When a Friend Needs a Friend

Good friends stick together in fun times and hard times.

When a Friend Needs a Friend is a gift for friends of all ages.

“This thoughtful book is sure to spark conversations between child readers and sympathetic adults.” ― The Horn Book

"A wonderful story for children and adults that reminds us about the importance of feeling all of your feelings." ⁠― Amanda Mintzer, Psy.D, Child Mind Institute

"The friendship between Oskar and Aya feels authentic, and the illustrations evoke ease and harmony." ⁠― Tara Sanabria Davila, LCSW Assistant Professor of Social Work, Yale Child Study Center

Aya and Oskar love to go on big adventures, build amazing creations, and make up stories together. But when Oskar gets sad, his feelings grow so big he doesn’t want to play. And that leaves Aya feeling hurt and confused. How can she help when she doesn’t know what Oskar needs?

With candor and compassion, this heartfelt story shows that big feelings are a normal part of life ― something to be felt rather than fixed ― and models how to be an ally when someone you love is hurting.

Roozeboos (pronounced: rose-a-bohs) is the pen name of artist Anne Roos Kleiss, a Dutch author-illustrator based in Rotterdam. She loves coffee, wrapping presents, and singing in the shower. When she’s not working in her studio, you can find her on a corner of the street with a sketchbook, capturing the world around her. She has a Bachelor in Illustration from the Willem de Kooning Academy and an MA in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. She has worked with companies such as Loopvis, Villa Zebra, Pearle, Duizel in het Park, Vrije Scholen Gemeenschap and Oerol. Learn more at roozeboos.com.