The first in a two-book series that champions and empowers children of colour in beautifully simplistic ways. This book teaches children how to mix colours, and how all three primary colours, mixed together, make beautiful brown.
Me, in the Middle is a brilliant and inclusive picture book that touches upon the different family trees that we all have and how this makes us different, unique and wonderful.
Initially started as work in school, Georgie is worried about creating her family tree, as she isn’t sure where she belongs. Working with her parents and looking at pictures of her family, she soon realises that her family tree stretches far and wide, across different continents, representing her mixed heritage. The comparison to tree branches runs throughout the story and is symbolic of the different family trees: not one looks the same as the other and that is okay. Some trees, like families, spread far and wide, whilst others are tall and narrow. In particular, the reference to all tree roots digging down into the same rich earth is a pivotal message about the importance of inclusion and sense of belonging, as well as being proud of your roots.
Various family trees are explored including one with adoption and two mums. The illustrations used throughout the book are engaging and beautiful. Readers will enjoy studying the different trees and may even spot one that symbolises their own family tree. The vocabulary used make the story easy to follow and could be used as part of a PSHE lesson to support with learning about families.Overall, this was a very enjoyable read, which leaves a lasting impression on the reader about the importance of celebrating difference.
The first in a two-book series that champions and empowers children of colour in beautifully simplistic ways. This book teaches children how to mix colours, and how all three primary colours, mixed together, make beautiful brown.
Storm in a Jar is the story of a young boy called Arlo, who has a loving relationship with his Nana. When his Nana passes away, Arlo chooses to keep her special sweetie jar as a keepsake, taking it everywhere with him. The jar keeps the memory of his Nana alive and provides him with comfort. Slowly, however, Arlo’s sadness turns to confusion and anger and the contents of the jar become dark and cloudy, like a storm. Before long, Arlo releases his anger and the jar releases its storm. But, with the help of his parents, Arlo begins to understand his feelings and that his Nana has gone on to a safe and happy place.
This poignant tale accurately portrays the feelings children experience when they lose someone they love. It shares the importance of remembering those we have loved in positive ways, using simple, understandable language. The illustrations are clear and add further detail to the story. For example, the sharp-eyed reader would notice that Arlo has a hearing impairment, he comes from a mixed-race family and doesn’t appear to notice that he has also inherited a pet tortoise from his Nana who rides the waves of the storm along with him.
At the back of the book, there are also two added extras: a ‘Stormy Bottle’ sensory craft to help with anxiety and anger; and a ‘Storm in a Jar’ science experiment. This would be an excellent book for a child suffering from a bereavement or as a starting point for a class discussion in a PSHE lesson.
A joyful book that shows children how their wonderful features, traits and heritage can be lovingly passed down from biological and chosen family members. As a young girl explores the idea of her family tree, she notices all the beautiful physical features she has inherited from her black and south Asian family lines. Not only that, she realises how their love and nurture bring our shared interests, passions and personality traits. From Nanny’s nose for a good recipe, to Grandpa’s melanin skin, a sense of belonging and pride rings through in the most pure and joyful way.
A heartfelt Christmas story of friendship and belonging, centered around the unbreakable bond between a boy and a bear, with a message about sustainability at the heart. Due to his autism, Arctic-enthusiast Arthur does not like Christmas, the noise, the lights, and the crowds. He keeps his precious toy polar bear close for security, but after losing him and asking Father Christmas for a new one, he wakes up to find a REAL polar bear in his garden! Arthur names his new friend Björn, and in spite of his best efforts to keep him cold and happy, it soon becomes clear that he needs to help his friend return to where he belongs. Time for some more Christmas magic…
A spring-infused delight of a story, where two children rally the whole community in creating a bee corridor to help encourage local wildlife, while celebrating their cultural diversity and customs.
As with any good picture book, there are so many layers to this book. The main theme throughout is that of sustainability. The children of Class One encourage the members of their community to plant wild flowers in order to boost the numbers of bees in the area. They help deliver envelopes of seeds to all the houses between the school and park. This book helps children understand how vital bees are in order to pollinate and provide food. It will inspire children to think about how they can create bee corridors in their local community too. Katie Cottle’s illustrations bring another layer of vibrancy to the story. They radiate warmth and joy.
There are also other aspects of story that can be explored, such as developing friendship, cultural identity and LGBTQ+ representation. When Omar brings honey cake to Show and Tell and explains that his grandpa used to keep bees ‘a long way away’ among the ‘apricot trees and jasmine bushes’, it sparks the idea of creating a bee corridor – but, more than that, it brings an opportunity for Maisie and Omar to connect and build a friendship. It also gives Omar – the new child in the class – a chance to show his Syrian heritage as well as an opportunity for their teacher Mr Ellory-Jones and his husband to help to deliver the envelopes of seeds with the class in a true community project.
The end pages are gorgeous and filled with essential bee facts and a recipe for a delicious honey cake. This book is perfect for all children to explore and a great starting point for so much learning.
An accessible, warm-hearted story, written by an adoptive parent, centred around two young bears who find themselves out in the cold, alone, and begin their journey to being adopted into a forever family. The story acknowledges the mix of emotions children being adopted can feel – the fear and worry, as well as the joy of experiencing love and kindness from their new carers. With appealing animal characters and beautiful illustrations, The Blanket Bears offers an honest yet gentle account of the complete adoption journey for children starting or trying to understand the process. It’s also a great introduction to young children more widely about how the process of adoption works and how some families come to be together. In order the strike the right balance of accuracy and sensitivity for young readers, the author consulted and collaborated with professionals and psycholigists as well as drawing on the lived experiences of his children. Many children’s books about adoption focus purely on adapting into the new family but this has a more holistic and realistic focus, all from a child’s perspective. This book is perfect for primary schools in early years and key stage 1 to help children empathise with their adopted peers. Social workers, foster carers and adoptive families with younger children often use The Blanket Bears as a soft and sensitive warm up to life story work as it helps adopted children feel less aloneand process their own adoption story through their shared experiences with the bears in the story.
The Gifts That Grow is a tale of generational love expressed through the importance of nurturing our environment for future generations to enjoy, even though we may never benefit from its rewards ourselves.
We love this primary picturebook about a tiny spark discovering its place. As Little Glow observes various festivals and celebrations, it witnesses diverse traditions and finds itself able to join in radiating light and community joy.
This book offers wonderful classroom opportunities for exploring community festivals and celebrations, especially celebrations of light. The warm narrative and luminous illustrations lean into different traditions positively and encourage discussions about community and belonging.
I grew up in the Disney generation when the story of The Little Mermaid captured my heart. Many years later I visited Copenhagen to see the famous Little Mermaid statue myself – a bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen, depicting an anguished mermaid becoming human, her lonely expression pained with the choice of being stuck between the two worlds of conformity and desire. It’s an anguish that most humans tap into at some point in their life, and this is what has given the story such a long-standing sense of fascination over the years. This month, I revisited the story anew, via Nen and the Lonely Fishermen. We’ve seen a run of fairytale retellings in picturebooks in recent years, but Ian Eagleton and James Mayhew’s modern adaptation of The Little Mermaid is highly original in its rendering of that original tale of anguish, identity and the pursuit of dreams…
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Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?
yes
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Curriculum links (if relevant)
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