Mental health and wellbeing

The first collection of its kind, Black & Irish is an exciting non-fiction book that celebrates many iconic Black Irish people and their achievements. With actors, writers, fashion influencers, doctors, activists, musicians, sports stars, academics, and many more, this book acts as a tribute to several inspirational figures of all ages.

The pressures on students at an elite Belfast secondary school are intricately woven into this realistic and gritty tale, as told in the voices of friends Charlotte and Drew. Charlotte is wealthy, privileged, under the strict eye of her mother, and is being blackmailed by her Ex. Drew is a working-class newcomer, a fish-out-of-water who makes a damaging, drunken mistake.

In a woodland, a little troop of creatures play, bake and talk about what it means to be an individual. They ask big questions about what is inside of us, or outside of us, and what makes my ‘self’ different to your ‘self.’ Thus begins a little philosophical exploration of our understanding of our own identities.

Nina loves bedtime. At bedtime Nina can disappear into her dreams and discover fantastical creatures and places. She is regularly disappointed when she awakes to find that she cannot remember the details of her dreams. Nina mostly snoozes the night away happily but, after one particularly scary nightmare, Nina realises the power of drawing her dreams when she wakes up. It helps her to remember all that she encounters while she is sleeping. These drawings turn into her very own Dream Book where she can keep her dreams close by for a little while longer.

Ideal for anyone whose child is finding dealing with emotions difficult, this story is inspired by cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and gently empowers children to make choices about how they see things around them. Readers learn that there will be days when there are bad moods, sad goodbyes and scary places, but changing our perspective can make the world we see change to better days and bright happy places.

Eric and Finn have always been best friends and a perfect match. While Eric is anxious and fearful of trying new things, Finn often bravely dives headfirst into adventure, dragging Eric along for the memories. Finn’s lively joie de vivre mean that it is difficult for Eric to process when Finn becomes ill and passes away – or has he?

The metaphor of carrying grief like a heavy rock is clear from the first page. The tasks of eating, sleeping and withdrawing from life are graphically depicted in simple, gentle images, but always with survival on the horizon, and the prospect of enjoying life once more.

Broken down into six steps, exploring what empathy is and providing an array of activities for harnessing then supercharging it in our everyday lives, this joyful guide written by Sirdeshpande in partnership with EmpathyLab celebrates empathy as a superpower, enabling young readers to make a difference in their lives and the world around them.