Making Choices and Making Friends: The Social Competencies Assets »

Pamela Espeland has authored, coauthored, or edited over 200 books for Free Spirit Publishing on a variety of subjects. Pamela graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and currently lives in Minneapolis with her husband, John Whiting, and two little dogs.

Elizabeth Verdick is a children's book writer and editor.  She lives in Minnesota with her husband and their two children.

Kids learn how to build the five Social Competencies Assets: planning and decision making, interpersonal competence, cultural competence, resistance skills, and peaceful conflict resolution. Stories, tips, and ideas help them get along better with others and stay true to themselves.

Children's Literature

Think of the most responsible and polite child that you know. The individual is probably the poster child for social competencies. Today, with so may parents needing to work so many hard long hours to support their families financially, a lot of children grow up without learning these traits that were once common place. Making choices and Making Friends teaches about five social competencies, why they are important, how to use them, and when to use them. The text is playful and engaging and gives examples of different places such as school, community, and a faith community, where children can practice each competency. Each individual competency illustrates a real life situation featuring school age children and cartoon drawings. You will find yourself anticipating the end of each chapter to see how each competency plays out in the context of the real life examples. This would be a great addition to an elementary school program or a social group's activities. It would probably be best as part of an actual curriculum. Reviewer: Melyssa Malinowski