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Publisher: Barefoot Books Ltd

Home Away From Home

Picturebook

This book is a perfect addition to any library or classroom. The stunning illustrations complement a really heartwarming story about Nuha who travels to Oman to spend a summer. She is apprehensive and anxious about the trip and it all feels very far away from home. When she mislays her beloved doll Mary, she wonders if she will ever be able to enjoy her time in a place that feels very different to her usual surroundings. As the story unfolds, Nuha starts to appreciate Oman and the sights, smells and tastes and replaces her beloved doll in the Souk. The ending of the book has some information on some of the places visited and information on the arabic words and phrases used in the text.

Kwesi and Nana Ruby Learned to Swim

Barbara Quintino & Kobina Commeh

Picturebook

Kwesi doesn’t know how to swim… and discovers his grandmother doesn’t either! Can they conquer their fear of water together with the help of the West African legend Mami Wata?

“How about we make a deal?” Nana rubbed Kwesi’s head. “I will learn to swim, if you do.”
“Deal!”

Kwesi likes spending time at the lake with his friends, except there’s one tiny problem… he can’t swim. But guess what? Neither can Nana Ruby! When she comes over for dinner one night, she tells Kwesi about when she moved from Ghana to the US and the history of segregation that kept her out of pools and caused a fear of water among many Black people.

“So I will never learn how to swim?” Kwesi asks. But Nana Ruby tells him they will call on the strength of Mami Wata, the sea creature of West African legend, to conquer their fears together. This touching intergenerational story teaches the importance of naming, acknowledging and facing fears.
End notes include more information on West African cultures, including the Akan people, day names, and adinkra symbols.
Teaches kids about the history of segregation of public pools and beaches in an accessible way.

Won’t Go!

Fotini Tikkou & Sumana Seeboruth

Picturebook

Time to leave? No, no, no! I’m too busy. I can’t go!

When it’s time to leave for dance class, this stubborn tot doesn’t want to go. It can be hard to transition to a new part of the day! But she learns that as hard as it is to stop having fun… getting out the door leads to more adventures.

Part of the Feelings & Firsts series
Perfect to help kids with transitions
Provides language kids can use to express big feelings
Also available in bilingual Spanish

The Remembering Candle

Alison Goldberg & Selina Alko

Picturebook

A beautiful and heartwarming story of loss and memories.

The boy and his family spend the next night and day remembering Grandpa and sharing stories with each other. From his stylish hats, to piano duets, and apple squares for dessert, warm memories of Grandpa shine like stars with them while the yahrzeit candle burns – and continue to shine when it goes out.

This picturebook features the Jewish memorial tradition of a yahrzeit candle and also perfectly demonstrates how happy memories of our loved ones help us deal with grief and how we can share memories.

The endnotes detail more on the Jewish calendar and memorial traditions, which is perfect for a topic on Judaism or for sharing to raise awareness of other faiths.

Music of the Mountains

Manal Mirza & Sabrina Shah

Picturebook

A celebration of traditional music from Pakistan! A beautifully illustrated story book about the love of music and Roohi learning to find the confidence and her own rhythm to perform. A great story to learn about other cultures, family, identity and persistence.

In addition to the wonderful, heartwarming story about perseverance, the back of the book has four information pages that include lots of key information to learn about and celebrate the culture of Pakistan. Here you can learn all about the Rabab instrument, and there is even a QR code to listen to samples of the music. This section includes a glossary of terms, explains traditional clothing, describes Pakistan (with pictures and a map) and gives an outline of Eid.

A fantastic additional text for anyone learning about different cultures, family traditions and persistence.

Message in the Mooncake

Sapphire Chow & Xiaojie Liu

Picturebook

Set 800 years ago in the Yuan dynasty, Su-Ling and her family live in a village where the Mongols have invaded and made life very difficult for them. But the villagers are smart, and a plan to revolt against the Mongols begins to form with a message tucked into the Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes: “On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, on the day of the full moon, commence attack at midnight.” It’s up to brave Su-Ling to deliver the message to her uncle without getting caught by the Mongol guards.

This thrilling tale based on an ancient Chinese legend keeps kids on the edges of their seats as they cheer on Su-Ling to complete her mission to deliver the message in the mooncake.
Unique, graphic novel-like illustrations
Endnotes inlcude information about mooncakes, the history of the Mongol invastion, and the original ancient legend

Ramadan on Rahma Road: A Recipe Storybook

Atieh Sohrabi & Faaiza Osman & Razeena Omar Gutta

Non-fiction, Picturebook

Not many books can be called mouthwatering, but this one truly is! The book takes a really interesting approach to explaining to children the traditions and practices of Ramadan, and for children who know Ramadan as part of their home lived experience, it may reflect aspects of their experiences and celebrate their religious knowledge.

The book focuses on a street, Rahma Road and the handy glossary at the back of the book tells us that Rahma means compassion and kindness. The book reflects these values by introducing families from wide geographical heritages, demonstrating the breadth of the Muslim faith. The narrative that threads through the text is the preparation for iftar, the breaking of the fast at sundown. Each family on the street is featured, along with a traditional recipe.

The recipes are fabulous – they are written in a way that is easy to follow and continues the narrative of the book. The illustrations are vivid and bright and capture the subtle differences in the cultural context of each family, which range from African American heritage to Palestinian to Egyptian to Australian and many more. This range of families is great for myth busting about this world religion. The language used is accessible and engaging. Different styles of writing are seen in the recipes and the narrative – this can be really helpful to support children to identify genre differences.

This is a vibrant book that will engage children with a wide range of subject areas as well as excite and motivate them to read on.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Joelle Avelino & Mel Nyoko

Picturebook

Mbote! Betuabu! Jambo! Let’s explore DR Congo! Count the fish at the market, watch the cheeky bonobos, and finish the day with a story. Even learn words in Lingala, Tshiluba, and Swahili with pronunciation guides throughout the story.
Part of the Barefoot Books Our World series
Written by Congolese author Mel Nyoko and illustrated by Joelle Avelino
Endmatter provides more insights into life in DR Congo

Planet Power: Explore the World’s Renewable Energy

Annalisa Beghelli & Stacy Clark

Non-fiction

This book provides a lovely way to begin to introduce renewable energy to younger children.

It has bright, colourful, double-page illustrations throughout the book which also showcase the types of power used in a range of settings around the world. Each page has a short rhyming verse about that helps readers understand the process more easily. Each page also has small boxes that give further information about a particular part of the process and also highlights key vocabulary. The information pages at the back of the book provide more detail and also allow children to have experience of reading non fiction style texts. Putting these at the end allows the reader to gain some background knowledge about the subject before tackling the more difficult text. The information pages also have some great labelled diagrams that support children in understanding how the process works.

A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India

Mariona Cabassa & Meera Sriram

Picturebook

This is a great book to read aloud to an Early Years or Key Stage 1 class. It follows a simple pattern that follows a little girl through an Indian market, looking for a present for her Amma (mother). The bright and vibrant illustrations by Mariona Cabassa are a feast for the eyes and provide lots of opportunity to talk about the details of the market stalls, the range of people, animals in the illustration backgrounds. Each page features a different market stall which has its own distinctive colourful illustration and is accompanied by helpful repeated words – ‘shoo-shoo’ or ‘yum-yum’ or ‘sniff-sniff’. This enables children to join in and perhaps act out each page. The language used to describe each item in the market provides a springboard for children’s own language development and writing. This book could inspire art work as well as providing discussion points about markets children have visited, markets around the world (with a helpful guide at the back of the book) as well as an opportunity to find out more about Indian markets specifically.

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Publisher: Barefoot Books Ltd

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