My Friend

From acclaimed author and translator Elisa Amado and award-winning illustrator Alfonso Ruano, My Friend is the story of the meaning of friendship in the life of an immigrant child.

Friendship — to be known, to be accepted as you are, to feel safe, especially when you are vulnerable. The girl in this story has recently arrived in Brooklyn with her family. On her very first day at school she meets a girl who almost instantly becomes her very best friend. She feels known, loved and accepted by her. But when she invites her friend to come for dinner with her family — a family that feels free to eat weird food and, even worse, burst into song with their version of a sentimental classic of longing and homesickness — something shifts and she no longer feels safe at all. What will it be like tomorrow at school?

Award-winning illustrator Alfonso Ruano’s art beautifully depicts the depth of feeling that the friends experience in this story from acclaimed author and translator Elisa Amado, about how difficult it is to come from somewhere else and what a difference friendship can make.

Key Text Features

song lyrics

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3

Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3

Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.6

Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.