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Format: Picturebook

Picturebook

A BIG ISSUE BOOK OF THE YEAR

A beautifully illustrated story, written with a light and humorous touch, that celebrates nontraditional families and captures exactly what lies at the heart of family life — love.

‘Elvi, which one is your mum?’
‘They’re both my mum.’
‘But which one’s your real mum?’

When Nicholas wants to know which of Elvi’s two mums is her real mum, she gives him lots of clues. Her real mum is a circus performer, and a pirate, and she even teaches spiders the art of web.

But Nicholas still can’t work it out! Luckily, Elvi knows just how to explain it to her friend.

Picturebook

A sensitively-told story that addresses the tricky subject of divorce with care and understanding, from Clare Helen Welsh and Åsa Gilland.

Laughing and playing together as a family on the beach, it seems the happy, warm days of summer will never end. Then, everything changes. Mummy and Daddy say they can’t live together anymore, and sad, worried feelings begin to emerge – It’s not fair! Was it all my fault? But, as time passes and the seasons change, it becomes clearer that hard times won’t always be quite so hard . . .

A lyrical book about the difficult emotions a child can feel when their parents break up, with an optimistic message of hope and resilience. Gorgeous illustrations and an emotive colour palette perfectly capture the nuances of emotion felt by both the child and parents during a separation. Much like Pat Thomas’s My Family’s Changing, Claire Masurel’s Two Homes and Patrice Karst’s The Invisible String, Everything Changes offers a way to help children understand their feelings during big changes in their family unit.

Picturebook

Aston’s Grandad Roy played in a steel band and Grandad Harry played the trumpet in a brass band. Aston always enjoyed going to visit them and listen to them practise. But soon he wanted to join in. So he asked Grandad Roy to teach him to play the steel drums and then he asked Grandad Harry to teach him to play the trumpet. He loved practising both instruments. Then the school needs a band to play at the school fair, and both grandads want their own band to play. Finally Aston had an idea – both bands join together to make one big band, and Aston joins in first on steel drums and then on trumpet. This delightful story of a mixed-race family reconciling their very different cultures is a wonderful celebration of diversity. Written by one of Britain’s foremost campaigners and media personalities and illustrated by a highly regarded illustrator, this book is sure to build on the success of My Two Grannies.

Picturebook

The Great Big Book of Families introduces children to the fact that not all families look the same. Featuring funny artwork and wonderfully accessible text this book celebrates each family in its own unique and wonderful way.

What is a family? Once, it was said to be a father, mother, boy, girl, cat and dog living in a house with a garden. But as times have changed, families have changed too, and now there are almost as many kinds of families as colours of the rainbow.

From a mum and dad or single parent to two mums or two dads, from a mixed-race family to children with different mums and dads, to families with a disabled member. This is a fresh, optimistic look through children’s eyes at today’s wide variety of family life: from homes, food, ways of celebrating, schools and holidays to getting around, jobs and housework, from extended families, languages and hobbies to pets and family trees.

The Great Big Book of Families is a brilliant introduction for children to all family types great and small.

Picturebook

Miss Clark has an exciting project for the class to work on – exploring their family trees! But when each child is asked to point to the place their parents come from on a map, Georgie doesn’t know which parent to choose – her dad is from Africa but her mum is from the UK. Where does she fit in?

Georgie dreads having to draw her family tree as homework but once she starts working on it, with the help of her parents she realises how special it is that the branches stretch so far and wide! And as the class all share their own family trees, the children begin to explore and celebrate each others’ heritage, and realise that all of their roots dig down into the same rich earth – so they’re not that different after all. A wonderfully life affirming picture book that celebrates diversity in all its forms.

Picturebook

Whether you have two mums, two dads, one parent, or one of each, there’s one thing that makes a family a family… and that’s LOVE.

Picturebook

Based on the true story of Chinese dancer Lihua Tai, The Visible Sounds tells the uplifting tale of a young child dealing with the frustration and solitude of hearing loss. Alone in silence, the child’s life is changed forever when a chance touch unlocks a vibrant new world, now blazing with rainbows of visible sounds.

The Visible Sounds brings a message of hope and joy to children living with a disability and is an inspirational reminder that dreams can become reality.

Picturebook

Mum and Dad told me they’ve got a wild plan . . . We’re exploring Australia in a snug little van. Ride along with Hunter as she discovers beaches and billabongs, paddocks and plains, forests and dugouts, and even underwater worlds. With a home on wheels and the open road ahead, a big adventure awaits. From Jessica and Stephen Parry-Valentine, the creators of travel channel Flying the Nest, comes a delightfully illustrated recount of a family road trip that celebrates Australia’s natural beauty.

Picturebook

Little Lydia loves sport. She lives in the outback and is friends with all the animals.
When she asks Emu, Kangaroo and Koala to play with her, she soon discovers that each of them has a special talent.
But does Lydia have a gift for sport too?
And if she does, how will she discover it?

A funny and triumphant picture book by Lydia Williams, goalkeeper for the Australian Matildas.

Non-fictionPicturebook

Baby Koala likes to stay close to Mum as the pair snuggle up together, safe in the treetops. But one day, when danger threatens, Baby Koala must be brave and bold… This heartwarming story about an animal family living in the wild has big flaps to open and koala facts to discover. Readers will love interacting with the big non-fiction flaps, where they can measure their finger against a tiny newborn koala! With a feathertail glider to spot on every page. Amazing Animal Tales is an exciting and innovative new series following baby animals’ incredible stories of survival, with big flaps that can be opened to reveal amazing facts. The books can either be enjoyed with the flaps closed, as an engaging narrative story, or with the flaps open as a combined story and non-fiction experience. Also available: Amazing Animal Tales: Little tiger. Look out for more books coming soon!

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