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Publisher: Otter-Barry Books Ltd

Poetry

See that tall, skinny kid with the ball in his hand

sayin see ya later to his mate?

That’s me:

Nathan Wilder

Nate.

10 years old

and a week away from the end of Year 5.

Life can be tough in your last year of primary school. Tests to take, preparing for the change to high school. Nate is ready for it all, knowing his best friend PS is at his side – they’ve been inseparable since Nursery.

But when they are put in two different classes and PS finds a new friend in Turner, the school bully, Nate’s world turns upside-down. As he struggles to make sense of this and forge new friendships, he’s dealt another blow when his youngest brother, Dylan is rushed into hospital.

His new teacher, Mr Joshua, sees a spark inside of Nate that’s lit by his love of reading and writing and shows him how to use this to process what’s going on. But with so much working against him, and anger rising inside him, will this be enough?

A powerful and lyrical story about finding your place in the world and the people that matter within it.

Chapter book

Nikhil and Jay and Amma and Appa are off to India for the Christmas holidays to visit Chennai Granny and Grandad. In Grandad’s garden they are excited to see parrots and Chennai squirrels, a mango tree and a coconut tree. One day they go to the beach, play in the big waves and eat Granny’s Indian savoury snacks. The boys have their first Chennai Christmas, with mango-leaf decorations, Indian sweets for Father Christmas, a basket of beautiful Indian wooden toys – and a special Christmas star. And last but not least, the family see in the New Year the Indian way. They make a Welcome poster, Granny lights a lamp at midnight and they all eat Granny’s delicious Kesala as an Indian New Year treat.

This third book in the Nikhil and Jay series is perfect for children moving on from picture books to longer stories, helped by Soofiya’s lively and characterful illustrations.

Poetry

Wild Town is a place…
“where nothing’s locked inside a cage
where danger leaps from off the page
where wild is a fact of life
and words are sharpened like a knife”

Do you dare to come to Wild Town?

You’ll find zebras dancing in Herbivoreville, or if you feel like a change, book into the Chrysalis Hotel in Fluttertown – no room service. Watch out for the tigers of Bengal Street in the Carnivore Quarter and maybe avoid the fish tank in number 3, Danger Close – it’s stocked with piranhas and electric eels. In Wolf Park you may come across a silent, stalking wolf and at the Wild Town Rec polar bears are pushing on the slide and orcas are in the paddling pool. While at the quiet end of town dormice are sleeping and grumpy Bertha the Bear is slumbering.

One thing is certain – you will never be the same after a visit to Wild Town, and when you leave, the wild will go with you….

An exciting poetry adventure, a journey of wild encounters in streets, houses and parks – this is an astonishing and brilliant poetry collection by two of the UK’s most admired poets. Illustrated with verve and wit by the internationally bestselling illustrator Korky Paul.

Non-fiction

From Aud the Deep-Minded, an early voyager to Iceland, and Sacagawea who guided the Lewis and Clark expedition across the USA, to Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space and Arunima Sinha, the first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest, this book shows the incredible courage, determination and power of women explorers over the last 1200 years.

These women have led the way exploring lands, oceans, mountains, skies and space, but have also made pioneering discoveries in the fields of science, nature, archaeology, ecology and more.

The lives of these women, told as personal stories, are an inspiration to us all.

Graphic Novel

Peter is just an ordinary boy, who loves playing football with his friends and eating cake – until war comes to his city and the whole family have to go into hiding.

This powerful graphic novel is based on a true story.

Short story collection

Stories and poems from a galaxy of authors and poets, highlighting a range of children’s rights from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including:

The right to life, survival and development
The right to protection from violence, abuse and neglect
The right to education, to reach full potential
The right to be raised by or have a relationship with parents
The right to express opinions and be listened to
Jake Hope, a leading authority on contemporary children’s literature, has chosen stories from Cathy Cassidy, Maisie Chan, Joseph Coelho, AM Dassu, Anne Fine, Paul Jennings, Chitra Soundar and Elizabeth Laird; and poems from Valerie Bloom, Sita Brahmachari, Dom Conlon, Nicola Davies, Jamila Gavin, Maurice Gleitzman, CG Moore, Jackie Morris, Beverley Naidoo, RR O’Neill, Rashmi Sirdeshpande, Jordan Stephens and Benjamin Zephaniah.

The illustrators are Ruthine Burton, Chih-An Chen and Habiba Nabisubi, who have just graduated from the Pop-Up Pathways project, a national initiative sponsored by the Arts Council, that develops emerging illustrators from under-represented groups.

Picturebook

Make fir cones into little owls and paper plates into animal masks. Turn a cardboard box into a fantastic castle and odd socks into fun puppets. You can even use an old sink to make a wonderful wildlife pond, with water lilies and even frogs.

Follow Dragonfly Nursery as they get creative and discover the fun of ‘upcycling’. Simple Make-It instructions are included.

Rubbish? Not any more!

Picturebook

Small Stanley wants to be BRAVE and FEARLESS like the superheroes in his books, but Stanley’s world seems to be stuffed with scary things like … earwigs and DOGS and the DARK and getting lost and even Santa…

Then Grandad comes to the rescue. “Write a list,” he says, and Stanley does! As Stanley’s list grows bigger and bigger, find out how Grandad, a wild wind and Stanley’s friends all help Small Stanley to conquer his fears.

A funny, reassuring story about how to deal with worries – perfect for sharing.

Picturebook

Tom and Mot are best friends. On their birthday, Tom gives Mot a feather – but could it be a feather from the most spectacular bird in the world? Mot gives Tom a marble – or is it the smallest planet in the universe?

Tom would like to give a whale, a dolphin, a sea monster, an elephant, while Mot would give rivers, mountains, forests and even the sun!

But after a joyful day playing together, what is the best present of all? This beautiful story of imagination and friendship is perfect for sharing.

Picturebook

What can we do
when Mother Earth needs our help?
From one to ten we’re counting green
to keep our planet safe and clean.

From one new tree and two breezy bicycle wheels to seven beach pick-ups, nine wild flowers and ten friendly neighbours, follow a group of children as they discover how every small action can make a big difference and help to save our Earth.

Illustrated with the simplicity, warmth and charm which Barroux is famous for, Counting in Green is an inspirational picture book, encouraging young children and their families to push for change and keep our planet safe and secure for all living things.

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