Connecting and making friends has been a challenge in recent months, especially for the little ones starting the new school year at home. Making friends in a new place is always a little bit scary – no matter what age you are! Luckily, this month we have a range of stories about characters who are facing similar challenges! 

This month’s Awesome Adventures is called Alex’s Amazing School. Alex’s dad wanted him to have the very best education, so he hired the wisest man available to be his teacher! This is the story about what the boy learned – and how it helped him to become the ruler known as Alexander the Great! The artwork by Letizia Depedri makes this tale from Ancient Greece shine.

The Language of Animals is also about a son who is sent away to school – but when the boy says that he has learned to understand what animal are saying, they can’t understand why that was a valuable lesson. Of course, the boy finds a way to put his knowledge to good use and prove his father wrong! Illustrated masterfully by Marina Halak, this story is a little bit magical.

Playing sports is a great way to connect with new people – even if you come from different places or can’t speak the same language. Away Game is about what happens when Lincoln and his friends meet some strangers and teach them how to play football as a way to communicate. This story has a surprise twist which we won’t spoil here – but Carlitos Pinheiro’s illustrations capture the magic of a very unusual match!

Sharing food is also a way to make friends, and at The Mad Hatter’s Unexpected Guests, the residents of Wonderland bake a cake to welcome the Dormouse’s visiting relations. All kinds of wacky hijinks ensue, as captured in Giorgia Broseghini’s spellbinding images!

Another way to make a good impression on new people is through hard work. This is how the main character in this month’s Russian folk tale, The Bear in the Hut, makes a good impression on a certain bear by showing she is not afraid of being busy. Elena Iarussi does a wonderful job on the art – you can almost feel the furry bear nearby! 

The Lion Learns a Lesson is not about making new friends – it is about appreciating the ones that you already have. The grumpy king of the forest bans all animals with horns, but soon misses them and realises that his kingdom is a lonelier place without them. The pictures by Anastasia Zababashkina are sure to please any animal-lover.

The Story of Horus and Set takes us all the way back to the ancient Egypt’s mythic age, and a mighty clash between gods! When Horus’s father Osiris passes away after being attacked by the wicked Set, the young Horus must learn how to become a hero with the help from a friend, so he can avenge his father and become the new pharaoh. This is an epic story, and Pablo Broseta’s art really does it justice.

Our final story, The Fairy Flag of Clan MacLeod, shows us how we can befriend people who might seem different from us because we all have things in common, and that friendship might help you in difficult times. Set in the Isle of Skye, the beautifully rendered illustrations by Pablo Pino capture the wonder of this tale. This is story of how a Scottish chieftain and a fairy princess fall in love – and the flag which became a symbol of their bond. 

Can you think of any times that you were placed in a new situation and managed to make new friends? Tell us about it in the comments below!

With love, The Storytime team