We love opening Nadia Shireen’s picturebooks, as the illustrations and warm humour never fail to bring a smile to our faces. This adventure features Shireen’s popular character Billy and her trusty feline friend, Fatcat. The pair uncover a mysterious message in a bottle at sea and attempt to outwit a pesky pirate crew. Billy and Fatcat are no strangers to danger and as always they put to action their quick thinking and bravery to wiggle out of even the most perilous situation – whether it’s toffee-eating sharks, tricksy mermaids or pongy pirates.
There’ so much to love about these stories – pirates, adventure, bravery and plenty of giggles. The story balances action and suspense with humour and the characters are richly drawn. The book works as a standalone as well as part of the wider series, which we also recommend. This is a great ‘read it again’ choice for storytime with Year 2.
A doctress
An activist
An inspiration
Mary Seacole is now known for her medical work in the Crimean war, and as a brilliant woman who combated the racial prejudice she experienced in her lifetime. But for a long time her story was lost.
From growing up in Kingston, Jamaica as the daughter of a doctress to helping soldiers in the war, discover the details of the amazing life that Mary Seacole led in this beautifully illustrated book with real-life stories, timelines and facts.
This picture book tells the story of Tom, whose teddy is snatched in the middle of the night. Tom sets out to get to the bottom of the mystery and find the Teddy Robber himself. Can he save all of the missing bears?
A hilarious and fast-paced adventure from comedian Humza Arshad and screenwriter Henry White, perfect for fans of David Solomons and David Baddiel.
Humza Khan considers himself to be the greatest eleven-year-old rapper Eggington has ever known and soon everyone will know his name.
The only problem is school has got really weird. All the teachers are disappearing and his aunties are taking over. It wasn’t too bad at the start, as they keep feeding him delicious snacks all the time. But now these aunties are trying to mess with his music, so Humza and his best friends Umer and Wendy are going to hunt for the truth. …
A sharp, funny middle grade adventure with themes of real-life activism and how to help others for fans of The Goonies and The London Eye Mystery .
Josephine Williams is a future-focused, internet-loving eleven-year-old who is desperate to explore the world beyond her cul-de-sac – and her browser.
When she learns about Josephine Holloway – a woman who started the first Girl Scout Troop for Black girls in America – she’s certain she must start her own.
Enlisting her friends Margot Anderson and Wesley Evans, the trio begin their quest for their Camping Badge. Drawn to an abandoned factory nearby, they stumble across something strange. A square, ancient television and two tatty armchairs. Beside it, a wooden sideboard with an old photograph of a young, happy couple.
What is this? Who, or what, lives here – and why?
This is a really funny book that makes a popular choice to read aloud in KS2. Limpy the toad knows that human beings don’t think highly of toads, especially when they drive their enormous cars over them. Limpy sets about on a mission to save his family and help humans to see that toads are not so bad after all.
What would you need to get you all the way to the moon? Mouse thinks that his moon map is everything he needs and he sets off on a big adventure to get all the way to the moon. But as he travels through the woods and things begin to get a bit dark and scary, Mouse soon realises that he may need more than just a map to find his way.
Part of a series written by Professor Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy, this fast-paced adventure follows a boy called George as he discovers a portal to outer space inside his neighbour’s super-intelligent computer called Cosmos. As you might expect in a book by Stephen Hawking, the narrative is filled with scientifically accurate facts and figures about space.
It wasn’t until I was two drafts into The Midnight Guardians that I realised I was missing something vitally important to British folklore – giants! They’re integral to our national stories, particularly English ones. The story goes that Brutus of Troy came to Britannia and fought “the descendants of Albion” – a number of giants that lived in Cornwall – fought one called Gogmagog and defeated him. I love the idea that the inhabitants of Britain used to be enormous, mean smelly giants that kept fighting each other, and gave us the rivers and mountains and stone circles that we know today. It made me think about the giant story that I was raised on – the BFG! Those giant names alone are worth the entry fee: Bloodbottler, Bonecruncher, Fleshlumpeater… In The Midnight Guardians, there are two giants called Gog and Magog, which is a reference to the two statues that were destroyed in the raid of 28th December 1940 – they’re the protectors of the City of London, and their effigies are still carried in the Lord Mayor’s Show each year.
When Ivan’s little brother is stolen away by the terrifying Starjik, Ivan sets out into a cold, inhospitable world to bring him back. Ivan’s chances in this frozen world seem slim, and Starjik has a wild, cruel magic on his side. And yet as his adventure continues, it becomes clear that Ivan may have a friend – and a little magic – on his side too. When I was younger I read this book endlessly. It’s one of those stories you experience with your heart in your mouth, right through to the very end.
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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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