Being a teenager is hard enough, but it’s even harder in a world you’ve never known …
Eighteen months ago, 17-year-old Rose and 13-year-old Rudder escaped a strict religious sect with their mum. They are still trying to make sense of the world outside – no more rules about clothes and books, films and music, no more technology bans. But also no more friendship with the people they’ve known all their lives, no community and no certainty. It doesn’t help that their mum has to work all hours to pay rent on their cramped, smelly, one-bed flat above a kebab shop in Hackney.
While Rudder gorges on once-taboo Harry Potters and dances to Simon and Garfunkel and show tunes, Rose swaps the ankle skirts and uncut hair of the Woodford Pilgrims for Japanese-cute fairy dress and her new boyfriend, Kye. Kye, who she wants with all her being. But there’s loads of scary stuff about their new life that Rose and Rudder have no idea how to handle – it’s normal for girls to let their boyfriends take naked pictures of them, right?
When Rudder accidently sets a devastating chain of events into action, Rose must decide whether to sacrifice everything and go back to the life she hates, in order to save the people she loves.
A story about coming of age, slap-bang in the middle of a strange new world.
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 fly. But when Bailey becomes the target of a homeless man who seems to know more about Indigo than is normal, Bailey is forced to make a choice he should never have to make.
A life-affirming story about falling in love and everyone’s need to belong.
Illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy
Here is a bunch of dung-dropping, sweet-stealing, luck-jinxing villains!
Four stories about young Prince Veera, who, along with his friend Suku, helps his father, the king, solve some of the problems he is having with his subjects. Trickster tales with lots of humour and colour, based on traditional Indian folktales.
Once Upon a Time… stories of our time, the here and now. What challenges do we face when we have to grow up? Look through the eyes of different people as they deal with their personal battles, face the truth and determine their futures. Life’s lessons can only be learnt from living it.
Winston Wallaby, like most Wallabies, loves to bounce. However, Winston can’t seem to ever sit still and when he starts school he needs help to concentrate…
Luckily his teacher Mrs Calm shows Winston how to settle down and focus his mind in class, and he learns new ways to help him with touch, feel, attention and awareness.
This fun, illustrated storybook will help children aged 5-10 with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) recognise their sensory needs and develop tools to support them. A helpful introduction for parents and carers explains hyperactivity and how it can affect a child’s perception of the world, and the appendices at the back provide useful strategies to be adopted at school and at home.
Deep inside everyone, a red beast lies sleeping.
When it is asleep, the red beast is quite small, but when it wakes up, it begins to grow and grow.
This is the story of a red beast that was awakened.
Rufus is in the school playground when his friend John kicks a ball that hit him in the stomach, and wakes up the sleeping red beast: `I hate you – I’m gonna get you!’. The red beast doesn’t hear the teacher asking if he’s okay. It doesn’t see that John is sorry – how can Rufus tame the red beast?
This vibrant fully illustrated children’s storybook is written for children aged 5-9, and is an accessible, fun way to talk about anger, with useful tips about how to ‘tame the red beast’ and guidance for parents on how anger affects children with Asperger’s Syndrome.
Have you ever felt a sense of dread and worry creeping over you?
That might be the Panicosaurus coming out to play…
Sometimes the Panicosaurus tricks Mabel’s brain into panicking about certain challenges, such as walking past a big dog on the street or when her favourite teacher is not at school. With the help of Smartosaurus, who lets her know there is really nothing to be afraid of, Mabel discovers different ways to manage Panicosaurus, and defeat the challenges he creates for her.
This fun, easy-to-read and fully illustrated storybook will inspire children who experience anxiety, and encourage them to banish their own Panicosauruses with help from Mabel’s strategies. Parents and carers will like the helpful introduction, explaining anxiety in children, and the list of techniques for lessening anxiety at the end of the book.
Samkad dreams of becoming a mighty headhunter like his father, carrying his own weapons and etching tattoos across his chest to proclaim his greatness as a warrior. His best friend is a girl his age, Little Luki and Little Luki wants to become a mighty warrior too … except in their culture, girls don’t grow up to become warriors. The two friends have no idea about the world outside their isolated mountain village until a boy from the Lowlands turns up … a boy who can speak many tongues and who tells stories about the world outside that seem ridiculous and unbelievable especially the part about invaders called ‘Americans’ who are coming to take over the village.
The World Is Sweet and Hot Like Fire published in one volume for the first time. Valerie Bloom's poetry is beautifully crafted yet full of energy and fun. Her mixed use of standard English and dialect is a delight to read and hear. Children love reading and listening to her work! Valerie's subjects range from global pollution, problems with maths homework and the sad demise of pet frogs (he croaked of course) to taking sandwiches to school and being afraid of ghosts.
