me in some respects of tangrams with their use of triangles to form different pictures. The book's point, of course, (no pun intended) is that friendships matter and that we need to treat our friends well. They should reciprocate too, providing the support we need when times are troubled and making us feel welcomed. After all, as the book jacket points out, "FRIENDS SHAPE WHO WE ARE" (book jacket). While some of the puns and shape collections might necessitate an explanation or conversation, I enjoyed this book, filled with digital artwork and a creative flair that requires readers to think a little bit as they move through the book. Although the puns and shapes may annoy some readers, I found them refreshing and entertaining, and they contributed to my good mood. I especially liked the little square present with a ribbon on its top.
November 28, 2016
Well, that was adorable. There's nothing earth-shattering here, but there are several clever instances of wordplay and visual play that use the shapes themselves and various idioms that use the shapes (like "fair and square"). This makes the book way more interesting to me as an adult, but I don't know how it would play with kids. The four shapes illustrate each concept (like disagreeing by being wiggly, supporting each other by the rectangle leaning on the triangle) and are surprisingly versatile for being just colored shapes. I also appreciated the difference in illustration between the shapes and other things (like a bow and a string), where the shapes are very crayon-looking and the other items are contrastingly sharp and realistic.
I liked it rather a lot and actually kind of want it for my own shelves and my own friends; it's fun, simple, and interesting. I'm glad to have stumbled across it.
I liked it rather a lot and actually kind of want it for my own shelves and my own friends; it's fun, simple, and interesting. I'm glad to have stumbled across it.
July 13, 2017
A square, triangle, rectangle, and circle use this story to talk about why friendship is a wonderful thing to have. Friends can make their friends feel happy or feel at home, know how to make things fun, play fair, sometimes think the same thing at the same time, and forgive when they fight. No matter what happens in life, friends can always be there to provide support.
While there is no real plot, this book uses shapes to show how having friends can make a big difference in life. The shapes are used to create humor and word play, allowing kids and adults to add to the book in their own minds as they read the original message. The shapes mostly add opportunities for word play and would not necessarily be a good resource for teaching kids about shapes. This book is a unique, fun way to think about friendship.
While there is no real plot, this book uses shapes to show how having friends can make a big difference in life. The shapes are used to create humor and word play, allowing kids and adults to add to the book in their own minds as they read the original message. The shapes mostly add opportunities for word play and would not necessarily be a good resource for teaching kids about shapes. This book is a unique, fun way to think about friendship.
March 5, 2016
In this heartwarming story about four friends (rectangle, triangle, square, and circle) children are introduced to many ways to be a good friend to others. We learn that friends make you feel happy, have fun together, welcome others, solve conflicts, and support each other. There were examples of how the friends handled these different experiences and would be great for a morning meeting discussion at the beginning of the school year or when friendship issues arise in a primary classroom. A wonderful picture book full of sketch illustrations that kept students engaged and excited throughout the reading. This text does a great job of using the alternative meanings for words that made students think about what they are listening to and/or reading, and was a cause for giggles around.
October 23, 2015
An adorable picture book about friendship that would be just as fun to give to an adult as it would be for a young child. There is a lot of subtle humor that adults will appreciate. The illustrations are so unique in that it is the four shapes, square, rectangle, circle, and triangle that compromise the majority of the illustrations with just a little illustration added here and there. This could be a fun math project to recreate a fun illustration using only shapes as in this book. I would read this book, possibly to incorporate it into a lesson, as well as have it in the classroom library.
May 15, 2017
Friendshape is a picture book with very simple text and pictures that shows how shapes-- and friends-- can play together. The joy of this book is in its puns: both visual (as the shapes create different scenarios) and verbal (Rectangle to Triangle: "You have a good point"). While you could read the book with younger children, early elementary schoolers really get the most out of the puns-- point out the first one and watch them tell you the rest! Great for reading aloud to a group or for early independent readers to take on themselves.
December 12, 2018
This book is definitely a book that parents and early childhood teachers who are teaching their students how to interact with one another and to teach them the value of friendship. "Friendshape" was a cute book because it used common shapes, like a circle, square, triangle, and rectangle, to display the different actions and experiences that take place during friendship. A few puns in regard to the shapes were made which made the story even more enjoyable. It serves as a guidance piece to help children value friendship.
September 3, 2015
A cute book, filled with some truly excellent shape-related puns. Aside from that, though, I'm not sure what the purpose of the shapes was. They weren't ever labelled as "circle," "square," etc., so I'm not sure about using it to teach shapes to the kiddos - and if that's the case, then why have the shapes at all unless it's to make the puns?
(Don't get be wrong; puns are a beautiful thing.)
Anyway, the message was cool, the pictures were cute, and the puns were awful. :-p
(Don't get be wrong; puns are a beautiful thing.)
Anyway, the message was cool, the pictures were cute, and the puns were awful. :-p
October 13, 2015
Bravo, Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!!!! To the dynamic duo better know as Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld, have done it again. This is a story about shapes, shapes that are friends hence they make friendshapes! I simply adored this book. It is filled with heart and is educational.
Whenever I read most of their books, I get a little emotional. This is a fantastic book! Loved it, again I say Bravo!
Whenever I read most of their books, I get a little emotional. This is a fantastic book! Loved it, again I say Bravo!
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