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 Invisible Story

Jaime Gamboa & Wen Hsu Chen

Picturebook

As this story unfolds – of a girl who visits the library and finds a book nobody notices, the ghost of a book with blank pages – our minds conceive of new possibilities: that raised dots on paper can open up a world of imagination and learning. Fingers are as capable of reading as eyes. The vulnerability of the book itself (scared that it’s story will end, ashamed of its white pages) reflects the vulnerability of those who are visually impaired, although the blind girl in this story strikes as confident as well as kind, as she offers the reassurance: “stories don’t really end – they can be read as many times as you want.” There is so much to explore here; so much to delight in (including the intricate paper-cut imagery). It could be enjoyed by individual children, or in small group settings as a way into talking about ‘disability’ and inclusion

“What did you think of it?” I asked the Year 5 girl with whom I shared this beautiful book. “Interesting,” she said. A simple response which belies just how captivated she was by it. She felt the pages, she drew from it her own conclusions (“we should not be so arrogant and be kind to each other”), she asked questions about braille, having not encountered it before, and said she wants to have braille books in the school library – a request I am keen to fulfil.

The Great Henna Party

Humera Malik & Sonali Zohra

Picturebook

The arrival on this book in the school library or at home is likely to excite many children especially if it happens when Eid is being celebrated, as it did here. No wonder the child, whose own hands had just been decorated, looked so delighted when she heard the story of Noor’s family wedding. She could see herself in it, feel proud of her heritage and could identify with the joy shared; a joy communicated also in the swirls and tones and colours of the illustrations.

Those who don’t have personal experience of such celebrations can learn respect for traditions other than their own, as well as facts about the art of henna painting in the author’s final note. They too will identify with having relatives – their own mama/mum, baba/dad, nani/gran or dada/grandad – to whom they want to show love. As Noor realises, demonstrations of that love are unlimited… there is room for all our dear ones on our hands, yes, but in our hearts too. This is an enchanting story that is highly recommended for individual and communal reading.

Watch Me Bloom

Krina Patel-Sage

Poetry

An eye-catching ‘bouquet’ of haiku poems. This hardback book instantly engages with the beauty of nature with vibrant colours, where each page has people engaging with flowers or each other. The twenty-four haikus, each about a different flower, some well-known and others less so, are written where you can dip into and read a few or read the whole book in one sitting.

Every beautiful poem has a focus on at least one of the ‘five ways to wellbeing’: connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and give. The overarching theme of nature and treating it and ourselves mindfully is present throughout. I adore the floral fun facts at the end of the book, where the reader finds out interesting information about the flowers, whether it is where the name originates from or links to countries all around the world.

Perfect for all ages, it is a book to add to any collection on poetry, nature or well-being.

Through the Forest

Yijing Li

Picturebook

Walking through a dark forest, a young boy learns to treasure his memories and find his true path.

Lost and alone, a young boy enters the forest not knowing the path that lies before him. He meets a figure called Emptiness who guides him on his way. Together they find keepsakes deep in the forest that trigger memories, both good and bad. As he moves closer to the sun-filled meadow on the other side of the forest, the boy learns that to be truly happy, he must embrace his past.

A powerful tale about the importance of memories in the winding journey of life.

Mwikali and the Forbidden Mask

Shiko Nguru

Chapter book

A fast-paced fantasy adventure for middle grade readers inspired by East African mythology.

The Pirate Tree

Brigita Orel & Jennie Poh

Picturebook

In the story, we meet Sam and Agu who bond over their adventures on a pirate ship – which is in actual fact a gnarled old tree at the top of a hill. As they battle sharks and other imaginary pirates together, Sam and Agu form a friendship that at first appears to be a little unlikely. They begin to understand that differences are something to be celebrated as there is so much more we can learn through diversity.

The Pirate Tree does a good job of challenging how we see people who appear different, encouraging the reader to think about how we can be more inclusive. When Agu first asks to play with Sam, she tells him that he can’t play because he’s new and not from her street. But in actual fact, Sam has a lot to learn about sailing from Agu who teaches her about his own background and experiences in Nigeria. There is so much that could be explored in the book; it would encourage some great discussions about how we see others and value diversity.

The book’s illustrations accompany the text superbly. The natural textures and patterns on each page make it a lovely book to read slowly so as to allow enough time to take in the details – such as the bow tie or top-hat-wearing fish!

The Pirate Tree is a book that, like all great pirate stories, has a vast amount of hidden treasure under the surface.

Listening to the Quiet

Cassie Silva & Frances Ives

Picturebook

The loss of hearing strikes such a sad note, but although sadness is eloquently conveyed in both words and pictures, this beautifully inclusive story – of a child, Jacki, and her Mama – resounds with hope. It is a celebration of a relationship not defined by disability, but by love. So Jacki learns to listen to the quiet which is slowly enveloping her Mama. She begins to be more alert to rhythm and mood and smell. Indeed, mother and daughter become attuned to each other in ways they wouldn’t otherwise.

The story shows that deafness does not have to isolate. It can deepen wonder, inspire mutual respect and be life-enhancing. (The Author’s Note gives context and encourages readers to learn sign language.)

The clear font and large, expressive illustrations mean that teachers can easily share this with a whole class, either to celebrate diversity or when teaching about acceptance. Not all children will have encountered hearing impairment, but all will benefit from this new perspective, as well as provide much-needed representation for those who live with hearing impairment in the day-to-day realities.

Highly recommended for the school library and classroom book corners.

Rainbow Hands

Jo Loring-Fisher & Mamta Nainy

Picturebook

When a little boy paints his nails with his mum’s nail polish, he discovers the most important thing of all: the magic of being his true self.

As the long Indian summer days stretch ahead of him, a young boy looks forward to his favourite time – painting-your-nails-time. He knows that when he dips his brush into those magical bottles of nail polish, he will find a colour to express his every mood and feeling.

Purple is the colour of magic and mystery. White is the colour of endless possibilities.

At times, his Papa frowns and says, “”What have you done to your nails?”” At other times, he says, “”Why don’t you paint on paper instead?”” But the little boy knows that painting his nails makes his hands look beautiful.

This colour-filled story celebrates the joy of finding out who you are and embracing the courage to be yourself.

If I Were Prime Minister

Ella Okstad & Trygve Skaug

Picturebook

‘If I were Prime Minister…’ is a feel-good story which looks at how our country is run through the eyes of a kind, thoughtful and playful child.

The story follows a young child’s imagination and their desires for the community and country that they live in. They go through numerous wishes, including changing the sea to water that swallows plastic, making sure everyone has at least two friends, that every garden has a swimming pool and that woolly jumpers would not feel itchy. The real question is, ‘What would you do if you were Prime Minister or Team Captain?’

This feel-good picture book is a beautifully illustrated story which gets the reader thinking about what they would change if they were in charge. It covers major socio-political themes including the environment, education and immigration in a child-friendly way. The designs of the pages are playful and eye-catching with an easy-to-read font with the words strewn around pictures, making it fun to read and keeping big themes light-hearted to encourage creative and imaginative thinking.

The Queen on Our Corner

Lucy Christopher & Nia Tudor

Picturebook

Nobody notices the Queen on the corner. Nobody, that is… except one young girl. Through her eyes, the woman who dwells in the abandoned plot is a warrior queen, with many battles fought and won. When, one day, danger comes to the street and the Queen on the corner sounds the alarm, the little girl must find a way to thank her. Can she bring the community together to turn the Queen’s corner into a home?

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Publisher: Lantana Publishing

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