This heartwarming picturebook tells the tale of a girl who sets sail from her fishing village to explore the wonders of the world. In a small boat that is ‘scruffy and scratched, but as strong as can be,’ the girl journeys ‘on the glittering sea, humble and quiet but brave as can be.’ Each night the other villagers watch her return home empty-handed and ask her ‘what did you get?’ But the brave little girl just smiles.
Maya is a budding influencer and plans to use her French exchange trip to Paris as a treasure trove of content for her page. However, her trip does not get off to a great start when she finds out she is paired with grumpy Levi. They have nothing in common; he doesn’t even have social media! Well, they do have one similarity. They both have a physical disability: Levi is a wheelchair user, while Maya is an amputee and wears a prosthetic leg. This book allows for two very important conversations to unfold – the issue of social media addiction and the stereotypes surrounding disability.
Theo’s cousin Rama comes to visit, but this time it’s different. Rama has lost her mother. While Theo tries to find ways to connect with his grief-stricken cousin, he also shares with the reader what he misses about his Auntie; how she danced with them, taught them how to cook, and the sound of her bangles.
Dotty is a doughnut; a simple ring doughnut covered in sugar and cinnamon. As she sits on the bottom shelf in the bakery, she wishes that she was fabulous, like the fancy doughnuts on the top shelf. One day, she spots a little girl coming into the shop, and she decides she should become more like the fancy doughnuts so that the girl will choose her. In this uplifting tale, Dotty discovers the power of being herself.
Everyone knows a Goody like Chirton Krauss – he washes his hands after going to the bathroom, he eats his broccoli, he goes to bed on time and never, ever picks his nose. And as much as Chriton is good, his little sister Myrtle, is not. This tale of the well-behaved sibling and the naughty sibling is one that will resonate with children everywhere.
Maya Bright, our 12-year-old protagonist, is not going to let the loss of her leg stop her from living her best life. Returning to school after a life-changing accident, Maya is determined to cross everything off her life goals list before she turns thirteen. These goals include getting her ears double pierced, having a silent disco, and learning how to roller-skate. This might be more difficult with her prosthesis, but her friends Vita and Miles are there to help and to cheer her on at every turn.
Priya Mistry is your local corner shop super sleuth, and she’s onto something! Join her as she follows the trail of pawprint clues that lead through her parents’ shop. What will she find at the other end? Fairies? Dinosaurs? It’s a mystery alright, and she’s the girl to crack the case.
From page one, Holland captures the reader’s interest and transports them into an intoxicating and alluring world where myth, fantasy and familial love collide. From the outset of the novel, the stakes are high, as blood and time are intertwined to form the currency of the citizens of Sempera. It is an unjust system, allowing the rich to live for decades, while the poor bleed themselves dry.
This delightful picturebook by author– illustrator Emma Dodd is a sweet and gentle celebration of the wonderful person that is, well … me! In rhyming verse, the reader thanks each part of their body: toes for wiggling, mouth for giggling and so on. The take-home message is: with all of these wonderful parts that my body has, I should be very happy to be me.
This book is delightful and well deserves its Caldecott Medal. A new lighthouse-keeper arrives at his remote lighthouse. We read a list of his duties – tending the lamp, winding the clockwork, painting the walls, fishing, cooking, mending, watching and, most importantly, noting everything in his log book. We are given a small taste of this log book at the start. We see that he does needlepoint (we are delighted to spot the finished picture later).
