100 Books Like Friends

For my money, Gipi is the best living comic book storyteller in the world right now and while it’s incredibly hard to pick a single book, I went with Garage Band, which elevates the drama of a very simple situation, teenagers escaping the turmoil of their lives through music who have to figure out what to do when their only amp dies. It reminds me of how every teenaged moment felt like an opera of life or death. In his art, in his stories, in his characters, Gipi gives simple things an impossible depth. 

Another brilliant gem of a book, Snappsy the Alligator is just trying to go about his day, but the annoying narrator of the book insists that he behave in certain ways. This book cleverly considers what the role of character is in a book and how the characters function in their story. Adults will appreciate the sophistication of the concept while younger readers will laugh hysterically at Snappsy’s attempts to be himself despite what the narrator thinks he should do.

I rarely read a book twice, but this is one of the few that I’ve read multiple times because it is such a unique premise. The concept of people going from “ugly” to “pretty” on their sixteenth birthday (thanks, futuristic technology) is such an interesting one to dive into. 

Also, I love how the main character straddles both the world of the pretties and that of the uglies—not knowing where she belongs. As a third culture kid, and someone who frequently feels like a misfit, I really related to her.

Since Aristotle, friendship has seemed a pure, unadulterated good. Our friends bring the best out of us. End of story. We all have known enough betrayal, mixed purposes, and painful incompatibilities to suspect the tradition, as does the philosopher Alexander Nehamas.

I particularly love the parts of the book where he takes, as an example of friendship, that between Thelma and Louise in the film of the same name. By virtue of their friendship, Thelma helps Louise gain self-confidence, and Louise helps Thelma get beyond her neurotic self-composure. Aristotle and Montaigne would be happy. However, the cost is murder, robbery, and ultimately suicide.

With this and other engaging examples, Nehamas shows that friendship is always morally risky. The good life involves struggle and is not safe.

This is a book by one of my favorite contemporary Japanese writers.

Sweet Bean Paste is both charming and horrifying. The main character with a criminal past tries to turn his life around by working at a confectionary stall selling sweet pancakes to passersby. At this stall he meets an elderly woman with warped hands.

Through her we learn of the horrors of how leprosy patients used to be treated. It’s an enlightening and, yes, sweet tale and shows that the young have much to learn from those who came before them.

First of all, it’s part of the Piggie and Elephant series, and I think the whole series is wonderful. I am in awe of how Willems can use so few words and still create stories that are funny and poignant. I particularly like this book because Elephant is sad, and no matter what outrageous things Piggie does, Elephant remains sad.

However, what the book shows in the end is that it is Piggie’s friendship that makes the difference. What a great lesson for kids to see that simply being a good friend is an act of great kindness. 

I absolutely love this book. The main characters, two teenage girls, who are total opposites, develop a friendship based on peer counseling together. They learn from each other and give each other comfort, advice, and more help on how to resolve their problems. It’s a great insight into what goes on in young adults’ lives. 

Lottie is a wise, steady chicken and Herbie is a silly, insecure duck, but their strong friendship is at the core of all the stories in this five-book series. Herbie is extremely jealous of Lottie’s new friend, Dodo. While Lottie is away, Dodo gets stuck on her roof, overcome with a fear of heights, and Herbie comes to her rescue. Herbie feels much better when Dodo says, “Now I know…why Lottie says you can always count on Herbie…and that you are ze apple of her eye.” Our whole family is very attached to the endearing personalities of Lottie and Herbie and the stained, worn pages of our copies show how frequently they have been read.

Billie Upton Green (B.U.G.) has two mums, an obsession with biscuits (the best varieties and correct way to eat them), and a problem with spelling. Young or old, everyone surely has a favourite biscuit-like Billie, I’m a custard cream fan - and even the most reluctant reader, whatever their own family is like, can pick up this quirkily illustrated book and find something to make them laugh or that they can identify with. Author Jen Carney, like me, draws on her own experience as a lesbian parent, and ensures that Billie is able to educate her classmates in a no-nonsense way on what it means to be adopted and to have two mums. 

My family loves to laugh, and we introduce our children to books that build the funny bone. For this reason, I have a copy of every picture book written by the delightful Mo Willems. Hands down, my favorite is Let’s Go for a Drive! Here’s the story: Elephant and Piggie amass the accessories necessary to spend a day tooling around town. We’re talking sunglasses, a map, an umbrella. They are set to go when they realize they don’t have a car. Somehow, the two friends make the best of it. Good news: There are 25 Elephant and Piggie books to enjoy again and again.