The Friendship Book by Zanni Louise, illustrated by Nicky Johnston

Title: The Friendship Book

Author: Zanni Louise, illustrated by Nicky Johnston

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Walker Books Australia

Published: 1^st November 2025

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $24.99

Synopsis: A joyful look at the friendships we make and how to nurture them from award-winning author Zanni Louise and illustrator Nicky Johnston

Friends can come from anywhere! From school, the park, the shopping square.
A bookstore, circus, from the zoo …
But how will we know what to do?

How do we find friends, make friends or be a friend? Zanni Louise and Nicky Johnston weave a story of building friendship and community through kindness, inclusion and imagination in this delightful journey through a day of meeting, greeting, laughing and playing together.

A perfect gift for every child, whether moving to a new neighbourhood, starting school, or starting a new class.

~*~

Everyone always wonders how to find friends and make friends at all stages of life. Different things can affect how we relate to people, and get along with people, and sometimes, it can be hard to find friends in new places like a new school or a new neighbourhood. And this extends to new classes, new jobs, and new countries. Communities aren’t what they used to be, and some people might find this harder for so many reasons.

People may not feel like they fit in because they don’t like what everyone else does or what they think they’re expected to like. But Zanni’s new book is all about how to find friends, and about what friendship means, and all the different ways we can make friends and find friends. Our friends can come from anywhere, and it’s okay if we like different things or disagree.

It’s about the things that do connect us with other people, and is a good reminder that finding new friends is a journey of discovery for everyone. It allows children to see the joy in friendships, all communicated through Zanni’s beautiful words and Nicky’s wonderful illustrations that show the joy and delight of friendships, what they give us, and how they can change and evolve. What they mean in a world where we seem disconnected more than ever, where everyone seems to be focused on themselves.

It’s about making that community that we want, but in many cases, it seems that people don’t want to work on. It’s aimed at children, but I felt like it has something relevant in it for everyone. We all need to be reminded about what friendship should be, and that we don’t need to agree with everything someone likes, but we do need to accept that everyone is different and has different tastes.

It’s what makes us unique, and even though we may bond with people and become friends based on things that we have in common, it is good to remember that we will have friends who enjoy different movies or books than we do. Or different sports, or who have different ways of celebrating things than we do.

We all need good friends, and this book is a good, delightful and heartfelt reminder that it can take time to make friends, and that the ones who are there for us are the special ones. The people we carry with us through life are the friends we all deserve.