Books like You Are My Sunshine
By Holly Hobbie
For the kid who wants to fix every sad face around them, this is a gentle lesson in showing up for a friend, even when nothing seems to work. Warm, cozy, and quietly funny, with a storm that shakes things loose.
On a rainy city day, an eager boy in a green frog hat splashes through puddles with delight while a grumpy old man grumbles about the very same rain — until their paths cross.
A boy finds a penguin at his door and rows it all the way to the South Pole to return it, only to discover the penguin was never lost — just lonely.
A zookeeper spends every day visiting his animal friends — racing the tortoise, sitting with the shy penguin, reading to the owl — until he wakes up too sick to come, and they decide to visit him instead.
A Japanese girl moving into a new house spots an American girl playing in the snow outside, and though neither speaks the other's language, they team up to build a snow creature together.
A tiny snail longing to see the world hitches a ride on a humpback whale's tail, and together they sail to icebergs and volcanoes — until the whale gets stranded and needs the smallest friend to save her.
A lonely little girl finds a star that has fallen out of the sky and becomes its friend, but when the star grows sick, she must decide whether to let it go home.
A gorilla with nearly everything he could want is still missing one thing — a friend — so his keepers try pairing him with a tiny kitten to see what happens.
A warm, wandering list of reasons friendship matters, from knowing exactly where someone's ticklish to sticking together through pig-eating swamps and quicksand, real or imagined.
An old mailman bikes through the forest every day delivering letters that mend friendships and spark invitations among the animals — though he alone never receives any mail, until one special letter finally arrives.
A girl living in a tent camp finds comfort in her only friend, a pebble that listens to her stories — until a frightened, lost little boy arrives and needs comfort too.
A girl spends her best friend's last day in the neighborhood playing among moving boxes, watching the truck swallow up furniture and memories before saying a hard goodbye.
On a snowy night, a girl finds a lost wolf cub while she herself is far from home, and the two must find a way back together.
