On this booklist we have picked some of the best books for primary schools to help promote cultural diversity. Books can act as both windows through which to see the world and mirrors for readers to see themselves reflected in the pages. The books on this list are selected to help children to see different cultures represented in the stories they read.
You can see our full range of Diverse and Inclusive booklists here.
Politics and Democracy Booklist
Discussions about politics and general elections can be confusing for children (and adults!) at the best of times. To help, we’ve put together a list of the best children’s books about politics, including both fiction and non-fiction books that explore themes of parliament, elections, democracy and political systems.
We’ve put together a list of recommended books about refugees for primary school-aged children. The children’s books on this list can help to explore the refugee experience and the topic of immigration in an age-appropriate way.
NB: This recommended booklist is aimed at children ages 4-7 (KS1). If you are looking for older children’s books for this topic, we have a separate KS2 refugee booklist here.
Refugees and Immigration Booklist (KS2)
We’ve put together a list of recommended texts for primary school aged children on the topic of refugees and immigration. For this community booklist, we asked our community of primary teachers, TAs, children’s authors, librarians and book lovers to nominate their top recommended texts that explore the topic of immigration and the refugee experience.
NB: This booklist is aimed at KS2 (ages 7-11). If you are looking for KS1 books for this topic, we have a separate booklist here.
The term ‘growth mindset’ has seen a recent trend in education, but the principles behind it are ones that many parents and teachers have tried to cultivate in children for years. We’ve put together a list of recommended books to promote a growth mindset among primary school children.
Teaching children to embrace new challenges, learn positively from mistakes, persevere with difficult tasks and develop resilience in learning are all key parts of having a growth mindset. From stories about never giving up like Tilda Tries Again and Yes You Can, Cow! to books about embracing mistakes as opportunities like Beautiful Oops! and Rosie Revere, Engineer, this booklist features some of the best children’s books for promoting a growth mindset in young learners.
On this booklist we have picked a selection of recommended books for primary schools to explore the topic of bullying, including picturebooks, longer texts and non-fiction.
Our list of best children’s books about bullying can be used for Anti-Bullying Week or for PSHE work all year round. Many thanks to primary school librarian Kate Spurrier for working together with us to create this booklist.
Whether you are looking for short picturebooks to discuss anti-buylling like Troll Stinks! or Buster the Bully or longer chapter books about bullying like All the Things that Could Go Wrong or How to Be More Hedgehog, this list of anti-bullying books is here to help.
A new poetry collection from renowned performance poet Benjamin Zephaniah, celebrating the diversity of British society. A unique portrait of British children, Benjamin has written 12 poems, each one about a child in his or her home environment. The children are from a range of backgrounds and cultures and the book challenges traditional perceptions of the way children live. It shows that despite their differences, children have many similar preoccupations whatever their cultural background. We Are Britain springs from the rich interaction between many peoples which characterises modern Britain. Illustrated with Prodeepta Das’ vibrant photographs, this is a fascinating and fun collection which children will love.
A perfect book for children and parents to read together, A Faith Like Mine uses revealing photography and detailed personal accounts to give unique insight into the diversity of religious faith as experienced through the lives of children across the world.
In the morning the people of the island found a man sitting on the shore, where fate and the ocean currents had set him and his frail raft in the night. When he saw them coming towards him, he rose to his feet.
He was not like them.
Two monsters live on either side of a mountain. Sometimes they talk through the hole in the mountain, but they never see each other. One evening, they get into a silly argument about whether day is departing or night is arriving, which escalates into a rock throwing fight, which eventually destroys the mountain, and enables the monsters to see each other’s point of view and live together as friends.
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