We Used to Be Friends

This poignant and sensitively illustrated picture book captures the maelstrom of emotions that arise when a friendship has run its course.

A young girl’s stomach dips when she passes the house where her best friend once lived. The friend hasn’t moved away, but she may as well have. The girls used to walk to school together. They liked the same things. They fought and then made up—until the next time, and the next.

But the rotten feelings have piled up, and now the girls avoid each other. Dad says that happens. Friends drift apart. Remembering the fun times helps, and as new bonds bloom, the anger and hurt fade.

Illustrated with gentleness and warmth, this honest, moving text evokes an authentically childlike voice to help children master with hope and confidence the complex emotions that come from a changing relationship.