Words to Make a Friend — Donna Jo Napoli

A clever and innovative bilingual English/Japanese picture book about a Japanese girl and an American girl who prove you don't need to speak the same language to understand each other.

When a young Japanese girl moves into her new house, she is happy to see a girl her age playing in the snow just outside her window. The only problem is the Japanese girl doesn't speak English and the American girl doesn't speak Japanese.
 
How will these two girls have any fun at all? As it turns out, it's not that hard when both girls are looking for a friend! What starts with a simple "hello" and "konnichiwa" becomes a day filled with fun in the snow.
 
Each girl's love of play, snow, and making a new friend transcends the need to speak the same language, and by using simple words in their own languages, along with a bit of charades, the girls find they have all they need to build a snow creature.

An important book to show children that speaking the same language isn't a prerequisite to making a new friend.