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Black and British: A short, essential history

Non-fiction

A short, essential introduction to Black British history for readers of 12+ by award-winning historian and broadcaster David Olusoga.

When did Africans first come to Britain?

Who are the well-dressed black children in Georgian paintings?

Why did the American Civil War disrupt the Industrial Revolution?

These and many other questions are answered in this essential introduction to 1800 years of the Black British history: from the Roman Africans who guarded Hadrian’s Wall right up to the present day.

This children’s version of the bestseller Black and British: A Forgotten History is illustrated with maps, photos and portraits.

Macmillan Children’s Books will donate 50p from every copy sold to The Black Curriculum.

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

Picturebook

Meet the little leaders. They’re brave. They’re bold. They changed the world.

Did you know the treatment for leprosy was developed by a young scientist called Alice Ball? And Josephine Baker- world famous cabaret singer and dancer- was also a spy for the French resistance?

Featuring 40 trailblazing black women in the world’s history, this book educates and inspires as it relates true stories of women who broke boundaries and exceeded all expectations. Debut author/illustrator Vashti Harrison pairs captivating text with stunning illustrations as she tells the stories of both iconic and lesser-known female figures of black history, including:

Nurse Mary Seacole
Politician Diane Abbott
Mathematician Katherine Johnson
Singer Shirley Bassey

Inspire your own little leader with the stories of these amazing women.

Little Leaders: Exceptional Men in Black History

Non-fiction

Meet the little leaders. They’re brave. They’re exceptional. They changed the world.

Did you know that the father of African cinema was originally a bricklayer? Or that Vogue’s editor-at-large read his first Vogue magazine in his local library?

Learn all about the exceptional black men who broke barriers and fought injustice to realise their dreams and make the world a better place. With Vashti Harrison’s beautiful illustrations and illuminating writing, discover the stories of black men from all walks of life, including:

Doctor Harold Moody
Diplomat Kofi Annan
Activist Paul Stephenson
Architect Sir David Adjaye
Comic book author Dwayne McDuffie
Musician Prince

Your own little leaders will be inspired to take on the world after learning about these incredible men.

The Castle the King Built

Picturebook

Find out exactly what goes on inside a medieval castle in this impeccably stylish picture book from the National Trust.

How many people does it take to build a castle? And what exactly does each person do? Discover masons to merchants and bakers to blacksmiths in this unique take on the classic rhyme ‘This is the House that Jack Built’. Explore what happens inside the castle the king built with striking retro artwork from illustrator Tom Froese and a carefully researched rollicking rhyme from author Rebecca Colby.

Every Nosy Crow paperback picture book comes with a free “Stories Aloud” audio recording. Just scan the QR code and listen along!

The Knight Who Wouldn't Fight

The Knight Who Wouldn’t Fight

Picturebook

Leo the mouse isn’t like the other knights. While they like fighting, he’d rather read a book. Leo’s parents are keen to turn him into a proper knight, so they pack him off on a mission to tame a dragon. But Leo knows that books are mightier than swords, and he tames not just the dragon, but a troll and a griffin, too – by reading them stories. With its witty rhyming text and glorious, detailed illustrations, The Knight Who Wouldnt Fight is a joyful, magical picture book about the power of stories..

Black Powder

Chapter book

A rip-roaring historical adventure set at the time of the Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot – winner of the Historical Association Young Quills Award! England, 1605: 12-year-old Tom must save his father from hanging.

He falls in with a mysterious stranger – the Falcon – who promises to help him in exchange for his service.

But on the long journey to London, Tom discovers the Falcon’s true mission – and a plot to blow up Parliament with barrels of black powder.

Tom faces a terrible decision: secure his father’s release, or stop the assassination of the king …

A rip-roaring, action-packed life-and-death quest, packed with history and adventure

Set at the time of the Gunpowder Plot and featuring Guy Fawkes – perfect for Bonfire Night and beyond

Ideal for readers aged nine and up

Vlad and the Great Fire of London

Picturebook

It’s 1666 and Vlad the flea and his friend Boxton the rat, love eating and biting their way around London. But one night in Pudding Lane they are caught up in a fire that threatens to destroy them, along with most of the City of London. Vlad and the Great Fire of London is a picture book that supports the Key Stage 1 history curriculum. Through Vlad’s story and full colour illustrations it shows how the fire is believed to have started, how it spread and what Londoners did to fight it and escape it. This illustrated story of the Great Fire of 1666 includes a fact file about the fire.

Letters from the Lighthouse

Chapter book

We weren’t supposed to be going to the pictures that night. We weren’t even meant to be outside, not in a blackout, and definitely not when German bombs had been falling on London all month like pennies from a jar.

February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he’s not used to company and he certainly doesn’t want any evacuees.

Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she’s desperate to discover what happened to her. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous.

Street Child

Chapter book

The unforgettable tale of an orphan in Victorian London, based on the boy whose plight inspired Dr Barnardo to found his famous children’s homes.

When his mother dies, Jim Jarvis is left all alone in London. He is sent to the workhouse but quickly escapes, choosing a hard life on the streets of the city over the confines of the workhouse walls.

Struggling to survive, Jim finally finds some friends… only to be snatched away and made to work for the remorselessly cruel Grimy Nick, constantly guarded by his vicious dog, Snipe.

Will Jim ever manage to be free?

Twelve Minutes to Midnight

Chapter book

Step into the past to discover a thrilling mystery about a sinister plot to shape and control the future, in this spine-tingling historical adventure from award-winning author Christopher Edge.

Penelope Tredwell is the feisty thirteen-year-old orphan heiress of the bestselling magazine, The Penny Dreadful. Her masterly tales of the macabre are gripping Victorian Britain, even if no one knows she’s the author. One day, a letter she receives from the governor of the notorious Bedlam madhouse plunges her into an adventure more terrifying than anything she has ever imagined.

Why are the patients of Bedlam waking every night at twelve minutes to midnight? What is the meaning of the strange messages they write? Who is the Spider Lady of South Kensington?

Penelope is always seeking mysteries to fill the pages of her magazine. But this isn’t any ordinary story, it’s the future.

And the future looks deadly…

Spine-tingling historical adventure series with a supernatural twist! From the acclaimed author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright and The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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