I have two best friends and a whole bunch of others… some are great for hugs, advice and heart-to-hearts; some for wild times, festivals, adventures, laughs; some for girly nights in with a slushy DVD and a slab of chocolate cake. All of those things are important!

Make sure your friends know you appreciate them… and remember to be a great friend to others. It works both ways!

Helpbox

Read It…

• Think Pink by Lisa Clark (Macmillan)
• Best of Friends by Sophie Parkin (Piccadilly)
• Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: The Real Deal by Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen (Health Communications)

Websites:

• www.childline.org.uk – sections on friendship; helping a friend; peer pressure
• www.cathycassidy.com – click the Friendship Charter link and sign up to keep these six simple promises to make sure your friendship stays strong!

THE FRIENDSHIP CHARTER: 6 EASY STEPS TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE

I promise to show – and tell – my friends how much they mean to me. Often!

I promise to always listen and be there for my friends… through thick and thin.

I promise to hug the people I care about and take time out to have fun with them!

I promise never to knowingly hurt a friend.

I promise to do one random act of kindness every day (even if it’s just the washing up!).

I promise to speak out if I see someone being bullied – and make an effort to be friendly to the victim too.

Check cathycassidy.com for details of the next My Best Friend Rocks Competition… a perfect way to show a special friend how much he/she means to you. You could even win the sleepover of your dreams!

On the website, you can also find out more about National Best Friends’ Day… and how to celebrate it! What are you waiting for?

Cathy’s Books… Published by Puffin

• Shine on, Daizy Star (jealousy, lies, being honest with friends)
• GingerSnaps (being yourself in a friendship, making choices about whether a friendship is good for you)
• Indigo Blue (jealousy, coping when a friend goes cool on you)
• Driftwood (helping a friend in trouble)
• Sundae Girl (learning to let friends get close to you)
• Dizzy (when friendship has to take the place of family)
• Lucky Star (new friendships and old, trust, loyalty)
• Angel Cake (making new friends from scratch)
• Scarlett (good friends and bad, and how to tell the difference…)

2. Growing Up

Just when you think you’ve got life sussed, the whole growing-up thing sneaks up on you and turns everything upside down. It’s called puberty, and it’s majorly weird!

What’s puberty? At school, they’ll tell you it’s all about becoming a woman… but who wants to be a woman at the age of nine? Or twelve? Or fourteen, even? It sounds kind of scary. You just want to be YOU. Nature has other ideas, though, and suddenly your body is playing all kinds of crazy tricks on you…