‘There is a Season’ is the first children’s book from Kerri Cunningham, also known as Murphy’s Sketches.
This is a wonderful collection of poems to guide you through each season of the year, which is essential for every classroom. It takes you on a journey from April showers in spring to the frosty mornings of winter and everything wonderful in between. There are beautiful poems to be shared as the seasons change, during assemblies or just to enjoy with your class to share a love of poetry.
Celebrating all that nature has to show us and the little things that we can enjoy together throughout the year, it encourages readers to get outside and look for and talk about signs of spring, summer, autumn and winter – also linked to the seasonal change topic in the science National Curriculum.
Have you ever felt small and low? Can Wawa the bird find a way to help her friend see that being different can be a strength, giving a child the courage to fly a kite at the town’s festival? Join the pair on an extraordinary and inspiring journey through the wonders of the world, helping to grow understanding and confidence.
This is a thought-provoking story about school friendships, bullying and the transition to secondary school.
The story follows the trials and tribulations of Sam in Year 6, who overhears his friends Fin, Cal and Jay saying that they won’t be putting his name on their ‘friends list’ for the Year 7 tutor group in their new secondary school.
When Fin, Cal, Jay and their families go to Barcelona without him during half-term, Sam strikes up a rather one-sided friendship with Zak Monroe – a new boy in the year group who has already been dubbed ‘weird’ by his peers. As Sam increasingly tries to disassociate himself from anything and anyone that his old friends make fun of, he realises that he is trying to change to please them and that there are more important issues at stake.
There are many different threads to this story that children struggling with change and friendships might empathise with. Transition to a new school is a big part, but also self-belief, resilience, anxieties, acceptance of differences and challenging stereotypes.
The Lost Dogs by Patricia Forde is a heartwarming and action-packed adventure that captures the enduring spirit of friendship, loyalty, and hope.
Perfect for readers aged 8 and up, this touching tale follows three very different dogs—Luna, Bella, and Eddie—thrown together by loss and misfortune, who form an unbreakable bond on a quest to find their way home.
Luna, a Labrador, is anxious and fiercely protective, convinced her family can’t survive without her. Bella, a gentle Cocker Spaniel, has lost most of her memories but still clings to the warmth of a once-loving home. Eddie, a cheeky and optimistic Terrier, masks his grief over his late owner with humour and courage. Together, the trio escapes a cruel dog pound and embarks on a daring journey, filled with danger, hilarity, and moments of deep emotional resonance.
Forde masterfully blends heart-stopping action with tender emotional beats. From escaping captivity and outwitting a sinister dog warden to facing natural disasters and criminal gangs, the dogs’ epic adventure is packed with twists, scrapes, and narrow escapes. Yet at the core of this lively romp is a story about finding family in unexpected places and never giving up—even when the odds seem stacked against you. With echoes of The Incredible Journey, The Lost Dogs is a modern classic in the making. Forde’s engaging prose, well-drawn canine characters, and perfect balance of humour and heart make this a thoroughly captivating read. Young readers will cheer, laugh, and cry alongside Luna, Bella, and Eddie as they grow braver, stronger, and closer with every page.
A story of survival, resilience, and love, The Lost Dogs is a joyful celebration of the power of friendship, and paws down, a must-read for dog lovers of all ages.
A book about standing up for your beliefs, making yourself heard and making a difference. Ideal for book corners and libraries for children to read themselves.
A story that shows children even a small idea can cause a wave, friendship, courage and your voice are all you need to start making a difference.
What a brilliant book! Ten-year-old Matilda has decided to build a rocket to travel to the moon and back. This story is jam-packed with facts about what is needed for each stage. From gravity and orbits to fuel calculations, you find out how previous space missions solved each aspect of space travel and the science behind them. And of course, all the key questions about space missions are answered like how do you poop in space?!
Matilda is a brilliant role model for women in STEM – intelligent, sparky and ambitious. Her narrative voice is strong and entertaining.
The mix of science and the history of the Apollo missions makes this book absolutely fascinating, and the illustrations, font styles and chatty style make it an easy read for Key Stage 2.
With brilliant links to STEM subjects, this would be a particularly good addition as a reading-for-pleasure choice alongside the Earth and Space topic in Science. It also shows ambition, resilience and the ability to research and plan before undertaking a task.
Tyrannosaurus rex may be the king of the dinosaurs, but that doesn’t stop know-it-all Velociraptor from telling him he looks old-fashioned and needs a makeover. So, with an improved posture, some restyled body parts and a coat of shaggy feathers, T. rex gets a new look to match the latest evidence.
From the authors of The Plesiosaur’s Neck, The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers takes an amusing and informative look at how new discoveries have transformed our understanding of T. rex’s appearance since this giant prehistoric predator was first unearthed over a century ago.
What do you think ART is? Is it pictures on the walls of a gallery?
And what about an ARTIST? Someone holding a paintbrush, standing in front of an easel?
Yes to both, but art and artists are so much more than that! Art is everywhere around us, we just need to know how to look for it…
I’m Joe Haddow, artist, radio producer, podcaster and super-fan of all forms of art. I’m on a mission to show everyone how art can be found in so many different places, and created by so many different people.
So, whether you sing, draw, write, dance, paint, act, play a instrument or tell jokes, OR if you are just wanting to find out how to discover what kind of artist you want to be – this book is for you!
An inspiring, friendly guide to art and why it matters. Meet the incredible people making art of all kinds and follow the tips to make your own art!
Percy the Penguin lives in the South Pole and is a post-penguin who runs his own post office, but there is one problem – there is no post to deliver! He keeps busy by cleaning and tidying up his post office, but there is still no post – nobody seems to know where his post office is.
Not wanting to give up his dream, Percy sets himself the challenge of making his post office known and starts his advertising campaign – handing out leaflets and putting up signs. Has his determination worked? Will he ever be a fully functioning post-penguin?
This picture book is all about determination and not giving up on your dreams and goals. It teaches young children that hard work pays off and that you may face hurdles in the pursuit of your goals. The book is full of beautiful and detailed illustrations that add to the story and make it more enjoyable to read through the use of different size fonts and the text in different formats including a letter within the story.
Early Years children will love looking at the illustrations and finding Percy on each page. It is not too long which makes it easier for little ones to remain focused on the story. It would link to some PSHE topics about perseverance and People Who Help Us, and would make a great Reception class storytime read.
The book ‘Worrybot’ explores anxiety and school-based avoidance. The story follows Josh as he moves to Brighton. We see Josh as he starts a new school and get to experience the worries, thoughts and feelings he has about this. The story then centres around the friendship of Josh and Charlie. Charlie is a ‘robot’ and the person behind this helps Josh to deal with his emotions and anxieties. As the friends start to experience more of school life, we get to see how they support each other, pushing each other to get involved with things they might not have done before. The story is gripping and leads you to want to know why Charlie isn’t in school, something you find out at the end of the story. The characters are easy to relate to and would provide comfort to children going through change within their own lives.
This book would be most suited to UKS2 and would really resonate with pupils who are having worries of their own. Worrybot would help reassure children that they are not alone, and it is natural to feel worried. It would also help pupils to build a personal toolkit of ways to deal with anxiety. This story would be beneficial for Year 6 students who are dealing with a lot of change moving to secondary school. I especially liked that at the end of the book, there is a section of breathing techniques to help with anxiety and a page of helpful resources for children’s mental health. School staff would find this book useful to use with children who are feeling similar ways, it could also be linked to PSHE topics and could be read as a class story.
review
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
Curriculum links (if relevant)
Curriculum links (if relevant)
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