FernFolio

Jenny and Alexandra are best friends. They sit together on the school bus, play cards in Jenny’s tree house, spy on Alexandra’s brother, skip rope, and play Jenny Tag. Both girls are creative; Jenny makes puppets and invents games, and Alexandra draws and paints. Though the girls have had their disagreements, they have always been able to work things out.
When a new girl comes to their school, Alexandra thinks that Rolinda is the coolest kid she’s ever seen, and, from that first moment, want to be friends with her. Alexandra dresses like Rolinda, and cuts her hair just like the new girl’s, and soon Rolinda decides they are friends. They sit together on the school bus and eat lunch together, but there is no room in this new friendship for Jenny.
Rolinda thinks Jenny is like a lizard, always running around and hiding under things, and, to her shame, Alexandra finds herself agreeing. Wanting to further cement her relationship with Rolinda, Alexandra shares with her a secret about Jenny, one she has sworn never to tell. When Jenny learns that her best friend has told her secret simply to impress the coolest girl in the school, she is angry and hurt and cries. Alexandra is overcome with remorse. She apologizes to Jenny, but worries that, this time, there is no way to repair their relationship. Then Jenny reminds her of their friendship rules, written after another argument, and, together, the girls rewrite those rules to reflect what they have learned.
Our Friendship Rules is a terrific book about how even the best of friends can hurt each other, and how good friends are worth holding onto. Beautifully illustrated in album style by Alissa Imre Geis, this story will resonate with girls from Grade 3 up.
FernFolio Editor