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Topic: Diverse & Inclusive Books for Upper KS2

Chapter book

Sam likes being a twin. He likes having two mums. He likes cheese sandwiches and his dog and drawing comics with his friend Pea. He does not like humus – or heights . . .

His twin sister Sammie likes being a twin too. She knows that she’s perfect best friend material for somebody – the girls in her class just haven’t realised yet. And she knows that she’s the best Sam – Sam A.

Both Sam and Sammie – and everybody in their lives seems to be keeping secrets – which ones will come out?

Chapter book

Nominated for the CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019 and the IBBY Honour List 2020. A novel for all ages about a young girl losing her sight, inspired by the author’s own life story. For fans of Wonder, The Little Prince and The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

Mafalda is a nine-year-old girl who knows one thing: some time in the next six months her sight will fail completely.

Can Mafalda find a way through a seemingly dark future and still go to school, play football and look after her beloved cat? With the help of her family, and her friends, Mafalda needs to discover the things that will be important to her when her sight has failed.

A moving, empowering tale of courage and determination that will inspire young and old. Translated by Denise Muir.

Chapter book

Gracie Fairshaw and her family have barely moved into The Majestic, a Blackpool boarding house when Ma mysteriously vanishes. She teams up with her younger brother George, and befriends siblings Violet and Tom, and maid Phyllis. They must work out why one of the guests – a conman conjurer – has made Ma disappear!

Chapter book

A hilarious and heartfelt debut from multi-award winning, hearing aid wearing, comedian, actor and author Samantha Baines. The intergalactic adventure starts at home with Harriet, who discovers that her hearing-aid can do more than she ever bargained for when she finds an alien in her room. Discovering that her family secretly work for an intergalactic agency, Harriet becomes the Earth’s first line of defence as the only one who can understand the invaders. Sure, her hearing aid helps her understand aliens from across the universe, if only she could understand her own feelings.

Chapter book

Sahira’s family are travelling to England to deliver two majestic Indian tigers to the menagerie in the tower of London.

But tragedy strikes and sickness steals Sahira’s parents from her on the journey. Left alone in London, Sarhira finds herself confined to a miserable and dangerous orphanage. Despite her heartache and the threats she faces, Sahira is determined to carry out her father’s last request – to protect God’s beautiful creatures: her tigers. To do so, Sahira must set out on an adventure and use all her powers of persuasion to engage the help of some new friends along the way.

Can the quest to find her tigers a safe home, lead Sahira to find her own place of hope and belonging in this strange and foreign land?

Chapter book

Determined to be the world’s greatest detective, Zaiba is always on the lookout for a crime to solve!
Zaiba is excited to visit an historical shipwreck and attend the reveal of its mystery cargo! But the big event is ruined when the priceless artefact goes missing. With stories of smuggling rooted in the seaside town’s past, Zaiba’s investigative instincts are buzzing. Will she and her team be able to uncover the coast’s secrets and find the treasure before it’s lost again forever?
The fourth book in a fun, fresh and exciting new detective series, for readers not quite ready for Robin Stevens, Katherine Woodfine, HIGH RISE MYSTERY and NANCY DREW.

Chapter book

Lexie lives in London with her colourful Greek-Cypriot family – and she’s devoted to her fragile cousin of the same age, Eleni, who has a heart condition. But after the death of their grandmother, Lexie tells a terrible, instinctive, jealous lie about an heirloom necklace, a lie that splits the family apart. It’s up to her to bring the family back together … but after such a lie, can she find a way to tell the truth?

Chapter book

The second book from the author of A Kind Of Spark, with Neurodivergent characters you’ll root for and a moving friendship at its heart.

When Cora’s brother drags her along to his boss’s house, she doesn’t expect to strike up a friendship with Adrien, son of the intimidating CEO of Pomegranate Technologies. As she becomes part of Adrien’s life, she is also drawn into the mysterious projects at Pomegranate.

At first, she’s intrigued by them – Pomegranate is using AI to recreate real people in hologram form. As she digs deeper, however, she uncovers darker secrets…

Cora knows she must unravel their plans, but can she fight to make her voice heard, whilst never losing sight of herself?

Chapter book

The Breakfast Club Adventures is the first fiction book by England International footballer, child food-poverty campaigner and #1 bestselling author Marcus Rashford MBE, inspired by Marcus’s own experiences growing up! Written with Alex Falase-Koya, it is the third title in the Marcus Rashford Book Club and is packed with tons of illustration throughout and is the perfect book for children aged 8-11.

There’s something fishy going on at school . . .

When twelve-year-old Marcus kicks his favourite football over the school fence, he knows he’s never getting it back. Nothing that goes over that wall ever comes back. But the next morning during Breakfast Club Marcus gets a mysterious note inviting him to join the Breakfast Club Investigators, and he is soon pulled into an exciting adventure with his new mates to solve the mystery and get his football back!

Chapter book

Following the disappearance of her mum, 10-year-old Aniyah suddenly finds herself living in foster care. With her life in disarray, she knows just one thing for sure: her mum isn’t gone for ever. Because people with the brightest hearts never truly leave. They become stars.

So when a new star is spotted acting strangely in the sky, Aniyah is sure it’s her mum, and she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to make sure everyone else knows too — an adventure that involves breaking into the Royal Observatory of London, a mischievous scurry of squirrels and the biggest star in Hollywood…

Told through the innocent voice of a child, this is a story that explores the subtle faces and endless impacts of domestic violence, and celebrates the power of hope and resilience, from Onjali Rauf, the award-winning author of The Boy at the Back of the Class.

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