Best Friends

by Steven Kellogg

Kathy feels lonely and betrayed when her best friend goes away for the summer and has a wonderful time.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Fantasy, Animals, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Steven Kellogg is an author and illustrator who has contributed over 90 books for children. He is best known for writing books about animals, for which he credits his grandmother .

Reviews

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me want a puppy. And a horse. And to be best friends with LeVar Burton.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

An emotional tale in the voice of the protagonist Kathy, about the time when her best friend Louise Jenkins goes away to camp for the summer. Feeling abandoned and alone Kathy has to work through her emotions that are on a rollercoaster ride. Kathy makes friends with the new neighbor that moves in across the street, and learns some valuable lessons about life and herself.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathy and Louise are best friends — but Louise goes away for the summer. She is camping and making new friends, while Kathy is home and lonely. Thankfully, Mr. Jode moves in next door to provide a distraction. His dog is going to have puppies. Kathy reserves the first spotted one. What will happen when Louise returns from camp? Will she and Kathy be friends again?

[Caleb Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a delightful book, except for the fact that--like so many kids' books written by non-Christians, or at least from a non-Christian perspective--there's no real answer or resolution to the main character's anger and selfishness, just temporary distractions from the underlying problem. This is one area where Christian children's authors can really shine: their characters struggle with real-world problems, temptations, and sins, but unlike their non-Christian counterparts, they have Christ to chasten and direct their emotions.

Overall, definitely a read-it-again book, but not without discussion with the listening child.

[Charles Harold · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a girl whose best friend goes away for the summer and her dealing with how that makes her feel.

This felt different from most children's books. It was at the same time fantastical and real, heartwarming and heartbreaking. I'm sure there are many kids who would be able to relate to this story in their own way. I recommend it

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aww.... Now this one just hits me in the warm fuzzies. I've never had a best friend; nonetheless I feel as if I can feel everything that Kathy does. She and Louise and Mr. Jode are certainly lucky to have each other.

[Amanda Warkentin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids and I loved this book. Awesome pics, great morale and lessons to be learned.

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Topics this story can be used for:
Friendship, dealing with emotions, new friends, sharing, broken friendships

*Accessible via reading rainbow

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for talking with kids about friendship and how it can change and evolve.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book through a rerun of Reading Rainbow.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my third grade boys loved this book! He raved about it for the next week after I did a read aloud. Highly recommend Steven Kellogg.

[Lara Sehgal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really liked it and it’s really a nice little book.

[Synthia Salomon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lesson about friendship and sustaining relationships through tough times.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found an old book by Steven Kellogg in a Little Free Library a block away from our house! It’s a cute story, but my favorite of his will always be: Can I Keep Him?

[Amanda Novak]

Owned as part of "Pinkerton and Friends" Treasury.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved Kellogg’s imaginative illustrations since childhood, as have my children. I love the way he describes childhood imaginings and emotional coping in concrete ways. I also love the idea and development of Golden Silverwind in this story.

[Ashten Wolff]

Best friends fight and then they get back together.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathy Cotski and Louise Jenkins are best friends who share everything. They even share an imaginary horse named, Golden Silverwind, who lives in a stall between their houses. When Louise goes to spend the summer at a mountain resort, Kathy feels like she's living in a desert. Then Louise sends Kathy a postcard and tells her that she's having a great time. Kathy is devastated. Now Louise is her worst friend. Then Mr. Jode moves in down the street. His dog, Sarah, is pregnant, and Mr. Jode promises Kathy the puppy that looks just like Sarah. Kathy is happy again, until Mrs. Jenkins asks Mr. Jode to save a puppy for Louise. Kathy decides that she will keep all of the puppies so that Louise can't have one. When Louise comes home she brings Kathy a sweatshirt, a sparrow's feather, a rock collection, and a whistle on a lanyard. Kathy tries to ignore Louise, but she doesn't succeed. They are best friends again. A few nights later, Mr. Jode calls them over to watch Sarah give birth. The first puppy is brown, and so it is Louise's. When it becomes apparent that Sarah is only going to have one puppy, Kathy runs home. Louise comes to tell her that they will share the puppy and name him Golden Silverwind. Mr. Jode helps them build a dog house that they put between their houses.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Kathy and Louise are best friends and do everything together. When Louise goes with her aunt and uncle to the mountains all summer, Kathy is afraid that she has lost her friend Louise. She becomes very angry with her, but at the end of the story their friendship remains solid.
Genre: Picture Book
Audience: K-3
Reading Level: Late Early/Transitional Readers
Topic: Friendship
Theme: Distance can not break apart true friends
Literary Elements: Dialogue, Sequential plot
Illustrations: The illustrations in this book are beautiful! There are intricate details that really bring the characters and the situation to life. They support the text and help the reader decipher the words in the text.
Additional Comments: While this may not be the best book about friendship, it conveys a great message of friendship to the reader. It also teaches students to avoid jumping to conclusions about situations before they understand the facts. I think children will be able to relate to this story and will enjoy it. I would use this for primary grades.

[Ally Copper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise Jenkins and Kathy Cotski are best friends. They share everything, even their daydreams about owning a horse. When Louise goes away on vacation and leaves Kathy behind, Kathy starts to get jealous. When her new next door neighbor, Mr. Jode, promises Kathy one of the puppies from his dog's litter, she daydreams about getting the puppy and not letting Louise play with it. When a twist of fate makes it so that Louise actually gets the one and only puppy that Mr. Jode's dog gives birth to, Kathy is incensed. Louise, however, reaches out a hand of friendship and says they can share the puppy. With that act of kindness, their friendship is saved. Friendship, jealousy, separation, forgiveness, and compromise are all covered in this endearing picture book that will appeal to girls in 1st through 3rd grade. The detailed, colorful illustrations done in ink and watercolor by the author/illustrator Steven Kellogg are imaginative and capture the inner-workings of little girls' daydreams.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book almost everyone can relate to, having their friend go away to camp or on vacation, and how much you miss them while they are away. A very well written story that could be used as mentor text to show that most children feel the same way. I could see using it to discuss feelings such as anger and jealousy. The illustrations are wonderful, and the ending is great. This book could also be used for predicting, because I was surprised at a couple of things that happened. A definite for my classroom library.

[Taylor Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Best Friends" is a book that can relate to many people. I feel like it's accurate to say that we all had a best friend at a young age that we did everything with, even fought. Kellogg writes from a young girl's perspective of her best friend and their difficulties, and it seemed so real to me. It made me reminisce back on my own childhood and it funny to feel like I went through a similar situation. The ending ends a little odd, which is nothing too surprising coming from Kellogg , and that is why I took one of the stars away. Other than that, great read!

[Tahya Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this would be a perfect book to read to younger kids. I feel like it could totally relate to the younger kids and how they are with their best friends. It definitely shows how frustrated friends can get with each other when the other friend does something without them, but at the end of the day they will always be your best friend. I think this book could be a good teaching lesson like if a teacher noticed tension in the room with her students he/she could read it. Or even a parent if their child was having conflicts with a best friend.

[Liane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genre: Picture book

Reading Level: Early

Topics & Themes: Friendship. Jealousy. Sharing. Abandonment. Imagination.

Curricular Use: Shared reading

Social: Girl leaving for summer camp, best friend left behind

Literary Elements: Alliteration. Imagery. Different genre:postcard

Text & Pictures: Interaction. Pictures demonstrate the girls imagination, did not always show reality, but girls thoughts on reality

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about two best friends, Kathy and Louise. Louise and Kathy like to play pretend. Louise goes to camp and leaves Kathy lonely. Kathy thinks Louise made new friends and she didn't like that. They liked to pretend that they had a horse named Golden Silverwind and that they had magic witch hats.

Somebody moves in next door whose dog is pregnant with puppies. Kathy and Louise must decide who gets one. I like that these girls are two best friends just like me and my best friend, Addie.

[Alissa Faust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathy and Louise are best friends and share everything. Louise goes away for the summer and Kathy can't believe that Louise could have fun without her! Kathy makes friends with the new neighbor Mr. Jode across the street. When Louise returns from summer camp, Kathy has a surprise waiting for her. Through twists and turns the girls resolve the strained emotions from the summer and again learn to share everything. As always, the illustrations are phenomenal.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about two girls who are best friends. They do absolutely everything together. When summer came one of the girls leaves for a camp. The other girl missed her very much. She found out her friend was having a great time and was making new friends. She became jealous. When the friend returned home the other girl was not excited, but then she realized the friend had brought her presents and said she missed her. They were now best friends again and had a new puppy as a pet.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathy and Louise are best friends who do everything together, even sharing their make-believe horse they named Golden Silverwind. When Louise goes away to camp one summer, Kathy is very lonely and thinks Louise isn't missing her at all. When a new neighbour moves in next door, and his dog is having puppies soon, Kathy is excited to be promised one. After camp Louise gets back and things don't work out the way Kathy expected. Great illustrations.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about a girl named Kathy and her best friend Louise. they do everything together until one summer Louise goes to camp and Kathy misses her terribly. A new neighbor moves in with puppies on the way. The girls have to share this one special puppy, it draws them closer as best friends.

[Kelly Powell]

This book was a great book to discuss jealously and friendship. Many children go though the same things and this book would be a great way to bring up these topics. I also like that the book was set up almost like graphic novel at some parts that have several pictures with their own text on one page.