Along Came a Different Tom McLaughlin Reds love being red. Yellows love being yellow. And Blues love being blue. The problem is that they just don’t like each other. But one day, along comes a different colour who likes Reds, Yellows and Blues, and suddenly everything starts to change. Maybe being different doesn’t mean you can’t be friends … A very […] Fiction, Friendship, Picture Books, Prejudice, Racism AGES: 3-7 Son of the Circus: A Victorian Story E. L. Norry From the slums to the circus, a mixed-race Victorian boy seeks a place to belong. Ted lives with his mum and poorly big brother in the city of Bradfield. When a stranger turns up in their kitchen, Ted gets two big surprises. Firstly, the man – Pablo Fanque – is the first black circus owner […] Adventure, Chiltern Open Air Museum, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, Identity, Multicultural/international, Performance, Prejudice, Racism, Victorian AGES: 10-12 AGES: 7-10 Now or Never Bali Rai A gripping adventure in an exciting new series reflecting the authentic, unsung stories of our past! Now or Never brings a young soldier, Private Fazal Khan, from his home in India to the battlefields of the Second World War. Fazal’s world is now focused on Company 32 and the animals he cares for in the […] Adventure, Bletchley Park, Chiltern Open Air Museum, Empathy, Faith/ Culture, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, Multicultural/international, Prejudice, Violence, War, World Wars 1&2 AGES: 10-12 AGES: 12-14 The Little Island Smriti Prasadam-Halls There was once a farm where all the animals were friends. Together they looked after the farm and each other. It wasn t perfect and they didn t always agree (animals almost never do). But they liked it. One day the geese begin to gossip. Before long they hatch a plan to leave the farm. […] Fiction, Government, law and crime, Jobs & Careers, Picture Books, Prejudice AGES: 3-7 The Girl in the Broken Mirror Savita Kalhan Jay’s creative writing exercise is to write a fairy tale, to end with they lived happily ever after. But the way her life is panning out she s not sure it will ever reach that stage. She and her mother are moving in with distant relatives, and they have super strict rules for girls. Jay […] Emotion/ Feelings, Empathy, Faith/ Culture, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Grief/Loss, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, Identity, Justice, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Prejudice, Self-discovery, Values/ Virtues, Violence, Women and feminism AGES: 14+ Out of Bounds Beverley Naidoo A collection of short stories – four previously published and three new – linked by the theme of young people experiencing personal dilemmas. All are set in South Africa, first under apartheid and then after the first democratic elections. They cover the period from 1950 to 2000 and reflect the lives of a range of […] Fiction, Personal Stories, Prejudice AGES: 10-12 AGES: 7-10 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 Clouds Cannot Cover Us Jay Hulme The poems have been carefully selected to chart the poet, Hulme’s journey from growing up in a working-class family in Leicestershire to his feelings and thoughts about school life and his experience as a transgender teenager. As Hulme says himself: “When it was decided that this collection would be for teenagers I was left with […] Friendship, Growing Up & the Facts of Life, LGBT/ Gender, Personal Stories, Poetry, Prejudice AGES: 12-14 AGES: 14+ No Ballet Shoes in Syria Catherine Bruton Aya is eleven years old and has just arrived in Britain with her mum and baby brother, seeking asylum from war in Syria. When Aya stumbles across a local ballet class, the formidable dance teacher spots her exceptional talent and believes that Aya has the potential to earn a prestigious ballet scholarship. But at the […] Empathy, Faith/ Culture, Family, Fiction, Migration/ Refugees, Music/ Dancing, Performance, Prejudice AGES: 10-12 AGES: 7-10 The Boy at the Back of the Class Onjali Q. Rauf Told with heart and humour, The Boy at the Back of the Class is a child’s perspective on the refugee crisis, highlighting the importance of friendship and kindness in a world that doesn’t always make sense. There used to be an empty chair at the back of my class, but now a new boy called […] Emotion/ Feelings, Empathy, Fiction, Friendship, Grief/Loss, Justice, Migration/ Refugees, Prejudice, School/ Learning, Values/ Virtues AGES: 10-12 AGES: 7-10 Stay a Little Longer Bali Rai Aman’s dad is gone, leaving her feeling lost and alone. She struggles to talk about it, but it’s a fact and he isn’t coming back. When a lovely man called Gurnam moves into her street and saves Aman from some local bullies, he and Aman quickly become friends, perhaps even like family. But Gurnam has […] Family, Fiction, Prejudice AGES: 10-12 AGES: 12-14 Mabrook! Na'ima B. Robert Lyrical description of Muslim wedding ceremonies across the world, including Pakistan, Morocco, Somalia and UK. This colourful and exotic picture book shows the different ways Muslims in different countries celebrate the sacred ceremony, while also describing the vows and promises common to all Muslim marriages. Faith/ Culture, Family, Multicultural/international, Non-fiction, Poetry, Prejudice, Romantic AGES: 3-7 AGES: 7-10 Hidden Miriam Halahmy The complex issues of immigration and human-rights laws, through the eyes of a 14 year old girl Alix. Bullying, Fiction, Friendship, Migration/ Refugees, Prejudice, School/ Learning, Values/ Virtues AGES: 10-12 AGES: 12-14 She Wore Red Trainers Na'ima B. Robert A Muslim Love <3 Faith/ Culture, Family, Fiction, Multicultural/international, Prejudice AGES: 12-14 AGES: 14+ Far From Home Na'ima B. Robert Two girls linked by a terrible secret... Adventure, Faith/ Culture, Family, Historical, Historical Fiction, Multicultural/international, Prejudice, Self-discovery, War AGES: 10-12 Burn My Heart Beverley Naidoo A powerful and personal story of friendship and betrayal, set against a violent episode in Britain's colonial past. Fiction, Friendship, Historical, Historical Fiction, Identity, Multicultural/international, Prejudice, Racism AGES: 12-14 AGES: 14+
