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Find out moreThe books in this section cover a range of PSHE topics including bullying, disability, family issues and mental health. There are both fiction and non-fiction titles and cover age ranges from Toddler to Older Teen.
May 2022 Book of the Month | Here’s a book parents are going to want to share with their daughters, as it celebrates confidence, difference and everything that makes us feel happy in ourselves. Shelina Janmohamed was inspired to write it by a conversation with her own young daughter and the approach she takes is clear, fun and full of information that young people will find stimulating and useful. She’s open that how you feel about the way you look matters but shows that, as ideas of beauty are always changing, across cultures and time, beauty can be what you want it to be. She introduces us to lots of women, all regarded as beautiful, who challenged conventional ideas of beauty, confident in themselves and their bodies and encourages readers to be the same. She explores the role of social media, enabling readers to look critically at images they are shown and form their own opinions. The text is always engaging and supportive, and the photos and accompanying illustrations by Chanté Timothy amplify the message being delivered. Inclusive, intelligent and inspiring, this is an empowering examination of a topic that has been preoccupying girls for centuries. Shelve it alongside Open: A Toolkit for How Magic and Messed Up Life Can Be by Gemma Cairney, another invaluable illustrated guide to navigating growing up.
Circle loves the tower that the squares and hexagons have built and wants to make his own. But circles, diamonds and triangles are pointier, rounder and much wobblier - making a tower is not as easy as it looks! The shapes try and try but their tower just keeps tumbling down. Can Circle persuade them to have just one more try? In this perfectly shaped follow up to the bestselling The Perfect Fit geometry meets brilliant storytelling and vibrant artwork.
Haunted by her mother’s death, and now uprooted from Limerick to a rural village, 18-year-old Saoirse is desperate to leave school and start her life afresh. Her tremendously tough journey through guilt and anxiety - quite brilliantly related with raw compassion by Helena Close - makes for an engaging, thought-provoking, moving read that sheds light on the realities of depression while offering honest glimmers of hope. Just ahead of sitting her sitting the Leaving Certificate, Saoirse’s ex-boyfriend commits suicide. It’s no secret that she cheated on him with his best friend, and she’s cast out by her peers. Devastated by guilt, grief and feeling isolated, her counselling sessions do little to help. Yet even as she descends into the darkest clutches of depression, Saoirse shines as a wise and witty young woman. She sees people for who they are, beyond her years, with her narrative casting a glaring light on the reality of attitudes to depression: “You are not allowed to be sad. People have no tolerance to sad. You can be Insta sad – sad because you saw pictures of dying refugees or abandoned puppies. You can’t be ongoing sad.. You can’t be scared or anxious or upset”. As everything becomes too much for Saoirse, she’s taken to a psychiatric hospital. Though painful, her journey to regaining herself is powerfully raw and touched by hope, with the wider cast of true-to-life characters (from Saoirse’s siblings and peers, to her straight-talking, gin-swilling grandmother) adding to the enlivening authenticity.
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month April 2022 | Award-winning Sharon Creech has an exceptional gift that enables her to tell her stories lightly and with humour. Gina Filomena has always been different from her classmates. She sees things when others can’t, she wears amazing, vividly coloured clothes sent by her grandmother, she plays wildly inventive games with her father. Teachers have always told her that she has an overactive imagination but then Miss Lightstone, a teacher who encourages creative thinking and writing, arrives and, coincidentally Antonio a boy with an imagination that is equal to her own joins the class and Gina finds that imagination can be a wonderful, transformative new power. In a story that takes the same imaginative leaps in its telling as Gina, Antonio and their classmates take under Miss Lightstone’s inspirational teaching this is an inspirational novel that sings to its readers while also encouraging them to us their imaginations and to have the courage to be free.
From early childhood boys often feel pressured to be athletic and muscular. But what impact does this have on physical and mental well-being through their teens and beyond? Worryingly, a third of teen boys are trying to 'bulk up' due to body dissatisfaction, and boys and men account for 25% of eating disorder cases. What can we tell our boys to help them feel happy and confident simply being themselves? Being You has the answers! It's an easy-to-read, evidence-based guide to developing a positive body image for boys aged 12+. It covers all the facts on puberty, diet, exercise, self-care, mental health, social media, and everything in-between. Boys will find answers to the questions most on their mind, the truth behind many diet and exercise myths, and real-life stories from other boys. Armed with this book, they will understand that muscles don't make a man - it's enough simply being you!
Adventure, drama and the best superhero gang since Avengers Assemble, this picture book has the lot. The gang (little children all) have a great spot to play in and they like it very much. But when Solo, their worst enemy arrives, no-one can stand up to her and stop her spoiling it, not super-strong Brick or speedy Thunderbolt, or even brave Hero. No-one that is but Pip, a small pipsqueak with no obvious super-hero talents. Pip has one thing that Solo doesn’t though – the gang, and that’s what makes him powerful. The story explains with clarity and humour how much of a superpower it is to have friends, and that friends make things fun, not locations, no matter how great. It’s funny and satisfying and will be enjoyed on repeated readings. Andrew Gardner has a lot of fun illustrating the superhero gang and their base too. One for pipsqueaks everywhere! You can find more books with this theme in our Collection of Brilliant Books about Friendship
June 2022 Debut of the Month | Chester Chestnut is a happy little chap, but sometimes even the happiest of chaps get worried or nervous and when this happens Chester’s tummy starts to hurt. Follow the journey of Chester Chestnut as he learns about his anxious thoughts and feelings, where they come from and how to control them. A great tool to use at home and in classrooms to discuss feelings of worry and anxiety.
No one is too small to make a change. Growing up, there is so much out of our control and so much we can feel helpless about. But together, we can make a difference. In this inspiring and practical handbook, bestselling children's author and Human Rights campaigner, Onjali Rauf, shares her top ten ways for creating change. With the help of her favourite fictional characters and some of the most inspiring people she has ever met, Onjali invites readers to dive in and discover everything there is to know about kindness, empathy, friendship and fighting for the things that matter. (Plus cool stuff like X-ray vision and deflecting negative forces.) Because with a bit of compassion, a big dollop of hope and even the smallest act of kindness, we can all make the world a better place. Hope is on the horizon; you just have to find it. Parental guidance recommended: issues related to discrimination, injustice and prejudice are included.
Interest Age Teen Reading Age 8 | Award-winning author Keren David returns with another perfectly pitched teen story in Say No to the Dress. Celebrating Jewish identity and tradition while exploring the pressures and challenges that come with being fourteen, Say No to the Dress follows the hilarious and chaotic tale of being a bridesmaid for not one, but two weddings. Keren’s narrative captures the unique anxiety and frustrations of being a teenager, as Miri finds her footing with everything from identity and self confidence to family relationships. Funny and authentic, this is a perfect pick for reluctant teen readers. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic teen readers
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month April 2022 | Award-winning poet Rachel Rooney and illustrator Zehra Hicks have already tacked Problems and Worries. Now they look at Fear using the same winning combination of Rooney’s simple and highly effective text which names and looks at several different kinds of fear and where you might find it without ever making them seem too alarming and Hicks’ bold illustrations which show that though fear may be all around us it can quite easily be seen off. An excellent book for parents and children to share and return to often.
April 2022 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month April 2022 | Full of hope and joy, this is an inspiring picture book with beautiful illustrations that will encourage all children to believe that their biggest and boldest dreams can come true. Small is a small child living in a small house, sleeping on a small bed. But being small has never stopped her from having BIG dreams…Small knows that the world is huge and exciting and full of opportunities. In her dreams she believes that she can be part of that world but she also knows that everyone will try to stop her so she sits on them, stamps on them and swallows them. But one day the dreams get too big…They escape and soon Small is the amazing explorer she has always hoped to be.
April 2022 Book of the Month | The first in a series, Blue Badger’s glowing wisdom brings Jon Klassen’s sophisticated picture books to mind. Exploring identity and feeling out-of-sorts in a gentle, relatable way, it’s sure to spark comforting conversations when shared aloud with a toddler. With an elegant palette, Ben Sanders’ elegant illustrations (think emotive colour contrasts and expressive characters) are the perfect partner to Huw Lewis Jones’ perfectly-pitched, perfectly-paced text. “White and black/ Day and night/ Badger doesn’t feel quite right/Who am I?” So begins Blue Badger’s existential quest to understand who he is. Not sure whether he’s white and black, or black and white, Badger seeks advice from a host of animals. To make matters even more confusing, he’s somehow ended up with a blue bottom. While none of the animals can quite answer his question — not Bird, Dog, Cow, Skunk, Zebra, Panda, Whale nor Penguin — Badger discovers that it doesn’t actually matter, because being kind is the “best thing of all”. Moreover, “You can be whatever you want to be!”
Activities to Help You Believe in Yourself | With full colour illustrations and a wide range of clearly explained exercises and coping strategies, this book will be a real help to children who need to find courage and build their confidence. It will enable them to identify where confidence is lacking, and it suggests lots of ways to overcome anxiety. It defines self-esteem and shows how that can be built too and the strategies described will raise children’s understanding of their emotions and help them deal with doubts and worries. In addition to a range of mental exercises, including mindfulness, it suggests physical activities that will help and underlines the benefits of being creative. Visually it’s very appealing and the tone is reassuring throughout, so that children will feel heard and empowered. A section at the back offers professional advice for parents and other adults and a useful list of further reading. A comprehensive and effective self-help guide for all children.
‘Dream big, little one’ is the message in this beautiful picture book, and it offers so many dreams to follow. They are wild, liberating and oh, so inspiring, invitations to be a star-gazer, trail-blazer; a fierce freedom-leader, a bold self-believer; a keeper of kindness and champion of change. The illustrations – vibrant and lively in a rich, warm palette – show young girls exploring the world and vividly express the hopes and joy contained in the text. Striking to look at and exhilarating to read aloud, this is very special and a lovely book to give to any little girl.
We all have feelings and, as parents, it’s very important to discuss or explain them to young children. Katie Abey’s book is an excellent means to doing just that. Over bright, lively and inviting double page spreads, a host of friendly animals demonstrate different feelings, the ones that make us feel good and those that do the opposite. Short accompanying text explains what’s happening and asks questions, ‘when do you feel calm?’ or ‘do you sometimes feel shy?’ It’s a simple but clever way to open relaxed and meaningful conversations about feelings and explain how to understand and manage them. The animals themselves are quite comical and so appealing that you’ll find yourself pausing over each page to point things out or do some counting games, and it offers lots of excellent opportunities for interactive learning. A fun, funny and very useful book.
Longlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize 2022 | Beautiful and inclusive illustrations by debut artist Nia Tudor are as warm in tone as this gentle but thought-provoking story of child agency. Only our young narrator pays any attention to the old lady and her dog, who live on a deserted plot at the corner of her street. Adults hurry by trying not to see this social nuisance, but this little girl stops to talk and imagines all the adventures this ‘Queen’ must have had to lose some teeth ‘in battle’. She persuades her Mum that it is very easy to lose your ‘palace’ and young readers will want to talk about how people fall into poverty and homelessness. So, this Queen needs some care and attention and they start to bring her tea and toast. Our narrator tells herself that the Queen is protecting their street as she looks out on her at bedtime and indeed that is exactly what the Queen does when she sees a fire start and then wakes up the whole street just in time. (Another highly topical note with fires all around the world an increasing problem and very vividly captured by stunning images) Our young heroine makes sure that everyone knows the Queen saved the day and at long last the community rallies round to provide her a home. If only in real life we could listen to empathetic young people speaking up for social justice. This lovely story will encourage young readers to believe that they can make a difference and will reinforce the belief that we all have a duty of care for ‘others’ .
This eye-catching book is a compendium of inspiring women who dared to stand up for what mattered to them and to do things that those around them said they shouldn’t or couldn’t. In words and pictures - equally lively and informative – Kate Pankhurst tells fifty true-life stories of artists, writers, doctors, scientists, champions and campaigners. To put them in chronological order (and a handy timeline at the end does just that), she features great women from Hatshepsut, Egyptian Pharoah in 1479 BCE, to NASA scientist Katherine Johnson, who died just last year. Each has a double page to themselves, cleverly laid out to be visually appealing while delivering large amounts of information. Bringing together Pankhurst’s individual volumes but adding new faces too, this is a must read for every young person, and will fascinate their parents too.
Full of a sense of tenderness but also possibilities, Songs for our Sons contains every wish you could have for a young boy growing up today, from ‘Never change, fib or follow, just to try to fit in./Be proud, free and happy in your own, unique skill’, to ‘Keep a still place inside, that you can call home/ and know how to find it, wherever your roam.’ The text is touching, heartfelt and always uplifting, while Ashling Lindsay’s illustrations depict children playing in a range of settings, from green fields to desert cities and magic trees, bold colours and shifting perspectives making every turn of the page an adventure. Giving this and receiving it, both will be a real joy.
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