Book Nook: Books About Social Relationships from Boys Town

Books can be a great way to help kids learn about and develop different skills. Boys Town Press aims to help readers learn about a wide variety of skills, and I recently had a chance to review several books that focus on different social skills.

• Freddie the Fly: Connecting the Dots by Kimberly Delude, illustrated by Brian Martin. Freddie the Fly is back, and has quite the conundrum! He’s misunderstanding social cues and is very confused about what people mean when their words say one thing, but their bodies say something else. This sweet story shows the steps to help connect the communication dots. 
• Green-Eyed Goose written and illustrated by Lisa M. Griffin, is a story about the lovable goose, Boone, who is grappling with jealousy and envy when his wildlife friends can do things he can’t.
• Empathy is My Superpower by Bryan Smith, illustrated by Lisa M. Griffin. Young Amelia discovers the power of empathy and kindness when she wonders about the emotions and differences of others. The book includes tips for parents and teachers for fostering empathy.

These books are really helpful. Some of them are part of a series, using a potentially familiar character to help with a variety of skills throughout the book series. I really like how relatable the Freddie the Fly books are - kids will be able to see themselves in the mistakes Freddie makes and the skills he develops (and there are some downloadable activities to help supplement the learning). Green-Eyed Goose is adorable, and he learns a good lesson about being happy for others instead of jealousy (and also has downloadable activities). Finally, the book about empathy is great for helping kids consider each other's feelings in different situations (downloadable activities also available).

These books are excellent for home libraries and also great for classroom and school libraries as well. They can be particularly relevant right now, during Bullying Awareness Month.