LET’S BE FRIENDS: Book Review & Giveaway

When my girls were tweens, I remember praying together for God to give them wisdom in building friendships. Is it challenging for your tweens to find faithful friends?

Let me introduce you to a devotional book for tweens about finding and keeping strong friendships: LET’S BE FRIENDS. Plus, we have a giveaway with this one!

The Authors

Blythe Daniel co-wrote this book with her daughter, Calyn. Blythe is a successful author, marketer, and literary agent. Her books include Mended and I Love You, Mom. She and her husband live in California and have three children.

Calyn Daniel is a middle schooler, competitive gymnast, and enjoys cooking. She also has a twin brother, William, who has written a book, YOU’RE JOKING ME: Jokes for Kids by a Kid.

Calyn believes girls need to know “who they are in Christ, how to navigate friend groups—especially when they change—and how to not lose sight of who God has made them to be.”

The Content of LET’S BE FRIENDS

This 155-page paperback book packs wisdom for tweens seeking genuine friendships. There are thirty devotionals, plus some bonus features at the end.

Just about every aspect of finding and keeping good friends is addressed. Rejection, Body Confidence, How to Find Good Friends, Letting Friends See Your Weaknesses, and Building Your Faith are just a few of the titles.

Each devotional begins with thoughts on a topic, followed by one or two scriptures (most are from the New Living Translation). After that comes Words for You, which recaps the points from the devotional and asks the reader one or more application questions. A small space is provided for readers to write down their thoughts.

Some of the devotionals have an additional section titled Words to Say Over Myself which are affirmations and prayerful thoughts written in first person. Occasionally, there are questions here to prompt thoughts for journaling as well.

BONUS CONTENT

The bonus content has seven extras for the readers. A clear gospel presentation, activity ideas for friends, a place for them to write encouraging words to one another, and even a few fun recipes are included!

Recommendation and Giveaway

I enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it for girls ages 8 – 12 years old. Written with a biblical worldview, this book offers encouragement and wisdom.

It would be a sweet surprise to offer at a “Friendsgiving” meal or as a Christmas or birthday gift. Also, giving copies of these to church groups would be special—especially during back-to-school events. And wouldn’t it be a fun icebreaker if that special tween you know had an extra copy to offer to a potential friend?

Perhaps you can begin with winning a free copy of LET’S BE FRIENDS. This book giveaway is quick! We will randomly select a winner from this blog’s email list on November 30. I will contact the winner via email and announce the name of the winner here on this blog post. The winner will receive the book before Christmas.

If you win and you don’t know a tween girl, consider donating the book to your church library or to an organization that’s collecting Christmas gifts for kids.

Also, consider sharing this blog post with a friend who has a tween daughter/grandaughter or who has a job working with tweens.

Her nonfiction writing appears in worldwide, national, and regional publications including Appleseeds, Clubhouse Jr., Homeschooling Today, and The Old Schoolhouse.

She and her husband live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and are blessed with three children, two sons-in-law, and armfuls of grandbabies. Connect with Sally on several social media sites, but her favorite hangouts are at SallyMatheny.com and Pinterest.

Motivated by the power of story, history, and His Story, Sally Matheny’s passion is telling the next generation wondrous things.