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Social Skills & Friendships

Therapist-picked books, games, and tools to help kids and teens read social cues, make friends, and handle conflict.

32 recommendations8 categoriesPrint-ready A4Updated 1 June 2025

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Thrive Parenting Company

Therapist-curated resource guide

Social Skills & Friendships

A Thrive Resource Guide for the Social Skills & Friendships pathway

Best Parent Books8

Best Children's Books7

Best Teen Books1

Best Podcasts2

Best Apps2

Best Websites1

Best YouTube Channels1

Helpful Organisations3

Last updated 1 June 2025

From the therapist

Every child develops social skills at a different pace. This guide gathers books, games, and tools that make invisible social rules visible — for children who need extra practice reading a room, joining a game, or repairing a friendship after a rupture.

If you're overwhelmed, start here

01
How to Be a Friend(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Laurie Krasny Brown & Marc Brown
Simple and reassuring
02
Q's Race to the Top(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Franklin Learning Systems
03
The Unwritten Rules of Friendship(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Natalie Madorsky Elman & Eileen Kennedy-Moore
Very actionable

Start with one book and one game. You do not need to fix everything at once — small, repeated practice builds real skill over time.

What's inside

Preview · first three of each category

Book titles link to our Amazon shop. As an Amazon Associate we may earn a small commission — it never changes what we recommend, or what you pay.

Best Parent Books

8 recommendations

01
Top pick
The Unwritten Rules of Friendship(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Natalie Madorsky Elman & Eileen Kennedy-Moore
02
The Friendship Factory(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Julia Cook
03
Simon Says Pay Attention!(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Elizabeth C. Ward

5 more in the PDF

Best Children's Books

7 recommendations

01
Top pick
How to Be a Friend(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Laurie Krasny Brown & Marc Brown
02
Enemy Pie(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Derek Munson
03
Have You Filled a Bucket Today?(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Carol McCloud

4 more in the PDF

Best Teen Books

1 recommendations

01
Middle School Confidential: Real Friends vs. the Other Kind(find this book on Amazon, opens in a new tab)
Annie Fox

Best Podcasts

2 recommendations

01
Life Kit: Parenting(opens in a new tab)
NPR
02
Unruffled(opens in a new tab)
Janet Lansbury

Best Apps

2 recommendations

01
Zones of Regulation
Zones of Regulation LLC
02
Social Skill Builder
Social Skill Builder Inc.

Best Websites

1 recommendations

01
Conscious Discipline(opens in a new tab)
Dr. Becky Bailey

Best YouTube Channels

1 recommendations

01
Social Thinking YouTube Channel(opens in a new tab)
Social Thinking

Helpful Organisations

3 recommendations

01
Top pick
Social Thinking(opens in a new tab)
Michelle Garcia Winner
02
PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center(opens in a new tab)
PACER Center
03
Child Mind Institute(opens in a new tab)
Child Mind Institute

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