Gorgeous, vibrant photographs and simple, affirming text merge in this picture-book tribute to friendship. Back matter includes quotes from famous authors, resources for parents and caregivers on promoting friendship and dealing with bullying, and an author's note encouraging readers that friends come in all shapes and sizes. The photography's diverse subjects and global settings attest that friends span ages, race, and gender, too. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

PreS-Gr 3-Kerley explored the importance of water in A Cool Drink of Water (2002), parents and kids in You and Me Together (2005), and peace in A Little Peace (2007, all National Geographic). Now, in this oversize volume, excellent photographs of friends from around the world are paired with simple but touching text to demonstrate that all people need friends to care about. The photographs have a nice mix of young and old from places as close as Pennsylvania and California, to as far away as China and Jakarta. Back matter is included to extend the usefulness for older readers. There is a map showing where each of the photos was taken and captioned thumbnails of each photo. There is also a page with a short passage about the importance of being kind to all people and a brief note to parents and caregivers with some online resources for helping kids make friends, and how to handle bullying. A few well-known quotes about friendship add a final touch ("The only way to have a friend is to be one." Ralph Waldo Emerson). VERDICT The wonderful photography and gentle text make this a good choice to read aloud at the beginning of a discussion of friendship or to showcase what all humans have in common.-Laura Stanfield, Campbell County Public Library, Ft. Thomas, KY © Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

There can never be too many books about friendship, and this latest, by Kerley, is sure to win hearts. The prose, like the message, is simple: All you need is a friend by your side. Perhaps intended to nudge a reticent youngster into taking a bold step into the unknown, With a Friend by Your Side lists all the ways life is wonderful with a friend who shares, laughs, takes risks, listens, hugs, and cheers for you. Crisp, colorful photos range from half- to double-page spreads rich with diversity. These illustrations combine with simple text to remind readers that true soul mates transcend age, race, gender, even species. The faces in the photos beam from around the globe, and an index with a map tells readers where the pictures were taken. A resource section at the end provides quotes from famous figures and links to websites about respect and acceptance, making this a useful tool for classroom discussions.--Chaudhri, Amina Copyright 2015 Booklist

The concept of friendship earns itself another tribute picture book, this time with crisp, stunning photographs to match."There, in the crowd, is someone / who likes the things you like." Brief text reassures readers that there's a friend somewhere out there for everybody and then lists all the things such a pal could do as well as the additional benefits of what such a friendship would bring. All told, the text is a pep talk to the lonely, promising great companionship to come. Its near platitudes are ameliorated by the book's eye-popping photographs of children and adults in 18 different countries. The backmatter includes a map of the world indicating where the photos were taken, quotes on friendship by Ralph Waldo Emerson, C.S. Lewis, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and a note to parents and caregivers that includes Web resources with "ideas on helping your kids make friends" as well as "resources on bullying." The result is a book that seems to hope to serve a very specific type of readerthe lonely kindwhile also reaching for universality. Perhaps surprisingly, in the end it works, the world photography going a long way toward supporting its overarching goal. Though it treads perilously close to inspirational blandness, this book will serve to comfort those seeking friends of their own and inspire others to expand their friendship circles. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.