The main idea of this story is that friends are extremely important and they help mold you into who you are. Anne, the shy little girl, was always quiet and didn’t have many friends. She never participated in class or played with anyone at recess. One day a new girl, Claudia, came to her school. At recess Anne was playing alone and Claudia asked if she could play with her. The two girls became friends and hung out all the time. Anne realized that she liked having fun and a friend to play with so she started participating in class and playing with her class at recess. I feel like this is a good story to read to students in the beginning of the school year to show them that everyone needs a friend and that friends are important to have. ( )

FROM THE BOOK COVER:
Anne was very shy. She was so shy that she never raised her hand at school, or asked if she could skip at break. She spent most of her time looking for flowers, collecting leaves in the autumn, and playing with her striped cat -- by herself.... Even though she looked happy enough on the outside Anne was really very sad underneath. What happens when a new girl named Claudia comes to school makes an engaging and sensitive story.