Diverse Representation Archives - Page 4 of 7

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Diverse Representation

Sat
06 ^th

From The Stars In The Sky To The Fish In The Sea By Kai Cheng Thom, Wai-Yant Il & Kai Yun Chung

There are so many reasons to love this magical and unique story, not least because it’s the first children’s book I have encountered which features a non-binary character using they/them/their pronouns.

From the moment they are born, little Miu-Lan is different to other children. Neither boy or girl, they are are a magical being able to shape shift at their will from one fantastical creature to another. Miu-Lan changes their appearance at will to reflect how they are feeling – one day they may soar through the skies with wings and feathers and the next have scales and a tail to swim through the ocean. Supported by their amazing mother who encourages them to be whoever they want whenever they want, Miu-Lan is happy.

Sat
22 ^nd

Me And My Fear
by Francesca Sanna

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If you’ve been following us for a while you’ll know that we are big fans of picture books which take on big emotions and break them down in a way which makes it easy for children to digest. Me And My Fear by Francesca Sanna is one of the best we’ve seen.

The book is about a little girl who has moved to a new country and is starting a new school. She has always lived with fear, who is depicted as a little ghost-like creature who goes everywhere with her – but the prospect of this new school causes her fear to grow so large that it takes up more space than she does. It fills her whole house and stops her from leaving her home. This super-sized fear doesn’t want her to go to school and doesn’t want her to make new friends. As a result the girl is lonely and her experience at her new school is a miserable one.

Wed
19 ^th

Pink Is For Boys
by Robb Pearlman & Eda Kaban

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There are lots of books out there which teach small children about colours, but this one is definitely our favourite as it also challenges gender stereotypes.

The old adage that pink is for girls and blue is for boys has no place in modern times. Every colour is for everybody and this book illustrates this really well. As we move through the colours of the rainbow we are shown boys and girls wearing each of the colours and partaking in activities which are often seen as gendered.

We see both boys and girls dressed in pink at a fancy party, boys and girls dressed in blue playing team sports, boys and girls dressed in yellow and wearing golden crowns and boys and girls dressed in green running through the grass. It encourages your child to express themselves using whichever colours and pastimes they like best, rather than those which society pushes them towards.

Sun
16 ^th

One Love
by Cedella Marley & Vanessa Brantley-Newton

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Adapted by his daughter Cedella, this beautiful little board book takes the lyrics of Bob Marley’s much-loved song and makes them accessible to children. The song is about unity and brotherhood and we see this play out in the gorgeous illustrations which accompany the words.

At the start of the book we see a little girl playing with her friends in a green space which is overgrown and filled with rubbish. As we move through the pages we see the people of the culturally diverse neighbourhood come together and make plans for a park. All of the adults and children work hard to achieve this goal and everyone contributes something. They gather up rubbish, they rake the grass, and they bring flowers and seeds to plant borders.

Wed
05 ^th

The Dog That Ate The World By Sandra Dieckmann

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Down in the valley life is happy and peaceful – bears, foxes and birds roam the beautiful countryside. The different species live harmoniously alongside each other.

Then one day a big dog appears. The dog has a terrible hunger and eats everything in his sight. To try and calm him, a fox steps forward and plays a tune on his fiddle, but the dog just gobbles him up. The fox continues to play his tune from within the dog’s tummy and it’s heard by some brave bunnies who try to rescue him – but they also find themselves in the belly of the beast.

The dog refuses to listen to reason and continues to feed his hunger by consuming everything in his path – but deep in his tummy a community of animals is coming together. They light a fire and sit down to talk of the future. Together, they work together to rebuild their world on the inside.

Fri
31 ^st

All Are Welcome By Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman

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All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman is a fantastic book about diversity and inclusion which can hold Ivy’s attention for ages as the illustrations are super detailed!

The simple story follows a class of children as they go about their day. We see them arrive at class, go through their lessons, eat their lunch, have story time, play in the playground, get picked up by their parents and then go home for dinner before being tucked up in bed. It’s a very normal day for the average child.

What is wonderful is that each of the 30 children in the class is different and we see those differences celebrated throughout the book and reinforced with the regular refrain that ‘All are welcome here’.

Wed
29 ^th

The Girls By Lauren Ace & Jenny Løvlie

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Ladies – I guarantee that when you read this book you will want to buy a copy for each of your childhood friends. It is stunning!

The book is about a group of four little girls who find friendship under an apple tree. Despite having very different personalities, they share stories, adventures and scraped knees, forming a bond that will last a lifetime.

The character traits that we see in the girls as children follow them in to adulthood as we watch them chase their dreams and find love (and heartbreak). Their situations change and they don’t see each other as often as they’d like but their apple tree is always there, getting stronger and growing roots that reach ever deeper.

Wed
22 ^nd

The Only Way Is Badger
by Stella J Jones & Carmen Saldaña

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This beautifully illustrated book about a group of woodland animals is extremely topical and we love it!

Badger is very proud of being a badger and he thinks that badgers are best. So much so that he thinks that everyone should be a badger! To try and make this a reality he builds a wall around the forest and puts posters up on all the trees encouraging the other animals to ‘be more badger’.

He’s a very confident public speaker so when he tells everyone that badgers are best the animals begin to wonder if he could be right and they question their own identities.

Sun
12 ^th

The Queen Engineer By Suzanne Hemming & Jacquie Hughes

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If you’re a fan of books with strong female characters then this new one from Suzanne Hemming (author of ‘She’s Not Good For A Girl, She’s Just Good‘) is definitely for you.

The story is about a young princess called Florence who has her heart set on becoming a great engineer. She has the brain and the ambition but she has one problem – her father, the King, says that instead of pursuing her dream career she has to marry a Prince and have babies.

Young Flo is devastated. She has no problem with Princes and babies but she also wants to be a great engineer and the King says she can’t do both. She flees the palace and bumps in to her old babysitter, who sits and listens to her woes. The lady tells her that you always have to be who you are, not who other people think you should be. She shows Flo a picture of her wedding day (where she married a Princess) and says that when you follow your heart, some people will accept who you are and some won’t but what matters most is that you are always true to yourself.

Wed
08 ^th

Ella Queen of Jazz
by Helen Hancocks

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Until a few years ago I wasn’t aware that Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe had been friends and that without each other they may never have reached their true potential or become the icons they are today. It’s a fantastic story and i’m so glad this book exists so that I can share it with Ivy.

The empowering tale starts with Ella Fitzgerald, a woman of colour with a truly amazing voice. She tours the country playing in small jazz clubs with her band but unfortunately there are many places where she isn’t welcome. Because of the colour of her skin, many venues refuse to let her play, including the largest and most well-known club of all.

But unbeknown to Ella, she has a fan who is soon to become a friend. An actress called Marilyn Monroe loves Ella’s music so she calls the club and says that if the owner books Ella to play for a week she will personally visit each night and sit in the front row, ensuring the paparazzi and press will be there. The owner agrees, Marilyn sticks to her word and Ella gets the opportunity to play to large audiences every night. She is a hit and becomes a huge star.

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