Huge thanks to John Schu for interviewing me and Aimee Sicuro about our new book!
Here’s what Aimee had to say:
For We Used to Be Friends‘ cover, I wanted to use autumn as a metaphor for this moment in the characters’ friendship. Just as leaves fall from the branches, it’s a season of letting go. Though things appear to fade or go dormant, this cycle makes room for renewal, hope, and future growth.
While one friend closes her eyes and blows dandelion seeds into the air, the main character keeps her eyes open, quietly aware that things between them are changing. The drifting seeds hint at what lies ahead—carried away now, but destined to take root and grow again in the spring.
Marcy Campbell’s manuscript for We Used to Be Friends . . . I’ve been a fan of Marcy’s work for many years and have read her books to my own kids. When I received this touching manuscript, it felt like a dream. It wasn’t just my admiration for her writing; it was the subject matter that resonated with me on a deep level.
Having experienced childhood friendship breakups myself and having watched my children navigate relationships that naturally faded or ended painfully, I felt a personal connection to this story. This is the kind of book I needed when I was a child, and it’s one I believe kids today need just as much.
Picture books help children navigate big feelings, spark their imaginations, and bring them joy. With We Used to Be Friends, I hope kids experiencing the ups and downs of friendship feel seen, understood, and a little less alone.
We Used to Be Friends tells the story of two formerly close friends who find themselves drifting apart. They used to like the same things, but don’t anymore. They fight and make up, until the next time. The book follows the narrator as she goes through the many emotions that accompany the loss of this special person in her life—denial and anger, sadness and doubt—eventually, she becomes optimistic about the future, for new slides at the playground and new friends, and accepts that although the relationship with her old friend might be over, she’s going to be fine nonetheless.
Aimée Sicuro’s illustrations of children, especially our narrator, are beautifully expressive. What a wide range of emotions she had to convey over the course of this book! When I first saw her art, I was in awe over how it perfectly captured all the ups and downs this little girl is going through. There’s so much beauty and warmth here, it just hits me right in the heart. I love the color palette, too, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the neighborhood looks, coincidentally, a lot like my own!
See more at Mr. Schu Reads: https://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2026/03/we-used-to-be-friends-by-marcy-campbell.html