l to r: Sara O’Leary and Qin Leng.

Ah, summer camp. For many children, it’s an exciting chance to practice a little low-stakes independence from family and familiar friends. For others, it’s an anxiety-inducing experience rife with overthinking and feelings of being overwhelmed. Regardless of a child’s comfort level, there’s always a bit of social risk-taking involved. Author Sara O’Leary captures this reality at the beginning of her latest picture book, A Friend Is a Friend Is a Friend, when her main character wonders, “Will any of [these kids] want to be friends with me?”

Another camper offers a bit of advice: make friends by asking other people questions. One by one, the protagonist interviews the other children and discovers that friendship can begin in many ways, and take many forms. One camper shares that their grandpa is their best friend, and their relationship is built around sharing stories with each other. Another camper says that they just made friends with someone who speaks a different language, but they understand each other anyway. Other friendships are based on shared interests, and mutual support. One friend is even invisible!

Illustration: Qin Leng.

While O’Leary’s writing does a wonderful job of exploring the complex topic of friendship, Qin Leng’s lively, gestural illustrations bring the story and its characters to life. The earth-toned palette is warm and nostalgic, and the details – from a rustic fort with a “Welcome” sign up top and two cozy readers inside, to a tree crawling with campers – are reminiscent of Michael Martchenko’s work. Leng wraps up the book by bringing all these new friends together at a dock, playing, cannonballing, and splashing across a two-page spread.

A Friend Is a Friend Is a Friend is an excellent option for parents and educators looking for a way to help young readers ease social anxiety or build social skills. Over the course of the story, readers follow the protagonist as they learn what really makes a friend – and discover that often, other children are just as nervous, and that sometimes “the best way to make a friend is to be one.”