Diverse Representation Archives - Page 5 of 7

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Diverse Representation

Tue
31 ^st

Ivy And The Lonely Raincloud
by Katie Harnett

I definitely didn’t buy this one just because the little girl in it is called Ivy. Ok – maybe I did! But it turned out to be a good gamble as it’s a really lovely book with gorgeous illustrations.

The story starts with a little raincloud who is feeling lonely. The sun has come out so all his friends have gone away and he has no one to talk to. He sets off in search of a friend but no one seems to want him (and his raindrops) around.

He keeps searching until he spots a little girl who looks just as unhappy about the sunshine as he is. She’s grumpy in the market, grumpy on the tube and even grumpy when she gets home and tends to her garden. He starts to think that maybe the little girl is not really grumpy, just sad. He watches her in fascination as she looks after her plants, which seem to be struggling in the sun, and then he has an idea. If he rains on the plants and makes them grow, is it possible the little girl might smile again?

Sat
21 ^st

We Are Family By Patricia Hegarty & Ryan Wheatcroft

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We adore this gorgeous book about families and have spent many hours poring over the amazingly detailed illustrations.

The lovely rhyme explores the concept of family, showing how they are there for each other in good times and bad. You see daytime routines, hospital visits, holidays, little household disasters and most importantly, love.

The beauty of the book is that the illustrations show ten different families going through all of the above. Each family is different but the book helps children see that although their family may not look like the same as somebody else’s, the experiences they go through and the love that they feel are all essentially the same.

Tue
10 ^th

My Little Book Of Big Freedoms By Amnesty International & Chris Riddell

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This beautiful little book from Amnesty International and Chris Riddell seems very appropriate right now given all of the things which are going on around the world.

‘My Little Book of Big Freedoms’ is a simplified version of the Human Rights Act with fantastic illustrations which will help your child understand each point. Showing 16 different ‘freedoms’ including family, love, hope, mercy and knowledge, it highlights why our human rights are so important and why we all need to work together to protect them.

The format takes a heavy topic and makes it really accessible for children. For parents it offers a great introduction to human rights and I would imagine it’s also a very useful tool for primary school teachers. It’s definitely one that should feature in school libraries.

Fri
06 ^th

Last Stop On Market Street By Matt De La Pena & Christian Robinson

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It’s easy to see why this beautiful book was a New York Times Bestseller. The warm and multi-layered story about a boy and his grandmother gets me every time we read it.

As they do every Sunday, CJ and his Nana go to church then take the bus to Market Street to help at a soup kitchen. On this particular day it is raining and young CJ is cold and uncomfortable. He questions why they have to catch the bus when all of his friends have cars, and even why they have to go to church at all.

Rather than reprimanding him, his Nana uses this as an opportunity to point out all of the things which make their journey together special and the sights and experiences they would miss out on if they didn’t go to church and didn’t get the bus. This includes a host of fascinating, culturally diverse characters including an old lady with a jar of butterflies, a heavily tattooed man and a man with a guitar.

Sun
24 ^th

My World, Your World By Melanie Walsh

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This lovely book by Melanie Walsh celebrates cultural diversity in a smart but simple way which is perfect for toddlers.

Each cycle of 3 pages introduces two characters and shows us how they are different but ultimately how they are the same. For example we meet Kavita who wears a sari to school and Jacob who wears snow boots and a big jacket. Their uniforms may be very different because of where they live but they both wear trainers/sneakers for gym class. We also meet Muhib, who rides an elephant and Edie, who rides a horse. their modes of transport are different but they both like to ride skateboards at the skate park.

It’s such a simple idea but it’s so effective. Children around the world may not look the same and their experiences of day to day to life may be very different – but we are all one people and we share this one world.

Ivy loves the cute illustrations and I feel that when she’s a tiny bit older it will be a great way of starting a conversation about different cultures and our similarities and differences.

But it now: https://amzn.to/2tdqDHl

Wed
20 ^th

Beautiful By Stacy McAnulty & Joanne Lew Vriethoff

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I spotted someone talking about this book over on Instagram a few weeks ago and liked the look of it so much that I just had a to buy a copy. Thank you to The HSP Bookshelf for bringing it to our attention!

Little girls are constantly told that they are beautiful and of course this is true, but this comes with a lot of pressure for girls to conform to society’s idea of beauty. This empowering book takes the concept of beauty and turns it on its head.

The words give a very old-fashioned view of what it means to be beautiful – you should be well dressed, good with make up, well behaved, smiling and sweet smelling. However the wonderful illustrations tell a different story and give you a thoroughly modern and healthy take on beauty.

Thu
14 ^th

Billy And The Beast By Nadia Shireen

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This one was only published a few weeks ago but I have read it so many times since it arrived that it feels like we’ve had it forever.

Billy and Fatcat are taking a walk through the woods when they stumble across a nasty beast who has hatched an evil plan. He has captured a fox, a hedgehog, 2 mice and 3 super cute bunnies and he plans to boil them up in to soup.

Quick-thinking Billy soon has the Beast in a tizz but, armed with only the items she has stashed in her amazing afro, can she save the animals from the soup before it is too late?

We love this book. It has all the right ingredients for a great children’s story – a feisty female protagonist, a feline sidekick, a scary monster and a whole host of adorable woodland animals!

Sun
03 ^rd

Prince & Knight By Daniel Haack & Stevie Lewis

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I think representation is SO important in children’s books so when I spotted this LGBT-friendly book I knew we had to add it to our library.

Prince & Knight is a beautiful fairy tale set in a magical world of castles and dragons which has a wonderfully diverse twist. The prince of the realm has come of age so his parents set about trying to help him find a bride. He meets many, many ladies but none of them catch his eye. He’s looking for something different but he just doesn’t know what that is.

Whilst they are on their travels, the kingdom is attacked by a mighty dragon and it seems like all may be lost. The brave Prince rides off on his horse and soon come face to face with the fire-breathing monster – but it seems that he will not have to fight this battle alone. A magnificent Knight appears and they work together to bring the evil dragon down.

Wed
30 ^th

Mermaid By Cerrie Burnell & Laura Ellen Anderson

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Luka lives by the seaside and is fascinated by the ocean but his family don’t share his interest at all. He really wants to learn to swim but he doesn’t have anyone to teach him so instead he watches the waves and wonders what it might be like.

One day he spots a girl having fun in the water and she moves so gracefully that he thinks it must be a mermaid. He watches her for a long time until she swims up to the pier and is pulled gently out of the water by her father. He is so mesmerised by her that he barely notices the fact she uses a wheelchair on land – all he can see is her smile.

She tells him that her name is Sylvia and she offers to teach him to swim. By the end of the next day Luka is able to float on the waves all by himself and his family are very proud of his achievement.

Sun
27 ^th

Izzy Gizmo By Pip Jones & Sara Ogilvie

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Little Izabelle loves to invent things. Her house is full of things she has made – from the Beardtastic grooming machine to the Swirly Spagsonic mealtime helper – but the problem is that they’re all in states of disrepair. Izzy loves to make things but when they break down she is too frustrated to try and fix them. She just gives up and moves on to the next project.

One day an injured crow falls in to her path. The local vet tells her that he has a broken wing which can’t be fixed so Izzy takes him home to look after him. She tries lots of ways to keep him entertained on the ground but the poor little crow just wants to be airborne again.

Spotting an opportunity to invent something new, Izzy sets about making a pair of wings but they’re too heavy and don’t work. Disillusioned, she immediately wants to give up but her grandpa and the crow won’t let her! They gently encourage her to have another go so she tries again. And again. And again.

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