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Fri
24 ^th

I Will Be Fierce
by Bea Birdsong & Nidhi Chanani

I love picture books where the words and illustrations work in opposition and ‘I Will Be Fierce!’ is the best example I have seen.

The pictures show a young girl moving through an ordinary day at school but the words are those of a fierce knight going in to battle, determined to make the world a better place. The result is a powerful narrative which teaches children that they can be the hero of their own story.

At the start of the day we see the protagonist don her armour (a stripy jumper), fill her treasure chest (a rucksack of books) and head out in to the world. On her way to school she fearlessly faces monsters (dogs), giants (older children) and a dragon (the school bus). The day continues in this wonderful manner as we encounter more mythical beasts (like the Guardian of Wisdom – the school librarian) and battle against doubt and injustice.

Thu
23 ^rd

Dev and Ollie: Colour Carnival
by Shweta Aggarwal & Somnath Chatterjee

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Dev is a little boy who loves football but absolutely hates anything messy, like paint, sand or muddy puddles. When his mum reminds him about an upcoming art class he goes to bed feeling anxious, until his magical friend Ollie the owl taps on his window.

Ollie sweeps Dev on to his back and carries him to Agra where thousands of people are celebrating Holi, an ancient Hindu festival. Dev watches in wonder as all around him children dance, sing and play covered in powder paint and coloured water.

Suddenly he is hit by a water balloon and his pyjamas become an explosion of paint splatters. Can he overcome his dislike of mess and embrace the colourful traditions of Holi?

Wed
22 ^nd

The Pirates Are Coming!
by John Condon & Matt Hunt

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Little Tom spends his days watching for pirates from atop a hill next to the village where he lives. When he spots a boat he shouts ‘THE PIRATES ARE COMING!’ and all the villagers quickly hide. However it soon becomes apparent that it’s just a little fishing boat, and not a pirate ship at all.

Undeterred, Tom climbs back up the hill and continues to watch the horizon. Each time he spots a boat he yells down to the village and everyone hides – but it’s always a false alarm.

But then one day he spots a very large ship with a pirate flag! He yells ‘THE PIRATES ARE COMING!’ but everyone ignores him. Tom is never right about the boats so they don’t think there’s any point hiding. How wrong they are! The ship docks and a motley crew of pirates disembark. The villagers soon realise their mistake and scramble to their hiding places…

Tue
21 ^st

Be Kind
by Pat Zietlow Miller & Jen Hill

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

When Tanisha spills purple grape juice all over her favourite dress everybody in the school cafeteria laughs at her.

As she runs from the room in tears one lone girl wants to help but she just doesn’t know how. Later Tanisha returns to class wearing her art smock and the girl thinks about what she should have done. Could she have shared a napkin so Tanisha could dry herself? Should she have let her borrow her jumper? Should she have poured juice over herself as well to deflect the laughter?

As she sits painting a picture she ponders what it means to be kind. Is it giving or helping? Is it listening or sharing? Being kind should be easy, so why is it sometimes so hard?

Tue
21 ^st

A Little Bit Worried
by Ciara Gavin & Tim Warnes

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

Weasel is a worrier, so when he gets caught in a storm one day his anxiety levels go through the roof. The rain soaks him, the wind blows him over and just when he thinks he can’t take anymore the heavens open and it begins to hail. Weasel feels very small in comparison to the big storm so he decides to hide himself away.

He builds himself a little house out of stone and soon he feels a lot safer. As time passes Weasel gets more and more used to being at home by himself so he never ventures outdoors. It’s far too scary out there.

But then one day Mole appears and Weasel doesn’t know what to do. Mole wants to play hide and seek, drink tea and have fun. He doesn’t understand that this is Weasel’s fortress which keeps hims safe from the world.

Mon
20 ^th

Count to 100
by Pat-A-Cake Books & Villie Karabatzia

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

This fabulous counting book will take your child from their baby days right through to pre-school.

Made from heavy duty board, it first highlights the all important numbers 1 through 10 before moving to multiples of 10 in the later pages. Each number is illustrated with a familiar theme and there is A LOT of detail to explore.

If your child likes dinosaurs then they can see what 30 dinos look like all on one page. And how many of those dinosaurs have stripes? How many are red?

If vehicles are their thing then how about 70 of them on one double page spread? How many cars are there? What colour is the rocket? Which animal is riding a surfboard? You get the idea!

Mon
20 ^th

Children of the World
by Tessa Strickland, Kate DePalma & David Dean

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

We have so much love for this gorgeous book which takes you on a visual journey around the world.

Every child is unique but sometimes it can be difficult for kids to grasp just how different their own experience of growing up can be compared to others. These beautifully illustrated pages feature children from all walks of life and offer a fascinating insight in to childhood experiences around the world.

It looks at different homes, families, bodies, clothes, skin colours, hats, leisure activities, working lives (including working children), food, methods of bathing, languages, names, religions and more. I can genuinely see the wonder on Ivy’s face as she picks through the information and asks questions about all the little details in the pictures.

Sun
19 ^th

The Bedtime Book
by S Marendaz & Carly Gledhill

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

This lovely book about friendship is the perfect snuggly bedtime read!

Mouse has lost her favourite bedtime book and is feeling very sad. She enlists the help of her friend Frank the sausage dog and the two head out in to the night to try and track it down.

Frank’s clever nose sniffs out a trail and soon they have their first clue. The book was found by Bella the cat, who popped it near the flowerbeds so that it could be easily found by its owner. Excited, they head to the correct spot only to discover that Owl has already moved it and given it to Baby Hedgehog as a gift!

Sat
18 ^th

Antiracist Baby
by Ibram X. Kendi & Ashley Lukashevsky

Posted by Shelley Edwards - No Comments

It has always been important to me that we have a diverse bookshelf at home. The books we read feature different races, different religions and different types of families because I want Ivy to grow up knowing that everybody’s life is important and valid.

However recent events have taught me that this is not enough. Teaching her to be kind is not enough. Teaching her to be aware of racism is not enough. Unless we actively teach our children to be anti-racist things won’t change.

For us, one of the steps in this process has been reading this excellent picture book from Ibram X. Kendi, who is the Director of the Centre for Antiracist Research at Boston University.

Thu
16 ^th

First Day at Bug School by Sam Lloyd

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It’s the first day of bug school and the playground is full of tiny creatures nervously waving goodbye to their parents. They needn’t worry through, as Mrs. Bumblebee is there to steer them through their big day.

First comes registration then the bugs get stuck in to their classes, learning lots of interesting thngs which will help them grow in to confident little mini-beasts. The spiders learn all about human dangers (like water spouts, plug holes and vacuum cleaners), the crickets sing enthusiastically in music class and the ladybirds count each others spots in maths.

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