Spark! School Book Awards

A charming picture book about Cuthbert, a camel having a very bad day (relatable to any children who have ever been said to have “the hump”). Fortunately for Cuthbert, a new friend helps him discover how a shift in perspective can brighten even the gloomiest of mornings.

Rachel Bright‘s rhyming text and Jim Field’s characterful illustrations create a funny story with an uplifting feel. This is a perfect read for preschoolers exploring their feelings and the power to turn things around when the day is going wrong.

Yazmin is so excited to meet her Nani for the first time and play superheroes with her, but when she arrives, communication proves difficult as Nani only speaks Punjabi. However, love has a language all of its own, and Nani creates Yazmin a new superhero doll that looks just like her! They begin using their imagination, sharing play and individual words, and they build a strong bond together, proving that communication is more than just spoken language.

I love the references to Yazmin’s Punjabi heritage – the inclusion of words such as khedo and khaao, applying mhendi and wearing the salwar kameez, as well as the Pakistani tradition of mothers making rag dolls for their children. The vibrant illustrations complement the superhero theme, and speech bubbles and clever text placement all combine to make this a very engaging read. It’s refreshing to see a superhero story with a female protagonist at its heart, too.

The back matter includes a glossary, brilliant instructions for creating a rag doll and a personal note from the author about the inspiration for the story. It would be a superb text to use as a springboard for a DT project or for learning more about and celebrating South Asian culture.

Once I Was a Tree uses fabulous illustrations and just the right amount of toilet-humour to explain the life of this book, once a tree and formerly a seed that came out of a squirrel’s bottom!

There are references to seed dispersal, plant life-cycles and deforestation that will help readers consider aspects of how humans utilise natural resources and how they can be respectful of the world around them.

If you enjoy funny picture books that explain how things work, you will enjoy this picturebook.

Solving Crimes Is NOT My Superpower by Nathanael Lessore is a great book for children in Year 2 to Year 4 to read independently and for teachers or parents to read aloud. Children of this age will enjoy the humour of the book – from the funny setting of the story in the village of Walsham, where everyone who lives there has a unique superpower, to the humour of the language, names and jokes.

The plot itself raises a smile with the story’s hero, Sara, who is yet to find her superpower, solving the mystery of the disappearance of a trophy, which turns out to be the special treasure that has bestowed the unique superpowers on the town’s inhabitants. The superpowers themselves are the sorts of things that make children laugh.

Lessore crafts the story’s characters with kindness and humour at their heart. Thought has also been given to ensuring the characters represent the diversity of our society. The story invites children to consider what it means to have a superpower and how, in fact, it is the everyday acts of kindness, inner-strength, friendship and determination that are the real superpowers. Initial ‘prejudices’ against certain characters – for example the studious and clever child in the class – are quickly debunked, showing children the importance of not judging people on simple appearance and behaviours.

This is a fast-paced story that would keep young readers engaged and this is helped by the illustrations of Simran Diamond Singh, which enhance the story. These complement Lessore’s writing and bring the unique characters and their superpowers to life with a comic-like appeal. This is a book that young children are sure to enjoy.

Kofi’s mum wants him to be ‘somebody’ – she has come to believe that because he’s black, he needs the best education to compete in the real world, and so she makes him do the exams to win a scholarship to a prestigious private school.

Kofi is successful and wins the scholarship, and his mum is overjoyed – in fact, the whole community is proud of him and keeps telling him so. Others keep telling him how fortunate he is, but the problem is he doesn’t feel very lucky – he didn’t want this, and now he just feels pressure from all around. The one good thing about his new school is the athletics club – the coach has spotted his potential, and he has a good chance of competing in the London Schools’ Championships. But Kofi’s mum doesn’t approve of him running (she wants him to focus on his studies), and the school bully will do anything to ruin his chances because he doesn’t want Kofi to outshine him. Kofi’s best friend says that he needs to start standing up for himself, but that’s easier said than done.

Running My Own Race is a book about learning to find your path and having the courage to speak up for what you want. With themes of sports, resilience and prejudice, the book is best suited to lower KS3 or mature KS2 readers. It is an engaging yet easy read from start to finish and will inspire young readers to stand up for what they want and to follow their dreams.

Shrapnel Boys is a gripping story about the lives of a group of young boys living in London during the Second World War.

Ronnie is naively excited by the prospect of war, fighter planes and everything else that he associates with war, and he can’t wait for the action to start. When the war finally comes to London, although the reality is scarier than they thought, Ronnie and his friends are excited to race each other to collect the best bits of shrapnel each morning after a night of bombing.

But, the war also brings an unwelcome visitor into Ronnie’s life – straight away, Ronnie can tell that Johnny is up to no good and when Ronnie’s brother starts to get caught up in whatever it is that Johnny is up to, Ronnie decides to take matters into his own hands to protect his brother.

This is a truly outstanding book which manages to weave so many themes into its pages. It deals with issues around family, friendship, bravery and loss, coupled with providing insight and historical facts about an important time in British history.

Ever wanted to know ‘What a humble dung bug has to do with the rising sun’, ‘Why the pyramids were built’ or ‘What was the role of the baboon police’? Then look no further! Told in a comic book style, ‘Pets Tell Tales – Ancient Egypt’ is an engaging and hilarious way for young readers to learn about the history of Ancient Egypt.

The book begins with an introduction from Manny (an Egyptian bird similar to Bennu), explaining where the reader can find Egypt on a Map. Throughout the chapters, Manny adds his hilarious commentary, engaging the reader with witty remarks and asides.

Among the comic strips, the book interweaves timelines, graphs, images, dates and key facts to aid learning on this period of history. These work as tools to clarify the story and embed learning. I would recommend this book to history lovers, graphic novel fans, reluctant readers and any primary school child who has an interest in Ancient Egypt.

Ever wondered how fruit starts to grow? This fun, lift-the-flap book guides you through the parts of a flower, how different pollinators support the plant life-cycle and how other parts of plants are used in our food. There is a great mix of scientific detail and engaging story-telling and this book is a great accompaniment to primary science topics about lifecycles and growing plants.

The information is presented attractively in bite-size chunks, making it accessible for children across the primary age-range, and the illustrations are colourful and eye-catching.

This would be a great text to use as a model when writing explanations about plant life-cycles, and there are step-by-step instructions at the end of the book for conducting your own pollination investigation.