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Topic: Empathy

Graphic Novel

Best friends Bumble and Snug are Bugbops – little monsters filled with BIG feelings! In this full-colour graphic novel, join them on a funny, imaginative adventure with some VERY angry pirates, learning about the world outside and inside along the way.

Bumble and Snug are going on a big adventure to … have a picnic! But when they accidentally get lost, they’re both cross – is their adventure ruined?

Working together to find their way home, Bumble and Snug come across a pirate treasure horde. But taking treasure that isn’t yours is a good way to get into trouble, and sure enough some VERY angry pirates aren’t far behind.

Bumble and Snug are certain they can replace the treasure, and fix things to make everybody happy. But there’s another monstrous obstacle in store – and this one has TENTACLES.

Bumble and Snug and the Angry Pirates is a story about being cross and how to listen, friendship and sandcastles, and one GIANT octopus!

Chapter book

Narwhal and Jelly – and Otty?! In the fourth book of this blockbuster early graphic novel series, exuberant Narwhal and sceptical Jelly test the waters of adding a new friend to their pod when they meet Otty the super-adventurous otter!

A wonderfully silly early graphic novel series featuring three short stories and a super fun ocean fact page – and joke page too!

Chapter bookDyslexia-friendly

Pickles the dog and his owner Elsie love football more than anything. And they’ve just heard the most amazing news. The World Cup is coming home to England and Elsie’s team have a chance to play in a half-time match at Wembley – with some help from Pickles, of course!

But life off the pitch is tough, even when Dad works hard to provide what they need. It’s their team of three against the world and right now it feels like they’re losing. So when disaster strikes and Elsie’s dreams of playing at Wembley are shattered, it’s up to Pickles to save the world (cup) …

Chapter book

Filled with light, love and birdsong, Swallow’s Kiss is a wonderfully uplifting story that explores the common threads that connect our communities, inspired by writer Sita Brahmachari’s and illustrator Jane Ray’s experiences as artists-in-residence at the Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants. For young readers age 7 and up.

Chapter book

Being a big sister to a new baby brings big responsibilities.
Sona Sharma’s house is full of people who joke often and argue sometimes. Relatives come unannounced, the phone rings frequently and friends drop in all the time. Then one day Amma tells Sona she is going to have a baby. Is that good? Sona isn’t sure – she has always enjoyed being an only child – and straight away she has a word with her best friend, Elephant. When Sona learns that there will be a baby naming ceremony, she is determined to find the perfect name for her new brother or sister. Because although she realizes that her life is about to change, and while she’s having some difficulty in coming to terms with having to share everything with the new baby – including Amma and Appa, her grandparents and her home – Sona Sharma wants to be the very best big sister she can be.

Picturebook

Environmental activism gets a nocturnal twist in this utterly charming picture book about a young girl and her mission to save the bats!

Amara loves bats! Her favourite thing to do is to collect bat facts and watch the amazing mammals fly at night by her house. But when Amara moves to a new town, she learns that her beloved bats no longer roost nearby because they are losing their habitat.

Amara is upset. What can she do to help? She’s just one person, and the problem feels so much bigger than her. But after doing some research, she discovers that there are many young people making big changes all around the world. Inspired to take action, Amara gathers her new friends to help save the bats. Together, she knows they can make a difference!

Emma Reynolds crafts an inspiring story about community action, perseverance, and what to do in the face of climate anxiety. At its heart, this is a story about hope and finding a place to call home.

Poetry

Read about the Land of Blue, where it’s OK to feel sad, find ideas for what to do with worries or how to slow down when your head is full of hurry. Give yourself time to chill out, find quiet voices in noisy places and discover kindness in yourself and others. Then maybe your own special thought machine will tell you, ‘This is going well. You’re doing great. You’ve got this!’ And you have!

This important and unique anthology of 45 poems by three leading poets, well known for their empathy and perception, speaks to the heart of what children think and care about, offering understanding, support and encouragement.

With an endnote by leading clinical psychologist Karen Goodall.

Picturebook

Barbara is in a very bad mood. She won’t admit it, but she is.

She has a problem with a sock, and at lunchtime there’s a strange pea… And even though she’s at the park with her friends, it all just gets a bit much. Suddenly Barbara’s WOBBLER is out of control!

But what if Barbara and her Wobbler can work together, so she can be cheerful again?

A brilliantly funny and sensitive way to understand and deal with tantrums.

Picturebook

Boy Bear cannot hear Dad Bear coming to wake him up in the morning but he can feel the floor vibrate with his heavy footsteps . He can only grasp little bits of what his teacher says to him at school. He cannot catch what his friends are laughing at. And, all the time, Boy Bear keeps hearing the question, “Can Bears ski?” What does it mean? With the support of Dad Bear, Boy Bear visits an audiologist and, eventually, he gets hearing aids. Suddenly, he understands the question everyone has been asking him: “CAN YOU HEAR ME?”

Raymond Antrobus, the award-winning poet of The Perseverance , draws on his own experience to show how isolating it can be for a deaf child in a hearing world. But through his lyrical and moving words, matched with Polly’s stunning imagery, he also shows how many ways there are to communicate love. With a solid network, Boy Bear will find his place in the world.

Picturebook

This lyrical, stunning picture book tells a story about learning to love and celebrate your Asian-shaped eyes, in the spirit of Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, and is a celebration of diversity.

A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers’. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother’s, her grandmother’s, and her little sister’s. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.

Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self-love and empowerment. This powerful, poetic picture book will resonate with readers of all ages.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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