Humanitas Media

Being Friendly Book 1: All of Us Together series

By Cornelia Maude Spelman
Illustrated by Leticia Plate
 
The first book in the All of Us Together series, inspired by the values reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
 
What does it mean to be a friend? In Being Friendly, young readers learn that friendship begins with small acts––saying hello, listening to others, sharing, taking turns, and caring when someone needs support.
 
As part of the All of Us Together series, inspired by the values reflected in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Being Friendly helps children understand how the ways we treat others can help everyone feel included, respected, and valued.
 

Publication Date: January 19, 2027

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Early Praise

Dr. Linda Budd has written a stunningly creative and useful bilingual coloring book to be used by professionals, paraprofessionals, and parents to read to 3- to 8-year-olds who feel unsafe and helpless. With incredibly expressive artwork and questions to elicit their emotions, Feeling Safer in Unsafe Times is a gift to young children who find themselves in unsafe environments. I highly recommend it!”
- PAULINE BOSS, PhD,Retired Family Therapist, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, author of Ambiguous Loss, Harvard University Press
What a powerfully sensitive and healing gift to children dealing with immigration fears. I have never seen a children’s book so tender and necessary.”
- WILLIAM DOHERTY, PhD,Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, cofounder of Braver Angels.

About The Author

Cornelia Maude Spelman, MSW, was a therapist with children and families before turning full-time to writing and art. She has written twelve books for children that help them manage emotions and difficult life situations, and is also the author of two memoirs. Her The Way I Feel series of books for young children, described by reviewers as “sensitive” and “compassionate,” has sold over four million copies and been translated into eleven languages. 

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Leticia Plate finds inspiration in the sunny side of things and creates images with a combination of analog and digital techniques. Born in Buenos Aires and raised in Rome, she moved to New York City to study Illustration at School of Visual Arts. She has worked for a variety of illustration markets, from editorial to surface design and everything in between. She has brought influences from multiple languages and cultures to create a unique visual language. Previous clients include the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Whole Foods Market, Chewy, and the American Library Association. She currently lives in Portland, Maine, where she teaches illustration at the Maine College of Arts & Design. 

About the ALL OF US TOGETHER Series

The ALL OF US TOGETHER series is inspired by the values reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Through engaging stories, it introduces children to kindness, equality, respect, and tolerance of differences, showing how everyday acts can make the world more caring and inclusive. BEING FRIENDLY is the first title in this series. The next book is BEING TRUTHFUL. Three books will be released in 2027, but it will be a 12-book series in total.

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Allen Peacock

Allen Peacock worked for a quarter century as one of the leading editors in American book publishing. Books he acquired and published won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, among others. He worked with writers as diverse and renowned as Salman Rushdie, Robert Coover, Robert Olen Butler, Ann Beattie and MacArthur Award winners Joanna Scott and William Gaddis. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English & American Literature.