Publisher: Lantana Publishing

Lantana Publishing is an award-winning children’s book publisher and social enterprise with a mission to publish inclusive books by authors from under-represented groups and from around the world.

Alice Curry founded Lantana when only one per cent of the children’s books published in the UK featured a character of colour as a protagonist. She wanted her biracial niece and nephews, and others like them, to be able to grow up seeing themselves in the books they read.

Each year, Lantana publishes a select list of exceptional titles promoting diversity and inclusion, social and racial justice, gender equality, pride, empathy, mindfulness and wellbeing, with beautifully illustrated stories that help happy little minds to flourish. Visit the Lantana Publishing website to find out more.

See all of the Lantana Publishing books featured on BooksForTopics below.

The Playdate

Clara Dackenberg & Uje Brandelius

Picturebook

For one little girl, the prospect of a playdate at her friend Henry’s house fills her with excitement. To get to Henry’s house, they have to take a bus, then the underground, then change to another line, then a bus, and then walk for a bit, but it’s worth it because Henry’s house has millions of rooms to hide in and hundreds of toys to play with.

But while the text tells one story, the illustrations slowly reveal another. As the kids tear around the house enjoying each other’s company, their mums experience the playdate very differently. Soon we find that the little girl and her friend Henry live lives that are poles apart.

A powerful story about friendship across economic divides that encourages readers to question why we live in a society where those who have and those who have not live very different lives.

Rajiv’s Starry Feelings

Nanette Regan & Niall Moorjani

Picturebook

A lyrical, gentle and beautifully told story to help children name, understand and navigate a whole range feelings.

Ravi, like all of us, experiences the full spectrum of emotions from happy, silly and excited through to impatient or angry – and he beautifully articulates how confusing feelings can be as a young child, as sometimes he’s not sure why he feels a certain way or how he will feel next! After an angry outburst, Dad supports Ravi by gazing at the constellations in the night sky and they create their own shapes associated with different memories and feelings – the shape of happiness for Ravi being an astronaut chasing the moon, silliness is playing with the dog and gentleness is a soft hug. Other emotions are then represented allowing Ravi to describe why he was angry after an unkind incident at school, and Dad shows that with time and patience he can feel and work through these challenging experiences.

The link between constellations as an ancient guide and emotions as a guide to our actions is a deep and powerful theme within the story. The themes align with the PSHE curriculum and support the teaching of emotional literacy and developing empathy. This is such a beautiful and heartfelt story, and a really unique way to think about our emotions. It is great to see such a supportive father-son relationship represented too.

Letters in Charcoal

Irene Vasco & Juan Palomino

Picturebook

In the pueblo of Palenque in Colombia, hardly anybody knows how to read. Curious about the letters her older sister Gina receives from a young doctor each month — letters that she is sure contain promises of love — one young girl makes a decision that will change her life, and the lives of every child in the pueblo, forever. With the help of Señor Velandia, the owner of the village shop, she will slowly unlock the letters of the alphabet and discover the magic of reading. And soon she will make a discovery that is more miraculous still — that letters are literally all around her . . .

Translated by Lawrence Schimel.

Step Into My Shoes

Alkisti Halikia & Fotini Tikkou & Konstantine Matsoukas

Picturebook

Step Into My Shoes is a beautifully illustrated book that follows a little girl exploring the lives of others by ‘stepping into their shoes’. The story uses informal language to make it feel as if the little girl (Matou) is talking to you – the reader. This helps connect the reader and immerse them into the story.

The little girl discovers the mosque and sees the sea of shoes outside, by trying on different shoes she thinks about who they may belong to. The story follows Matou meeting new characters and bonding with new friends. This book makes you predict and think about what we can learn from others. The book can help enable conversations about how to consider other people’s feelings and what we can learn from the people around us. At first, Matou struggles with understanding why her Mum is so busy with work but once she steps inside her Mum’s shoes she starts to realise how hard her Mum is working.

This book would be perfect to help children widen their understanding of others and how important it is to consider how others are feeling.

Freedom Braids

Monique Duncan & Oboh Moses

Picturebook

Freedom Braids is a poignant, beautiful story about slaves finding an ingenious way to escape their captors.

Nemy is a little girl who is a slave on a Columbian plantation. Every day is the same – she sows seeds, pulls up weeds and strips leaves. One night she follows a woman everyone calls ‘Big Mother’ to a shack where women are gathered. They are braiding each other’s hair but these braids are extraordinary braids. Some hold seeds, some hide gold and some map out escape routes to help these slaves leave their captors to set up their own villages and communities.

I love how this book is based on the hope, strength and determination of the enslaved African women (and men). Their story deserves to be told again and again, and this book helps to do that. The next time I braid my daughters’ hair I will think about these enslaved women who were bold and brave enough to escape.

The Brighter I Shine

Kamee Abrahamian & Lusine Ghukasyan

Picturebook

The Brighter I Shine is a wonderfully written and illustrated book that helps evoke conversations about family history and the importance of keeping memories alive. Intricately drawn pictures help bring the story together, with something different to look at each time you read the story.

Following a young girl, we learn about her ancestors through the stories she has been told, as all the things she discovers come to life through her birthday celebration.

This is a beautifully written story and the fact there are Armenian words intertwined within the text add to the depth of the story. The Brighter I Shine, would be a great book to use when exploring family trees or helping link to a topic about finding out more about a child’s own heritage. This book would be a wonderful introduction to exploring different cultures within a class. The note from the author at the end of the story featuring questions to help you explore your own ancestors really helps encapsulate and conclude the ideas of the book.

The Language of Flowers

Aaron Asis & Shyala Smith

Picturebook

Juhi helps her Appa in the flower shop. She understands the language of love and the messages that flowers can share e.g. affection, sorrow or an embrace. She knows how flowers can be offered as a language of faith such as offerings at a temple. But Juhi does not understand the language of grief.

In this evocative picturebook, Smith’s graceful writing is complimented beautifully by Asis’ illustrations. We learn with Juhi what grief looks like and how beauty can offer comfort in times of loss.

A heartfelt story about navigating grief, embracing self-expression, and discovering reasons to celebrate even in life’s most challenging times. Great for children who are curious about the loss of their loved ones.

My Momo-La is a Museum

Mamta Nainy & Violet Kim

Picturebook

This book has such an intriguing title to explore with children – what or who is a momo-la and how can they be a museum? A moma-la, we soon infer, is the Tibetan name for a grandmother and the grandmother in this story takes her granddaughter on a day trip to lots of museums to show her where stories come from.

For many children, a visit from a grandparent is a special event and this story can encourage children to share some of their own stories about their grandparents and perhaps also inspire a renewed curiosity about the life of their grandparent. The Moma-la in this story reveals various aspects of her life through the objects and wonders found in the different museums, art galleries and craft centres that the pair visit. There is ample opportunity to explore the Tibetan culture through the traditional dress that is highlighted and through glimpses of the history of these people.

The clear and vibrant illustrations very effectively support the meaning of the words. The end note is a direct letter to the reader and is as important to read as the story, as it helps children begin to think about the stories that all families have in their histories. This is a powerful story and one that children will relate to.

A Hat Full of Sea

Jen Khatun & Maudie Smith

Picturebook

When Grandpa is ill, Cora wants to make the right impression during her visit. Thoughtfully, she wears a hat that he once bought for her. At the hospital, Cora realises how frustrating it must be for Grandpa to only have a small square of sky to look at. This sets Cora to thinking about how to bring the outside in.

Using her special hat, Cora scoops up the features of the sea – ‘the softness of the sand and the seagull cries all wrapped up in the wind.’ Next, she uses her hat to bring the countryside and all its sounds and colours to Grandpa’s hospital bed. Into the hat goes the fun of the fair, the marketplace and the night sky. When the wind blows Cora’s hat away, she is perplexed. How can she continue to bring Grandpa his adventures and taste of the outside if she no longer has her hat?

Cora doesn’t need to worry, though – Grandpa is feeling much better, and he explains that it wasn’t the hat that aided his recovery, it was Cora, her kindness and her imagination. This is a heartwarming story of the love between generations. Beautiful descriptions awaken the senses and the bright, bold, slightly scribbly illustrations add to the charm.

One Extra Sparkle: Ellie and the Marriage List

Lucy Rogers & Tricia Seabolt

Chapter book

How would you feel if your brother was about to get married and become a Hawaii husband? Well, that is what Ling-her BFF (Best Friend Forever) and next-door neighbour explains to Ellie is going to happen according to the top-secret marriage list (made and given to them by Ling’s BBF- Best Ballerina Friend). Ellie panics when her brother (who is fifteen) and Sara (his new girlfriend) nearly reach the kissing stage-what comes next involves orange paint, a missing gift, Banana the fox, a ballerina ghost and the fight to save a weeping willow in Ellie’s back yard.

Most pages contain illustrations that reflect the storyline, represent Ellie’s love for drawing and play an important part in helping set the scene which is great for helping children’s imagination and encouraging reluctant readers.

The book is ideal for LKS2 and from age 6+. Ellie has Down’s Syndrome which is explained so sensitively in the book and is brilliant at bringing an awareness to children about this. There is also some further, well-thought-out information at the back of the book on Down’s Syndrome from the author. The book shines a light on the awesomeness of having the extra chromosome – represented as an extra sparkle.

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