Politics & Democracy

‘If I were Prime Minister…’ is a feel-good story which looks at how our country is run through the eyes of a kind, thoughtful and playful child.

The story follows a young child’s imagination and their desires for the community and country that they live in. They go through numerous wishes, including changing the sea to water that swallows plastic, making sure everyone has at least two friends, that every garden has a swimming pool and that woolly jumpers would not feel itchy. The real question is, ‘What would you do if you were Prime Minister or Team Captain?’

This feel-good picture book is a beautifully illustrated story which gets the reader thinking about what they would change if they were in charge. It covers major socio-political themes including the environment, education and immigration in a child-friendly way. The designs of the pages are playful and eye-catching with an easy-to-read font with the words strewn around pictures, making it fun to read and keeping big themes light-hearted to encourage creative and imaginative thinking.

A new rhyming picture book from the popular Questioneers series (popular for Rosie Revere, Engineer & Iggy Peck, Architect). Sofia Valdez is a Mexican-American girl who campaigns for improvements in her local area, showing the difference that individual voices can make when they engage and get involved with their communities.

“You have to make more noise than anyone else,” declared Emmeline Pankhurst, who led the British suffragette movement.

 ‘Make More Noise!’ is a collection of short stories written by well-known female authors, including Emma Carroll (author of Letters From the Lighthouse), M.G. Leonard (author of the Beetle Boy books) and Kiran Millwood Hargrave (author of The Girl of Ink and Stars), among other celebrated writers. The stories each feature the strong voice of a female character, some fictitious and others based on real people.

Sometimes you meet a character in a book who you not only like a lot, but also think that if you met them in real life you would want to be friends with them. So it is with Effie in ‘Vote for Effie’, a very real twelve year old girl, starting at a new school part of the way through Year 8. Most children have anxieties about starting secondary school or any new school and this book explores this fear in a lively and fast paced story. But Vote for Effie is more than just a story about starting a new school, as it covers injustice and women’s rights as well and is immensely readable.

Effie ends up, almost by accident, running for School Council and the story takes the reader through her campaign, against a seemingly unpleasant adversary. Effie is at first friendless, but then joined by a group of entertaining and interesting individuals as she challenges the status quo. The book is full of humour and delightfully illustrated by Mirelle Ortega.

I particularly liked that the central character is of Greek origin, as, living and working in an area where there are a significant number of Greek Cypriot children, I feel they are underrepresented in books.

I’d never read anything by this author before, but this book was so enjoyable I want to read more. As a reader you find yourself cheering Effie on and living the ups and downs with both Effie and her companions. I would vote for Effie!

Fiction meets political history in this gripping and moving story from popular author Jacqueline Wilson. When Opal’s father is sent to prison, Opal must start work at the Fairy Glen sweet factory instead of following her dreams of going to university. But when Opal meets the legendary Mrs Pankhurst and her fellow suffragettes, she gains a growing awareness of just how far these women will go to pursue their democratic rights. Set during a significant turning point of British history when the Votes for Women movement was gaining traction and WW1 was about to begin, Opal Plumstead is an important book that offers an insight into how the suffrage movement helped to shape British democracy and one that carries a powerful message about fighting for what you believe in.

This is a popular and funny story about one boy’s unexpected rise to power. When Joe tells a local news reporter exactly what he would do if he were in charge of the country, his video goes viral all over the world. Soon, people are calling for the current leader to resign and before long Joe ends up with the most extraordinary new job. The Accidental Prime Minister is a big hit with KS2 and a great springboard for helping pupils to reflect on the responsibility of leaders in democracies like the UK. You may also like The Accidental President by the same author.

For diverse historical fiction, look no further then Sufiya Ahmed. In this first book of the new ‘Time Travellers’ series, she introduces us to Suhana and her two friends Mia and Ahmed. On a school trip to the Houses of Parliament, they find themselves magically transported back in time to 1911. They find themselves in the middle of a women’s suffrage demonstration, where, as well as meeting more familiar characters like Emily Davison, Suhana is thrilled to encounter Lolita Roy and other women of Indian heritage protesting for the right to vote too.

As the story of their day thunders along at pace, and Ahmed peppers the narrative with historical facts and thought-provoking insights into the role of women from India in the protest movement, both for the vote in Britain and for the right to independence in India.

A great choice for reluctant readers due to its snappy story, and a brilliant fiction addition to a class topic on the women’s suffrage movement. ‘Time Travellers’ is a triumph.