This is the story of Jim, a scruffy, smelly dog with one rheumy eye. Jim works at the Victoria and Albert Museum with his owner, Sir Henry Cole, the founding director of the museum. Thompson weaves facts with a fictional account of Cole’s Christmas card endeavour in this delightfully funny tale.
Hawking’s book does a great job of mixing facts with fiction. The story follows Princess Olivia from the palace to her new home and readers get the opportunity to learn about climate change which is an increasingly important topic. Princess Olivia, who isn’t fussed about being a princess at all, is a very determined protagonist. She is delighted when she learns that she will not be a princess anymore.
Jack is a very small and bendy boy. So small and bendy that he can hide inside his own school bag! Jack’s mum is in prison for theft and he’s never met his dad, so he is forced to stay in a windowless cupboard in drippy Aunt Violet’s house with his smelly Uncle Ted and evil cousin Kelly. But his favourite thing to do is to escape to Old Mr. Mudge’s junkyard and ride the horses, Lightning and Boadicea the Shetland pony. Events conspire and he accidentally runs away, finding himself on an adventure to free his mum from prison – with the help of Boadicea and a host of talking animals.
Libenson’s graphic novel follows two girls and their struggles to navigate middle school. Izzy is a dreamer who loves acting and drama, but struggles to focus on her work, which leads to frustration at home, while Bri is a straight A student, who wants to be seen for more than her brain.
Sabina Radeva, who wrote and illustrated this beautiful book, set herself quite a task on explaining Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to children. She knows her science though – she’s a molecular biologist who was determined to mix science and art to make Darwin’s theory accessible for youngsters. She’s succeeded admirably by breaking it down into bite-sized chunks on principles such as instinct, natural selection and migration.
Humza is determined he is going to make it big. With his sidekick, aka best friend Umer, by his side, how could he fail to realise his potential to become the greatest rapper Eggington has ever seen or heard? The problem is it’s hard to follow your path to greatness when it is blocked by a cricket-obsessed father and more interfering aunties that any child should be forced to endure.
George’s father will not allow any mention of Christmas since the death of George’s mother on Christmas Eve three years ago. But when George discovers a shop that sells magical items and a snow globe which has captured one of his own memories, he and his Dad are whisked away to see Christmas past, present and future.
Ellie is the main character in Orphans of the Tide and she is clever and quick-witted, much more so than any of the adults in the novel! She lives in the last city that was built on top of a mountain in order to avoid the rising waterline. The people there live in fear of the Enemy, who is a fallen god and can only take shape in a human body known as the Vessel. When Seth is cut from the belly of a whale by Ellie, he is presumed to be the Vessel they all fear.
‘Fidget is not a fetch and carry dog, not a lie by the fire dog.’ He is full of mischief, mayhem and fun. In this gem of a book by Galway author Patricia Forde and illustrator Rachel Saunders, a little girl tells us about her beloved dog, Fidget, who gets up to all sorts of antics to the amusement of his owner.
‘When was the first time you felt empowered as a Black person – that you deeply believed you could live your dreams?’ This is the question that introduces the reader to Hey You!, a richly illustrated story of love, belief, and the realities of growing up Black, created by Dapo Adeola and illustrated by eighteen other Black illustrators.
