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Friendship is better than Sugar
Hardcover
Publisher Price: $29.99
ISBN13: 9788269475746
Publisher: M.A. Liam Books
Published: Sep 30 2026
Pages: 50
Weight: 0.78
Height: 0.25 Width: 8.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
Friendship Is Better Than Sugar is a warm and engaging SEL picture book that helps children understand kindness, empathy, inclusion, and the joy of belonging. Through gentle humor and relatable big feelings moments, this story supports early childhood educators, librarians, counselors, and families in teaching positive social behavior and emotional awareness.
The story follows Fimsie and her five hens, who usually play together happily. When a simple game introduces a single sugar-cube prize, competition quickly replaces cooperation. Jealousy spreads, feelings get hurt, and the hens struggle with the same social challenges children face in classrooms, playgrounds, and group activities every day. As the hens work through their mistakes, they discover that kindness, empathy, and inclusion create stronger friendships-and that being part of the group is far sweeter than any prize.
This picture book is ideal for ages 4-9 and aligns naturally with social-emotional learning (SEL) goals, including emotional regulation, conflict resolution, perspective-taking, and responsible decision-making. The story provides clear opportunities for educators and librarians to guide discussions about jealousy, fairness, cooperation, and repairing relationships after misunderstandings.
For classroom and library use, the book includes THINK & TALK prompts that encourage meaningful conversations about feelings, friendship, and positive behavior. These prompts help children reflect on their own experiences, identify emotions, and practice expressing themselves in healthy ways. The book also features bonus activity pages, offering ready-to-use tools for reinforcing SEL concepts through guided reflection and hands-on learning.
Librarians will appreciate the book's strong SEL themes, accessible language, and high read-aloud value. Its gentle pacing, expressive watercolor illustrations, and relatable emotional moments make it an excellent choice for storytime, small-group reading, and social-skills programming. The book supports early literacy, emotional development, and inclusive library collections focused on kindness, empathy, and positive behavior.
Perfect for classrooms, counseling sessions, school libraries, and family reading, Friendship Is Better Than Sugar provides a joyful, supportive way to help children build emotional awareness, strengthen social skills, and understand the happiness that comes from belonging.
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