LGBTQ Archives - Ivy's Library

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LGBTQ

Thu
24 ^th

The Pirate Mums
by Jodie Lancet-Grant & Lydia Corry

Here is another great pick for Pride Month – The Pirate Mums by Jodie Lancet-Grant and Lydia Corry. It’s a swashbuckling adventure about pirates, the high seas and slightly embarrassing parents.

Billy’s family is a little bit different and sometimes this can be hard. He worries a lot about what his friends might think and sometimes just wishes his parents were a tad more ‘normal’. Why? Well his two mums have a penchant for all things piratey. They sing sea shanties all day long, they take their pet parrot for walks, they decorate the house with fishing nets and insist on using smelly old maps. They are SO EMBARRASSING!

When Billy’s teacher announces that the class will be going on a trip to the seaside and taking a boat ride, naturally his mums volunteer to help. The little boy is mortified because he knows his friends will make fun of their pirate-led fashion sense and their fondness for words like matey, scallywag and buccaneer.

Sun
06 ^th

Interview: Ian Eagleton,
Author of ‘Nen and the Lonely Fisherman’

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Hello Ian! Thank you so much for chatting to me about your debut book ‘Nen and the Lonely Fisherman.

Could you give us a little overview of what the book is about?

At its heart, Nen and the Lonely Fisherman is about hope and finding that someone special in your life. Nen spends his days exploring his underwater kingdom, but is lonely and wants more from his life. He ventures to the surface and meets a lonely, quiet fisherman who spends his days looking after the beaches. But Nen’s father, Pelagios, is furious that his son is spending so much time with a human – humans are destroying his precious oceans. So, he creates a terrifying sea storm and Ernest is thrown into the waves. Can Nen save him and can they convince Pelagios that two people from two very different worlds can be together?

Wed
02 ^nd

Nen and the Lonely Fisherman
by Ian Eagleton & James Mayhew

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

June is Pride Month in the UK – the perfect time for the publication of Nen and the Lonely Fisherman, an LGBTQ+ reimagining of The Little Mermaid.

Nen the Merman loves his ocean home but deep down he knows that something is missing. He’s not quite sure what he’s looking for but he starts to explore the world above the waves, singing soulfully of the yearning he feels in his heart.

One day Nen’s song is heard by Ernest, a lonely fisherman, and suddenly everything clicks into place. The two quickly realise they have a very special connection and are filled with a sense of hope for the future.

Fri
16 ^th

Neither
by Airlie Anderson

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

If you’re looking for picture books which teach acceptance and encourage children to celebrate their differences then you NEED to have this story on your shelf. It’s such a simple story but it packs a very powerful punch.

In The Land of This and That there are two types of creatures – blue bunnies and yellow birds. Everyone is either one or the other, until the day an egg hatches and out pops Neither.

Neither isn’t a blue bunny or a yellow bird so everyone is a little confused. They see their green body, their bunny ears and their bird-like feet and they demand to know what they are. They cheerfully explains that they’re both but the creatures of the land declare this impossible. They can’t be both therefore they must be neither.

Mon
17 ^th

My Friends And Me
by Stephanie Stansbie & Katy Halford

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Ivy and I are big fans of this colourful picture book which celebrates different kinds of families and the bond between parent and child.

Jamie lives with his grandparents and he thinks they are the coolest grown-ups he knows. He has lots of friends and he loves the fact that each of them has a different family set up, because it makes playing with them so interesting.

Kate has two dads who take her for brunch. Harry has one mum who is ace at baking cakes and pretending to be a pirate. Olivia has two mums and three siblings. Lily’s parents are separated so she has two houses and even two bedrooms!

Fri
10 ^th

Meet the Publisher: Parakeet Books

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

We’re the Parakeet Books team: Sheju and Judy. Fed up with the same old books on offer to our own children we started to make our own. We’ve been making inclusive and diverse books for the last two years. Our vibrant, warm and entertaining stories are told through underrepresented groups – central characters who are BAME, people of colour, female or LGBT+.

Having read in cafes and schools we always find that children either don’t notice difference or they love it. The two mums in our book, Eve’s New Brother, never get questioned by our audiences, they just accept that family for what it is. But the relationship between Eve and her brother has them enthralled. In Buddy’s Pancakes they kids afterwards all want to talk about pancakes, in the Mysterious Dinosaurs of Crystal Palace they all want to talk about guess what… dinosaurs. The idea that kids books with main characters who are Black or have a disability or have same-sex parents are niche is totally bogus. It’s an adult assumption and cannot be dressed up as anything other than prejudice. The mainstream publishing world is too slow to change and now is the time for them to pick their feet up and catch up with what readers want.

Sat
13 ^th

Stella Brings the Family
by Miriam B. Schiffer & Holly Clifton-Brown

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Stella has two dads. This has never been an issue but when her teacher announces they’re going to be throwing a special Mother’s Day party she finds herself in a bit of a pickle. She doesn’t have a mum so who is she supposed to invite?

As the other children play, Stella finds herself worrying about the party. She can’t concentrate on anything and she doesn’t want to eat. She doesn’t know how to explain that she doesn’t have a mum to bring to the party.

Eventually her friends ask her what the matter is and she tries to explain. The children are surprised and they have lots of questions. If she doesn’t have a mum then who makes her packed lunch? Who reads her a bedtime story? Who gives her kisses when she hurts herself? Stella explains that her two dads do all of these things for her and more. Plus she has Nonna, Aunt Gloria, Uncle Bruno and Cousin Lucy. She has a whole host of people who love her – but she still doesn’t have a guest for the Mother’s day party.

Fri
10 ^th

The Girl With Two Dads
by Mel Elliott

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When Pearl discovers that there’s going to be a new girl called Matilda in her class she gets very excited. She can’t find wait to find out what she’s like! She watches Matilda say goodbye to her dad and over the course of the day they become firm friends. Together they climb trees, run around the playground and jump in muddy puddles.

But then the next day Pearl spots something interesting. When Matilda’s dad drops her off at school, it’s a completely different dad. How can she have two dads? Confused, Pearl starts to ask her new friend lots of questions. Matilda explains that a family doesn’t necessarily mean having one mum and one dad, and she has two dads who love each other.

Wed
11 ^th

Felix’s New Skirt by Kerstin Brichzin & Igor Kuprun

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Felix loves to wear skirts. He likes how they feel, how they spin, and he particularly likes the fact they mean he can run faster and climb more easily. Felix borrows them from his older sister and his supportive mum even takes him to buy one of his own.

When Felix starts school he’s really excited about the prospect of wearing his new skirt but his parents aren’t so keen. They are worried that the other children won’t understand and that he will be bullied. However after a few days they finally relent and Felix is very excited about showing his outfit to his friends.

However all does not go well at the school gates where he is met with laughter and confusion. His friends tell him he looks like a girl and even the other parents whisper to each other that it just isn’t right. Felix has a very sad day at school and doesn’t understand why everyone just points and laughs. Girls can wear trousers, so why can’t boys wear skirts?

Sat
27 ^th

Eve’s New Brother
by Sheju Adiyatiparambil-John, Judy Skidmore & Anastasiya Epishina

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Eve is very close to her two mummies, so when baby Stanley joins the family she isn’t quite sure what to expect. She hopes that he’ll play with her and share her love of trains, but she knows that babies cry a lot and she’s not looking forward to the dirty nappies!

The path they tread will be a familiar one for many parents of more than one child. Eve is initially excited about the new baby but this quickly turns to resentment as Stanley gets lots of attention for things she doesn’t deem that interesting. He can’t talk, he can’t play and he messes with her train set all the time. Eve decides that there’s only one thing for it – Stanley will have to go back to wherever he came from so that she can have her mummies back!

Then one day, Eve throws a ball and everything changes. Stanley wobbles towards it on uncertain legs, picks it up and returns it. A game! As Stanley’s ability to interact with the world grows, Eve realises that maybe there’s room in this family (and her heart) for a little brother after all.

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