Marking the great Michael Rosen’s 80th birthday, this collection, with visual accompaniment from five different illustrators, is, as the subtitle suggests, a celebration of a long life in poetry. It comprises of many well-loved and some perhaps lesser-known poems, and is broken up into five sections, illustrated in rotation by the different artists including Yasmeen Ismail, Polly Dunbar, Quentin Blake, Ken Wilson-Max and Bob Graham.
Nano adores his big brother Felix. He says that they are best friends, that they invented wrestling and that Felix is ‘totally grape’ (their code words for ‘really cool’). Unfortunately, Felix doesn’t always reciprocate these feelings … This book about sibling rivalry depicts how two young brothers navigate their relationship in a humorous and relatable way.
A young boy is searching for his missing pet and decides to visit each of his five unconventional neighbours; a police officer, two clowns, a cowboy, a mermaid, and a dragon; to ask if they’ve seen him.
Navigating loss can be tough. Sixteen-year-old Noori’s grief is made even tougher as family tensions rise, leaving her feeling completely alone. Seventeen-year-old Aamir is running away from his past, and his grief. Over a week, the two become intertwined. Bonding over their shared love of Rumi’s poetry, their feelings of isolation and the unexpected invisible thread that links them together.
Kurara has spent her entire life as a servant aboard the Midori, a flying ship serving the military elite of the Mikoshiman Empire, a world comprised of floating cities. Kurara has also been hiding a secret, she possesses a unique ability: the power to make folded paper figures come to life. When the Midori is attacked Kurara’s secret is revealed as a highly valued power throughout the empire and she is forced into a perilous escape.
This non-fiction book provides young readers who experience anxiety with information and strategies to better support themselves in their daily teenage life, as well as into adulthood. In sharing her own experiences with anxiety, the author creates a compassionate environment that imparts no judgement or criticism on an individual’s feelings.
Indie is a little girl with a big imagination and an even bigger personality. Featuring four short adventures, each story invites readers into a new role for the day as Indie decides what she’ll be when she grows up.
What happens to the chosen one once they’ve grown up? In this graphic novel we find out what the world looks like after the heroes have won, the darkness is banished, and life attempts to return to normal.
This book is an explosion of colour and positivity and contains a strong message for its young readers about both freedom and acceptance. There is no conventional storyline within the book, rather the text addresses children directly, emphasising the importance of just being themselves, while allowing others the freedom to do the same. The text rhymes, and features some lovely, lyrical verse, which makes it perfect for reading aloud.
At only twenty pages, this little board book is short and simple, yet it packs a surprising amount of humour and heart in such a short span.
