Capybara Is Friends with Everyone

by Maddie Frost

Learn what lengths you do and DON'T need to go to in order to be a good friend! This hilarious picture book from Maddie Frost is perfect for social emotional learning!

Hi, hello. My name is Capybara and I think it's important to be a great friend. Take it from me, I have 4,382 friends!

Capybara will do anything for his friends. But it's exhausting--and when Capybara meets a potential new friend who doesn't seem to be responding to his advances, Capybara learns a valuable lesson. His friends like him just for who he is!

From the creator of Smug Seagull and Just be Jelly and illustrator of Shine Like a Unicorn comes a funny, heartwarming story about friendship.

This book is an excellent teaching tool for lessons on friendship and creating boundaries within those relationships. It is a funny story for families to share, and a great read-aloud at home or in the classroom!

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Animals, Humor, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 22, 2022

About the author

Maddie Frost has written and illustrated many books for young readers, including Wakey Birds. She lives with her husband and dog outside Boston.

Reviews

[Milton Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capybara is a friend to anyone and everyone! He is willing to go the extra mile to help each of his friends, almost to the point of being too big of a help. As capybara helps all his friends and moves through is day, he stumbles upon someone he has not yet befriended; Sloth. Capybara sings his new friend song and when that doesn't illicit a response, he does a myriad of other things in order to persuade Sloth to be his friend. In doing so, he wears himself out and falls asleep. When he wakes, he discovers that Sloth does want to be his friend but just needed time to come down from his tree, since he is so very slow. Capybara learns the valuable lesson that doing everything for others can be exhausting and isn't why people are your friend to being with!

This book is bright, colorful and hilarious. I love to see how Capybara realizes he is good enough without his acts of service. The part when he encounters Sloth is hilarious and reminiscent of Zootopia. Any kid will enjoy this tale of friendship and makes for a fun read-aloud.

Fid it in our SHARE Catalog today!

Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If 'How to Party Like a Snail' is the (most recent) picture book encapsulating myself, 'Capybara is Friends with Everyone' encapsulates my dear friend Abhi, and reminds us that respecting our own limits and needs and setting boundaries is an important part of being a good friend.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A capybara and a sloth, there might be a critter for everyone in this story about a capybara who works hard to be a friend to everyone and learns that sometimes it's enough to do nothing with friends. Hanging out without doing anything is just fine.

[Tegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never knew I could relate so hard to a capybara. A great book for kids about not only being a good friend, but also being good to yourself.

Update 8/24/22: read for storytime

[Angela De Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capybara is a super-good friend. In fact, Capybara takes friendship to the ultimate level. But then Capybara meets a new animal, one that likes life at a much slower pace. Can these 2 be friends? And what makes a good friend anyway?

[Angee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the illustrations.

[Olivia]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/capyba...

CAPYBARA IS FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE is a sweet and silly picture book about friendship. Capybara has 4,382 friends, and he loves to go the extra mile for them (sometimes literally). However, soon, he comes across a sloth that he is not yet friends with. Capybara performs his new friend song and tries his best to make this new friend. However, Sloth does not react - until he does, as he was just a bit slow. Capybara then realizes the lengths he does not need to go to in order to make a new friend.

What I loved: This is such a cute and silly read that is sure to appeal to young readers. Friendships can definitely be complicated and making new friends is tough. Although they may not have 4,382 friends like Capybara, his story will resonate with children. The twist with Sloth is really fun, and the message about the lengths you do not have to go to for friends is an important one. While it is great to help your friends, boundaries are also critical.

Adorable illustrations with colorful animals and settings add to the fun of the read. Large, clear font makes this easy to read aloud. Cute touches with font, creative panels, and the new friends song add to the silly and engaging nature of the story.

What left me wanting more: While I appreciated the overall message of the story, the switch to the definition of being a good friend and boundaries felt a bit abrupt when it was mostly about the making of the new friend. It was a small thing, but it may have been helpful to show how all the other things added to his exhaustion or something along those lines, instead of just about making a new friend - but also the lengths he was going to maintain his friendships.

Final verdict: CAPYBARA IS FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE is an adorable and entertaining picture book about friendships and boundaries.

Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capybara is a friend to anyone and everyone! He is willing to go the extra mile to help each of his friends, almost to the point of being too big of a help. As capybara helps all his friends and moves through is day, he stumbles upon someone he has not yet befriended; Sloth. Capybara sings his new friend song and when that doesn't illicit a response, he does a myriad of other things in order to persuade Sloth to be his friend. In doing so, he wears himself out and falls asleep. When he wakes, he discovers that Sloth does want to be his friend but just needed time to come down from his tree, since he is so very slow. Capybara learns the valuable lesson that doing everything for others can be exhausting and isn't why people are your friend to being with!

This book is bright, colorful and hilarious. I love to see how Capybara realizes he is good enough without his acts of service. The part when he encounters Sloth is hilarious and reminiscent of Zootopia. Any kid will enjoy this tale of friendship and makes for a fun read-aloud.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capybara is an excellent friend. He always goes out of his way to ensure that his friends are well taken care of - and they love him! They (mostly) don't take advantage of his friendship. One day he stumbles upon a new friend - a sloth! He does all of the usual things to show that he wants to be friends - including singing the special friendship song - but it seems that sloth isn't interested. Until Capybara falls asleep at the foot of sloth's tree and sloth slowly descends to respond to Capybara's overtures of friendship. Sloth had been looking for a kazoo to accompany Capybara in the friendship song! A gentle reminder that it may take some creatures (and humans)a bit longer than others to respond so don't be too quick to judge.
My favorite four-year old enjoyed this one. She also has a kazoo! It would be fun to have a few on hand when you read this so listeners could hum along with Sloth!

[Marissa Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun and adorable book! I enjoyed our lovable friend capybara so much. He has quite the big heart and wants to do whatever he can for his friends and to make their lives as easy and happy as possible. When he encounters a sloth though, he isn't getting a response to his grand gestures, which discourages him. However, the sloth just took a while to come around :). Capybara learns that he isn't loved for these grand gestures or acts of service, rather him as an individual. By the end, all of his friends were together. I loved this message for children to not only be friends with all kinds of people, and to inflict your generosity upon them, but to realize you don't have to try and impress people to be your friends, just be yourself.

[Jared White · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Capybaras and they are perfect for a book about someone being friends with everyone (because they basically are). At first this book made me a little bit exhausted, Capybara has 4,382 friends and does a lot for all of them (I'm an introvert so that's not my case but have had friends like that) but I like that throughout the book, thanks to Sloth's example, Capybara learns to set some boundaries and slows down a bit. Some of my favorite time spent with friends is while "doing nothing" together.

[Cathy Ogren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capybara has friends – lots of friends. He goes above and beyond to be a friend. Anything a friend wants he will do. Then Capybara meets Sloth. He tries everything to please Sloth, but he gets no reaction. Capybara finally begs Sloth to be his friend. Still nothing. Exhausted, Capybara falls asleep. When he wakes, Sloth is there to play a friend song on his kazoo. And Capybara adds one more friend to his list. The last few pages of the book are filled with suggestions on how to be a good friend. Something that is important for all of us to keep in mind.

[Rayne Cam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are adorable but I was a little underwhelmed by the story. The story could have been an opportunity to address setting boundaries or reading social cues. I wanted the story to address how much Capybara overextends themselves to address the needs of their friends or learn that maybe not everyone will want you as a friend, but that doesn't reflect badly on you as a person. I would be concerned about how young readers may interpret and enact Capybara's actions into their own lives (people pleasing; underdeveloped people reading skills; etc).

[Gabriela Suchecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capybara is friends with everyone by Maddie frost is an inspirational book. It is about an animal who always wanted to be there for his friends. Rain or shine, he was always going beyond to help his friends. Until, one day he met a new friend and he felt not needed even when he was trying to go beyond and help new friend. Capybara learned a valuable lesson that not always you have to do things for friends but sometimes little help is just enough. This book is intended for readers of Prek-2 grade level. I would read this book to my students during the read aloud session.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Capybara is excited and proud to tell readers that he has 4,382 friends and he begins his days by making sure each of his friends has whatever assistance they need for the day. When he meets Sloth, a friend he's never met, Capy exhausts himself trying to make friends only to realize that Sloth moves slowly and so couldn't respond to his initial friend song quickly.

The idea of the story is a bit disjointed but still cute. Recommended for storytime.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Being a great friend means going above and beyond. Take it from me — I have 4,382 friends.”

Capybara lives to make his friends happy. Every morning he starts with an announcement: Are any of my amazing friends in need of assistance? He loves helping his friends and his friends love him. One day, Capybara meets someone new. “GASP! A friend I haven’t met yet!” But no matter what Capybara tries, the sloth doesn’t seem to respond. Doesn’t the sloth like Capybara? Does everyone have to like Capybara? Why doesn’t the sloth want to be friends ... oh, wait a minute.

Classic extrovert meets introvert story 😁 Come on! Just give us a little time to process, already!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book on friendship.

It not only talks about how to be a good friend by helping others, but more importantly it shows that you don’t have to do everything and sometimes you don’t need to do anything but BE with your friend.

Read aloud to my 5 yr old who absolutely loves it.

[Reading Kittens · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute
the illustrations are great and I like the white background with bright colors
the story is a little off, I would have like the capybara to be appreciated more for himself and not just for transactions. I guess that comes with the sloth, but I'd like that part to be a little expanded.

the sloth is very cute and slow which is funny

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was blown away by this book. I loved the bright, clear illustrations and the numerous language. Mostly I loved that it talked about reasonable limits for how to be a good friend—how to help out and show up for people but also how to graciously have boundaries. Very clear and specific examples. I think very helpful for social-emotional development.

[SamSamSam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great concept, ineffective execution in my opinion. The humor masked the seriousness of the subject, and we didn't really get to see how the stress of carrying other people's emotions deeply affected capybara.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute. I was worried, because the most important part didn't kick into play until very late in the book (learning that you shouldn't overextend yourself in the name of friendship), but it got there. And who doesn't love a capybara?

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capybara does everything he can to be a friend to everyone so everyone will be his friend. When he meets a sloth whom he had not yet befriended, he can't understand why the sloth does not respond to him. Funny story with fun illustrations.

[Leova Manbhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for anyone who always feels the need to go over and beyond ALL the time.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good lesson on what being a good friend really means.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't wait to read this to my story time kiddos! Bright illustrations and a funny, yet smart friendship narrative makes this picture book a win.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute story with lots of bright illustrations; the Capybara learns how to be the best friend he can (with boundaries!) and that although he has lots of friends, they are all special to him!

[Dom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute book for a child around 3-5 years old :)

[LS Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

humorous. maybe best for someone with a longer attention span otherwise a lot of funny details will be missed

[Mrs.MakesReadingFun · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED! Colourful, great characters, and AWESOME message about friendship, establishing boundaries, and self-respect/self-care.

This led to GREAT discussions with my primary classes.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but I thought there was going to be a better message about not needing to be friends with everyone or that just a few good friends is fine too.