International Friendship Day is celebrated every year on July 30th. This day is for thinking about your friendships that are really important to you and cherishing those individuals. Friends come in all shapes and sizes – they can be classmates or family members. Take some time this summer to read about friendships and hopefully find a chance to reconnect with some of your friends!

To Night Owl From Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
For children in grades 4-6.
OverDrive: Audiobook and eBook
Avery Bloom and Bett Delvin are two extremely different twelve-year-olds. Avery is bookish as well as cautious and Bett is adventurous as well as outgoing. The two virtually meet when Bett emails Avery after finding out that her dad is dating Avery’s papa. Both of their fathers send them to a summer camp together in the hopes of them being friends as their parents go on a motorcycle trip through China. Even though the trip turns out to be a disaster, the two girls have become close and want to be sisters. The tale, which is all told via emails, spans the course of a couple of years as the various characters – Avery, Bett, their fathers, Bett’s grandma Gaga, and Avery’s mom Kristina – all grow in ways they probably never thought they could. I thought this line from the book really captured its amusing and heartwarming nature – “The way people who are really different from each other can come together and their lives can merge, even if once in a while they get on each other’s nerves, which is just a human thing.” Besides being about a great friendship, this story relishes in folks letting more love into their lives and families expanding.

So Done by Paula Chase
For children in grades 5-8.
Hoopla: Audiobook
OverDrive: Audiobook and eBook
“Growing up together in a housing project, 13-year-olds Tai and Mila are longtime best friends, but they couldn’t be more opposite. Sassy Tai thrives on the neighborhood’s energy, while quiet, reserved Mila can’t wait to get out.” –Publishers Weekly

Cilla Lee-Jenkins: This Book Is a Classic by Susan Tan and illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte
For children in grades 3-5.
OverDrive: eBook
“While Cilla is trying to understand how families work, she's increasingly jealous that her “best best friend,” Colleen, is beginning to share jokes and playdates with another classmate…Cilla's year is full of lessons about family and friendship, and Tan successfully gets into the head of an inquisitive and exuberant young girl.” –School Library Journal

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
For children in grades 4-6.
Hoopla: Audiobook
OverDrive: Audiobook and eBook
“In the attic of Candice’s late grandmother’s house she finds a letter addressed to her grandmother, which promises treasure to the city if the letter’s puzzle can be solved…Candice digs into the mystery along with Brandon, an 11-year-old neighbor who is being bullied.” –Publishers Weekly

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
For children in grades 3-6.
OverDrive: eBook
“When Malu has to move away from her dad and everything she knows, she takes her love of punk music with her. Following the rules of punk, she embarks on a new school journey, full of misadventures and hilarious life lessons.” –School Library Journal