You've Got a Friend

Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham

Ah, the pain and drama experienced by young girls growing up! The Tween years mark a time of leaving the structure and familiarity of family life and routines. It's a time when a girl is trying to fit in and to simultaneously discover her identity.  Life for these young women can become a minefield loaded with unexpected angst. Girls often find themselves thrust into a world of cliques, bullying, and vicious exclusionary tactics.  Shannon Hale's memoir recounts her pain-filled struggle to find her place in the bizarre world of preadolescence.

As a young child living in a large family, Shannon is often considered the timid one. Her neighbor Adrienne remains her best friend. When she enters school, the friendship dynamic began to shift. In the classroom and on the playground, new alliances are formed, leaving Shannon feeling confused and often excluded. A nucleus of her schoolmates becomes known as "the group". Shannon's joy in imaginative play and self-expression is at odds with the decision-makers of "the group." 

​​Hales' anxiety over the situation begins to manifest itself with increasing stomach aches and repetitive coping mechanisms. She also grapples with a complicated sibling relationship. Shannon eventually decides to leave "the group." Later she finds new friends who accept and appreciate her.

LeUyen Pham's realistic style is reminiscent of Raina Telgemeier. It is revealing to observe the progresion of changes as Shannon grows from a child into a middle school student. Dark panels are particularly effective in invoking the gloomy periods in Hales' young life.

Anyone who has felt different, been excluded, or questioned their self-worth will identify with Shannon Hales' personal journey to find herself and discover her Real Friends.

Let's Be Friends

Raina, Shannon, Astrid, Abby, and Jun: I absolutely adore each and every main character in this selection of graphic novels featuring girls in middle grades. They are more than characters in books. They are real girls with real life issues. While my specific circumstances may have been a bit different, I can relate to the desire to find a place among like-minded peers: to be valued and included within a circle of friends.
Below is a book display featuring some of these middle school protagonists.
I used a paper doll template, available with a variety of hair and skin tones. It can be downloaded free from Kiki & Company. With a wee bit of paper scraps and markers I created an arrangement featuring some of these young heroines.
Get ready for an onslaught of book requests and obtain multiple copies of each title. This Middle Grade Girl Up display will send these graphic novels to flying off the shelves and into the hearts of young readers everywhere.

Friendship Bracelets

Taking a second look at friendship bracelets, a story element in Chiggers:

Two young friends spent several hours creating braided thread friendship bracelets. After braiding string got boring, it was time to move on to Sunburst wrappers. These adornments were a bit more time-consuming, but the girls decided that they were worth the effort. The bonus is, of course...candy! Try this tutorial to create one bracelet to share and one to keep.

Companion Books
or You Can Never Have Too Many Friends

There are many excellent books that portray the struggles of young girls moving away from childhood.  Several of these stories use the graphic novel format, allowing the reader to experience in both visual and text format the pains of discovering true friendship and finding oneself.  Here are a few books to get you started.

Real Friends
​by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham

Since childhood, Shannon and Adrienne have been best friends. But that is about to change when Shannon discovers "the group."

War at Ellsmere
​by Faith Erin Hicks
Jun has been awarded a scholarship at a prestigious girls' boarding school. She meets Cassie, who helps her cope with the life at Ellsmere.

​Roller Girl
by Victoria Jamieson

Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole until...  Astrid falls in love with roller derby and Nicole decides that she loves dance. Can their friendship survive their markedly different interests? 

Chiggers
​by Hope Larson​
Abby is back at summer camp. But it's not the same. Her friend Rose is a cabin assistant. The new girl Shasta is different from the others. Can Abby built a friendship with this unusual girl?

Smile
​by Raina Telgemeier

​Life changes for Raina when she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. She must endure a long and painful series of dental procedures as she navigates the bewildering world of middle school. Will she ever smile again?

Play the "Who said that?" game. Select quotations spoken by the main character in each book. Can you match the quotation with the girl who said it? Sometimes it can be quite tricky to select the correct attribution for the quote. Have copies of books handy to verify the answers.