The Sound of Everything Rebecca Henry The Sound of Everything is a heart-felt coming of age story for all those who struggle to feel like they deserve love. Betrayal, rejection, violence Kadie has known it all. She’s tough and prepared for everything. Everything except love. Kadie has has just arrived in yet another foster home. She trusts no one and lives […] Communication, Family, Friendship, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, Love, Violence AGES: 12-14 AGES: 14+ Second Best Friend Non Pratt Jade and Becky have always been best friends; inseparable and often indistinguishable. They’re not quite chalk and cheese, but are quite different: Jade is outgoing, swinging from one crush to another, and likes a good party. Becky’s quieter, not interested in relationships, and prefers to stay in. Jade’s never really noticed the differences before, but […] Friendship, Love, Romantic, School/ Learning AGES: 12-14 AGES: 14+ Cheeky Monkey Zehra Hicks Monkey wants to play! But Monkey’s games are a little too energetic for the other animals. A funny, playful story about learning how to make friends, from the author of the hilarious Pug Hug! Cheeky Monkey is ready to play! But Zebra is happy painting quietly, Giraffe is about to tuck in to lunch, and […] Animals, Fiction, Love, Picture Books, Romantic AGES: 3-7 A Match for a Mermaid David Roberts & Eleanor Cullen A picky princess rejects a string of eligible suitors in this hilariously illustrated underwater tale about choosing to love who you want. A Match for a Mermaid is a genre-busting fable about same-sex union and defying convention. Edited by Libby Hamilton at Andersen Press and art directed by Jane Buckley at Simon & Schuster. The original illustrated story […] Fiction, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, Identity, Inspirational, LGBT/ Gender, Love AGES: 7-10 The Most Important Gift of All David Conway & Karin Littlewood Ama has a new baby brother! And when she asks Grandma Sisi what gift she can give him, Grandma tells her to simply give him the gift of love. But where can Ama find this precious gift? Ama sets off to find out, but in the end, the gift of love comes to her instead. […] Family, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, Love, Picture Books AGES: 3-7 AGES: 7-10 Indigo Donut Patrice Lawrence Seventeen-year-old Indigo has had a tough start in life, having grown up in the care system after her dad killed her mum. Bailey, also seventeen, lives with his parents in Hackney and spends all his time playing guitar or tending to his luscious ginger afro. When Indigo and Bailey meet at sixth form, serious sparks […] Adventure, Crime/ Thriller, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Love, Personal/social issues, Romantic AGES: 14+ Aya Takeo No.1 Sonia Leong Aya.Takeo is a story of Space, Time, Civilization and Star-Crossed Love. Set in a distant wrinkle of space where some things are familiar and others are forever surprising. Noblewoman Aya perseveres with her love for the lowly warrior Takeo amidst a backdrop of a neo-classical Japan under invasion by spider mecha… but who is the […] Adventure, Graphic Novel/ Comic, Love, Space/ Rockets AGES: 12-14 The Unicorn Prince Jane Ray & Saviour Pirotta If you love The Frog Prince and The Elves and the Shoemaker, you’ll love this tale of love, magic … and unicorns! Annis and her grandmother live in a cold, draughty castle on top of a hill, which they share with their chickens and their cow. They may be poor, but Annis’s heart is […] Animals, Fantasy/ Supernatural, Love, Magic, Picture Books AGES: 3-7 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Sonia Leong Shakespeare’s famous tragedy unfurls in front of a dramatic manga setting, in which the fair city of Verona becomes a street in the highly fashionable Shibuya district of Tokyo. The swordfights become duels with katanas; the Capulets and the Montagues, opposing Yakuza families. Conflict explodes when Romeo – a bleached-blonde, well-dressed rock star – falls […] Adventure, Family, Graphic Novel/ Comic, Love AGES: 10-12 The Boy Who Loved Everyone Jane Porter “I love you,” Dimitri tells everyone, from his friends at nursery to the big tree in the playground. But why does no one say it back? Dimitri worries no one loves him – until he finds out there are lots of different ways love can spread through the world. A touching and uplifting story, […] Friendship, Love, Nature/ Outdoors, Picture Books AGES: 3-7 The Boy Who Loved Everyone Maisie Paradise Shearring “I love you,” Dimitri tells everyone, from his friends at nursery to the big tree in the playground. But why does no one say it back? Dimitri worries no one loves him – until he finds out there are lots of different ways love can spread through the world. Communication, Fiction, Friendship, Learning, Love, Picture Books, Self-discovery AGES: 3-7 Here be Dragons Sarah Mussi Ellie Morgan wants a boy who’s all hers. Just for once, it would be nice to meet someone that Sheila the cow hadn’t got her claws in to. A remote farmhouse on Mount Snowdon is hardly the ideal setting for meeting anyone – unless, of course, you count her best friend George or creepy Darren […] Adventure, Fiction, Friendship, Love, Mount Snowdon, Myths and Legends, Spooky/Scary, Welsh myths AGES: 12-14 Journey to Jo’burg Beverley Naidoo This is the story of love, commitment and the flowering of the human spirit against the background of South Africa’s apartheid. Frightened that their baby sister Dineo will die, thirteen-year-old Naledi and her younger brother Tiro run away from their grandmother to Johannesburg to find their mother, who works there as a maid. Their journey […] Adventure, Family, Fiction, Love, Multicultural/international, Prejudice, Racism, South Africa's apartheid AGES: 10-12 AGES: 7-10 Rising Stars Jay Hulme & Pop Up Rising Stars An Afro hair haiku and a love letter to the stars; a brother who makes you brave and a 24-hour happiness drive-through; aliens, aunties, parakeets - and peas. Poems about community, identity, family, friends, the universe, and more! Don't miss this rich and exciting debut from five fantastic young poets, all rising stars. Animals, Family, Friendship, Love, Poetry AGES: 10-12 I Love You Night and Day Smriti Prasadam-Halls The pages in this fabulously warm and reassuring picture book are bursting with exuberance, warmth and humour. Friendship, Love, Picture Books AGES: 3-7 I Will Love You Anyway Chloe Inkpen I don't do 'sit!' I don't do 'stay!' But I will love you anyway. Animals, Love, Picture Books AGES: 3-7
