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Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Chapter book

From New York Times bestselling and multi award-winning author Renee Watson comes a heartwarming and inspiring middle grade novel about finding deep roots and exploring the past, the present, and the places that make us who we are.

‘Some of the places I am still getting to know, some of these places I have known all my life. All of these places made me, are making me.’ All Amara wants for her birthday is to visit her father’s family in New York City – Harlem. She can’t wait to finally meet her Grandpa Earl and cousins in person, and to stay in the brownstone where her father grew up. Maybe this will help her understand her family – and herself – in a new way. But New York City is not exactly what Amara thought it would be. It’s noisy, crowded, confusing, and her cousins can be mean. Plus her father is too busy working to spend time with her and too angry to fix his relationship with Grandpa Earl. Amara can’t help wondering, even if she does discover more about where she came from, will it help her know where she belongs?

Chapter book

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL Katya Balen’s October, October is a very special new addition to the shelf and deserves classic status – Times Children’s Book of the Week

A classic in the making for anyone who ever longed to be WILD.

October and her dad live in the woods. They know the trees and the rocks and the lake and stars like best friends. They live in the woods and they are wild. And that’s the way it is.

Until the year October turns eleven. That’s the year October rescues a baby owl. It’s the year Dad falls out of the biggest tree in their woods. The year the woman who calls herself October’s mother comes back. The year everything changes.

Written in Katya Balen’s heart-stoppingly beautiful style, this book is a feast for the senses, filled with the woodsmoke smell of crisp autumn mornings and the sound of wellies squelching in river mud. And, as October fights to find the space to be wild in the whirling chaos of the world beyond the woods, it is also a feast for the soul.

Chapter book

When Kate is given a colossal steam train, the Silver Arrow , for her birthday, she can’t believe her luck. After eleven years of waiting, adventure has finally found her!

Soon the Silver Arrow is whisking Kate and her brother Tom to a magical station where their passengers stand ready to board. From the porcupine to the pangolin, each one is rare and wonderful.

But these animals have been waiting a very long time too. Can Kate deliver them home … before it’s too late?

Lev Grossman’s first children’s book is a journey you’ll never forget: a rip-roaring adventure from desert plains to snow-covered mountains and everything in between. Packed with exciting creatures from the indignant porcupine to the lost polar bear and the adorable baby pangolin, The Silver Arrow is a classic story about saving our endangered animals and the places they live.

Picturebook

Who or what is destroying all the Christmas treats in the supermarkets? Santa sends his Mince Spies on a secret mission to uncover the culprits. With puff-pastry jetpacks, shortcrust walkie-talkies and squirty whipped cream they foil the villains – with a bit of help from Santa.

A hilarious rhyming romp of a story with a festive message for all baddies: it’s better when you’re nice!

Chapter book

When Fionn Boyle sets foot on Arranmore Island, it begins to stir beneath his feet …

Once in a generation, Arranmore Island chooses a new Storm Keeper to wield its power and keep its magic safe from enemies. The time has come for Fionn’s grandfather, a secretive and eccentric old man, to step down. Soon, a new Keeper will rise.

But, deep underground, someone has been waiting for Fionn. As the battle to become the island’s next champion rages, a more sinister magic is waking up, intent on rekindling an ancient war.

Chapter book

A dazzling, feminist fairytale from the bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse. This inspirational story about family, sisterhood, imagination and bravery is a modern classic to be handed down from mother to daughter for generations.

For her twelve daughters, Queen Laurelia’s death in a motor car accident is a disaster beyond losing a mother. Their father, King Alberto, cannot bear the idea of the princesses ever being in danger and decides his daughters must be kept safe at all costs. Those costs include their lessons, their possessions and, most importantly, their freedom.

But the eldest, Princess Frida, will not bend to his will without a fight and she still has one possession her father can’t take: the power of her imagination. And so, with little but wits and ingenuity to rely on, Frida and her sisters begin their fight to be allowed to live.

Chapter book

Ryan Hart and her family live in Portland, Oregon, and her dad lost his job a while ago. He finally got a new one, but it pays less, and he’ll have to work nights. And so they’re selling the second car and moving to an (old) new house. The Harts are an everyfamily – a family with siblings who bicker, parents who don’t always get it right, but a family that loves. A family working hard to make it in tough economic times, a family with traditions and culture, a family that tries new things. This is a black family growing up in middle class America.

And Ryan is a girl who has much on her mind – school, family, friends, self-image – but who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks. Packed with humour and heart alongside meaningful and thoughtful moments, Ryan Hart is the character everyone will want to be best friends with.

Picturebook

Rex has new glasses and he HATES them! He does NOT want to wear them to school, and he tries to hide them – in the strangest places! But it’s pretty tricky hiding specs that are so big, and round and RED . . .

It’s funny how things turn out, though, because Rex’s specs end up winning him a gold star, and a new friend. Even better, he can SEE properly.

A beautifully illustrated and charming story about the positive effects of being, well, maybe just a little different.

Chapter book

A powerful and personal story from Joyce Dunbar about what it’s like to experience hearing difficulties.

Dylan can’t hear as well as he used to be able to and he doesn’t want to be different from his friends – he wants things to go back to the way they used to be. As his hearing gets worse he becomes more and more isolated from his friends. Luckily his dog Pluto is there to keep him down to earth… This heartwarming story from Joyce Dunbar has beautiful black-and-white illustrations by John Shelley and is perfect for children who are developing as readers.

Picturebook

From the bestselling author of How Are You Feeling Today?, this picture book encourages children to celebrate uniqueness and diversity and helps them to challenge stereotypes.

The Same but Different explores the ways in which we’re all unique as well as the similarities we all share. Using everyday examples, clear explanations and colourful illustrations by Sarah Jennings, this book prompts children to broaden their perspectives and rejoice in their differences. After all, imagine how boring the world would be if everyone was exactly the same!

This book covers lots of ways in which we’re different, including how we look, where we live, the languages we speak, what our families are like and what we believe in. It’s the perfect resource for starting important conversations with children about diversity and inclusion, with topics such as race, disability, gender, sexual orientation and religion. Early Years and PSHE expert Molly Potter also provides a glossary of terms and notes for parents and carers offering advice on tackling prejudice right from the start.

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