Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Topic: Diversity & Inclusion

A stunningly imagined, action-packed fantasy adventure for fans of Nevermoor, Neverwhere and Mortal Engines, from bestselling and award-winning author Patrice Lawrence. Step into a London lit up by the Elemental spirits: the fiery Dragons, the airy Fumis, the watery Chads and the earthbound Magogs.

But humans have been causing chaos for centuries, trampling through the landscape trailing noise, mess and pollution. What if the Elements could slow down this new world… or stop it all together?

The revenge-fuelled Shepherdess, who moves between the everyday and the supernatural London worlds, is the perfect weapon. She brings a sleeping sickness down on the city with the destruction of society in her sights.

Marisee and Robert are the Elemental Detectives chasing the clues to avoid catastrophe: they must face the ghosts of Hyde Park, the monstrous coiled snake of the Serpentine, and a whole host of other fantastical creatures in their mission to stop the Shepherdess and prevent London slumbering for all eternity…

Big, bold, future classic storytelling for a new generation.

A London where magic sparks just beneath the surface – this book is set to ignite young imaginations.

The page-turning, empowering, heart-racing first book in a major new series.

Sindhu and Jeet are the best detectives in town: they solve all their cases with a dollop of observation, a dash of imagination and a whole load of legwork. And when they travel from India to England for a holiday, the detective work doesn’t stop! This page-turning story is accompanied by black-and-white illustrations by Amberin Huq.

The Bloomsbury Readers series is packed with book-banded stories to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2 by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence. With black-and-white illustrations and online guided reading notes written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for home and school. For more information visit www.bloomsburyguidedreading.com.

Save the universe in the awesome and hilarious new space-themed adventure series from bestselling authors Katie and Kevin Tsang!

Suzie Wen LOVES gadgets and inventing things – but her inventions don’t always turn out how she expects . . . And when Suzie invent the Super 3DTV Gizmo she ends up getting transported into her favourite TV show – Space Blasters! On board the space ship with Captain Jane, Spaceman Jack and alien with attitude Five-Eyed Frank, Suzie is soon exploring new planets – like the smelly Planet Cheddar – and meeting plenty of aliens. But when moons start disappearing, it’s up to Suzie to save the universe. Can she put her inventing skills to use? And will she ever get home?

Funny, accessible and highly illustrated stories, perfect for readers aged 6 and up and fans of Bunny vs Monkey, Grimwood, Kitty Quest – and space!

STEM themes woven throughout, including real mindbending space facts and pages from Suzie’s inventors’ notebook

In her third adventure, Cookie finds mysteries everywhere – but can she solve them, and save the science show?

Hurray, Cookie’s Nani is coming to stay from Bangladesh! But she doesn’t speak English and Cookie is the only one in the family who doesn’t speak Bengali. Luckily, science-mad Cookie realises that her coding lessons at school might help her crack the language code and help her bond with Nani.

Other mysteries are harder to solve, though – like, why is Jake’s mum acting so weird? Who is the mystery gamer who keeps levelling-up in Cookie’s computer game? And who is the Woodburn Hacker, who keeps posting teachers’ secrets on the school website? Why does it look like it might be Cookie herself?

Can Cookie solve these mysteries, clear her name and save the science show?

A madcap new story from Sue Cheung, winner of the Diverse Book Award, filled with belly-laughs and packed with drawings! Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Sam Wu.

Maddy Yip is perfectly happy in life, until she realises that everyone she knows has a talent – except for her! Maddy is determined to change that, with the help of her brothers, bewildered grandad and her best friend Dev. There are disastrous attempts at breakdancing and playing the recorder, revolting cakes, and a magic disappearing trick that ends up with an escaped guinea pig. Will Maddy ever find her true calling?

Non-fiction

From ‘What’s wrong with the idea of ‘race’? and ‘Why is life harder for people with darker skin?’ to ‘Don’t ALL lives matter?’ and ‘What’s racism got to do with me?’ this book tackles powerful, pertinent questions in a direct, accessible and thought-provoking way. Discover why racism is everyone’s problem to solve, and how we can all be part of the solution.

Non-fiction

Be inspired by the lives of trailblazers past and present in this fun and factual biography series!

How did Simone Biles become a superstar athlete and gold medallist? On a daytrip to the local sports centre, Simone discovered her natural talent for gymnastics. She signed up for regular training sessions and was soon performing incredible routines at competitions. Despite a challenging start in life, Simone went on to become one of the world’s greatest athletes. Find out how this gymnast toughed it out in training and went on to win four Olympic gold medals.

TRAILBLAZERS biographies are packed with little-known trivia, fascinating facts and lively illustrations.

Non-fiction

A Grand Slam champion

An activist

An inspiration

Serena Williams began playing tennis when she was just a child, and is now an Olympic champion who’s won more Grand Slam singles titles than anyone else.

Throughout her life she’s battled many things, from life-threatening illnesses and sports injuries, to sexism and racism in the tennis world. Now she’s an icon in sport, fashion and activism, an inspiration to every young person who has dared to dream big.

Non-fiction

How many Black people can you name from our history? Mary Seacole? Ira Aldridge? George Bridgetower? Pablo Fanque? Walter Tull? Have you heard of these people?
From sportspeople to scientists, activists to musicians, politicians to writers, we’re going to meet a whole bunch of AWESOME people who have helped shape the world we live in.

Non-fiction

Explore the incredible history of Afro hair.

The Story of Afro Hair celebrates the fashion and styles of Afro hair over the last 5,000 years. From plaits to the Gibson Girl, cornrows to locks, the hi-top fade to funki dreds, The Story of Afro Hair is the ultimate book of Afro hairstories. Kicking off with an explanation of how Afro hair type grows and why, The Story of Afro Hair then takes us right back to the politics and fashion of Ancient Egypt. Speeding forwards to modern times we experience the Kingdom of Benin, Henry VIII’s court, the enslavement of African peoples, the Harlem Renaissance, the beginnings of Rastafarianism, Britain in the 1980s – and much more.

With profiles of inspirational key figures in the Afro hair beauty industry, such as Sara Spencer Washington, Madam CJ Walker, Viola Desmond, Lincoln Dyke, Dudley Dryden and Anthony Wade.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

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)

Any other comments

Any other comments