Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc

Swim Team

Graphic novel

A splashy, contemporary middle grade graphic novel from bestselling comics creator Johnnie Christmas!

Bree can’t wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees—until she’s stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she’s forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help.

With Etta’s training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the school’s failing team around. But that’s easier said than done, especially when their rival, the prestigious Holyoke Prep, has everything they need to leave the Mighty Manatees in their wake.

Can Bree defy the odds and guide her team to a state championship, or have the Manatees swum their last lap—for good?

The Big Cheese

Jory John & Pete Oswald

Picturebook

Jory John and Pete Oswald’s The Big Cheese is a brilliant addition to the fantastic Food Group series, which includes The Couch Potato and The Smart Cookie. This witty fable introduces a high-performing cheese, who learns a big lesson about competitiveness and winning when a new rival appears.

Many young children struggle with keeping winning or losing in perspective, and this story provides a good way to discuss sportsmanship and the benefits of sport without focusing purely on winning.

Jory John’s witty narrative and Pete Oswald’s expressive illustrations perfectly capture the Big Cheese’s journey from pride to newfound empathy with brilliant humour and appeal. It’s a superb, cheese-pun-filled tale that subtly shows how losing is not always negative, and that celebrating others’ successes can be just as rewarding.

Becoming Real: The True Story of the Velveteen Rabbit

Molly Golden & Paola Escobar

Picturebook

I first came across the original ‘Velveteen Rabbit’ story in a film and soon afterwards stumbled across a copy of the text itself in a second-hand book shop. It quickly became a precious book, a favourite, and a perfect gift for key birthday presents. So I approached ‘Becoming Real’ with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation; what could it say that the true story had not? ]

Becoming Real did not disappoint. It is a beautiful rendition of the writer, Margery Williams’ early life: her childhood, young adulthood, motherhood, migration and belonging. Crisscrossing the ocean from England to New York City to Paris and back to New York again – finding home whilst writing and bringing up a family and creating a world of comforting toys.

Molly Golden brings the author Margery Williams to life in a sensitive way, building a representation of a young female writer’s life at the turn of the last century. The freshness of the text belies the fact that the original story was written over one hundred years ago. The illustrations remind me of Ludwig Bemelmans’ Madeleine books. Interspersed with italicised extracts from The Velveteen Rabbit, the text flows from verse to bibliography seamlessly, opening a window into Margery’s life whilst linking it with her original writing of The Velveteen Rabbit.

At the back of the book, there’s an author’s note and mini biography of Margery’s life, followed by a double-page spread of ideas for Social-Emotional Activities to Share with your Toy. The bibliography at the end shows this book to be the result of detailed research; the creation of so much more than just a story.

Drawn to Change the World

Emma Reynolds & Various Illustrators

Graphic novel

The climate crisis is reaching a critical tipping point—and you might have heard of the countless amazing young people who are taking action and speaking up for change.

Emma Reynolds shines a spotlight on sixteen incredible youth activists from around the world who are fighting to protect the planet and all life on Earth. From Autumn Peltier campaigning for clean water to Edgar Edmund Tarimo turning plastic waste into building materials—and many more—these inspiring true stories highlight the importance of taking charge and creating change.

Beautifully illustrated by sixteen different artists and accompanied by facts and pictures that explain the science, Drawn to Change the World is for anyone who wants to learn more about the climate and nature crisis and what we can do about it, with extensive front matter and back matter materials.

You are not too young and you are not too old to begin. We need everyone to help with the biggest challenge the human race has ever faced. We can do this if we work together.

For after all, change starts with you!

Boxitects

Kim Smith

Picturebook

This delightful book has become an instant favourite. The eye-catching cover gives clues to the reader and after reading, be prepared for your younger readers to begin to build fantastic creations out of boxes. It is a dream story for children (and adults to read!) and most people remember a time when, on a receiving a gift, the child wants to play with the box!

The main character, Meg, is marvellous and feels very special on being the first ‘boxitect’ in her class. When another child joins, who is also a boxitect, this causes competition and resentment as to who is the best. As the story progresses, the message of working together and building on each other’s successes is key, as well as celebrating other children’s achievement. A message of friendship and teamwork is clear.

At the end of the story it, there is a section about ‘Why is cardboard so extraordinary?’ and instructions on how to make a tunnel and a castle. It really was inspirational and the day after reading this as a bedtime story my 5 year old daughter made a robot out of cardboard which she wore over her head and arms- be prepared for this to inspire young crafters!

What Rosa Brought

Eliza Wheeler & Jacob Sager Weinstein

Picturebook

This captivating picture book is based on the real life experiences of Rosa, a Jewish girl living in Vienna. The story contains the memories of the author’s mother and her family experiences during WW2.

Beautifully illustrated, we follow the journey of Rosa and her family, as their family business is forced to change how it operates, how the place they call home changes and how they hold on to hope through the darkest timest. This picture book is a perfect addition to a library for a World War 2 topic but it is also a good discussion point for PSHE for a number of themes including migration, tolerance and difference.

Perfect for UKS2 learners and a worthy picturebook for older readers to add to topic or library collections.

Beak & Ally: Unlikely Friends

Norm Feuti

Graphic novel

This graphic novel for younger readers is absolutely hilarious. Beak, the bird and Ally, the alligator meet when Beak moves into Ally’s swamp. From the very first second Beak annoys Ally considerably with all his talking and singing and talking. Ally likes being alone, well most of the time and Beak is quite insistent that Ally needs a friend like him.

This book has a lovely message about making and finding new friends in different places and situations and is full of jokes. My eight-year-old daughter loves this book. She has re-read it another four times now without any prompting from me!

Norm Feuti’s colourful illustrations engage the reader. This book would be great for introducing children to graphic novels and be perfect for fans of the Narwhal and Jelly books. This book would be suitable for younger readers in KS1 but also slightly older reluctant readers too.

Song in the City

Daniel Bernstrom & Jenin Mohammed

Picturebook

From Daniel Bernstrom, the acclaimed author of One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree, comes a charming and irresistibly fun picture book about a young blind girl and her grandmother who experience the vibrant everyday music of their busy city.

A young girl, filled with the sounds of her beloved city, shares a song with her grandmother that changes the two forever. After helping Grandma realize that the city makes music as beautiful as the sounds they hear in church on Sunday morning, the two sit down and take in all the sounds of the city…together.

Song in the City bridges the gap between generations of music and family, while centering love, understanding, and joy.

A Bank Street College of Education’s Children’s Book Committee’s Best Children’s Books of the Year pick!

Ancestory

Hannah Salyer

Non-fiction, Picturebook

This is a wonderfully illustrated non-fiction book that brings to life the history of ancient civilisations and cultures through rock art. Not only do cave drawings (or ‘time capsules’ as they are referred to by the author Hannah Salyer) depict how life could have been many, many years ago, Salyer also explores with the reader whether the drawings could have been used for other reasons – for example, to map the stars, tell ancient stories, share important information or show drawings of animals now long extinct.

There are many interesting facts to discover, including the materials that would have been used to create ancient drawings and also the differing locations these have been found in. In particular, the reference to drawings like these being still prominent today in some cultures or disappearing due to climate change or vandalism is pivotal and tells the ultimate message by the author: we must work together to protect these important pieces of early history and knowledge.

This book is a must when launching into the theme of prehistory, with links to the Stone Age and Iron Age topics, or used as the beginning of an experiment linking to rocks in science. Furthermore, it could be used within art for pupils to replicate their own rock art drawings.

Speak Up!

Rebecca Burgess

Graphic novel

For fans of Click and Brave, this touching coming-of-age middle grade graphic novel debut follows an autistic girl who finds friendship where she least expects it and learns to express her true self in a world where everyone defines her by her differences.

Twelve-year-old Mia is just trying to navigate a world that doesn’t understand her true autistic self. While she wishes she could stand up to her bullies, she’s always been able to express her feelings through singing and songwriting, even more so with her best friend, Charlie, who is nonbinary, putting together the best beats for her.

Together, they’ve taken the internet by storm; little do Mia’s classmates know that she’s the viral singer Elle-Q! But while the chance to perform live for a local talent show has Charlie excited, Mia isn’t so sure.

She’ll have to decide whether she’ll let her worries about what other people think get in the way of not only her friendship with Charlie, but also showing everyone, including the bullies, who she is and what she has to say.

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Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc

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