Mental health and wellbeing

This special picturebook deals with the very difficult topic of death in childhood. The story features an angel called Barnabel who longs to become a guiding angel, but the older angels tell him he is too young and that he doesn’t yet understand the Dark Things. The image of a bridge is used to explain what happens after a child dies. A guiding angel meets them at the bridge, helps them across and relieves them of their Dark Things, which are feelings like pain and fear.

A prequel story to Angie Thomas’ lauded and adapted The Hate U Give, Concrete Rose follows Starr’s father, Maverick, in his teenage years as he tackles his premature introduction to fatherhood. Its appeal is threefold, deepening the story for fans who read and loved their first foray into Garden Heights, providing another entry point to the Carter family’s chronology, and standing strongly on its own merit as a solo narrative.

This lyrical and imaginative picturebook explores the shifting emotional landscape of childhood through a series of vivid, nature-inspired metaphors. On some days, the young narrator feels light and free like the wind: on others, she is a storm, a stone or a soaring bird.

This wildly colourful anthology digs deep and spreads wide to celebrate different forms of courage and empowerment, from the more familiar – being true to yourself, fighting injustice – to fresh expressions of bravery, such as swirling in a sari and letting Afro hair ‘grow/the way it wants to grow:/ confident again.’

Ellie Bean, Aka Jellybean, is walking to school. Despite having very good friends and being in the top set in almost all her subjects, she is feeling anxious – very anxious indeed. In fact, this anxiety has manifested itself in very physical symptoms, and she hasn’t been to school in over six months. What follows is an extended flashback of Ellie’s struggles with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (ESBA), told compassionately and thoughtfully by Eve Ainsworth in the accessible language that characterises Barrington Stoke’s publications.

It’s love at flat white for Eli and James when they meet at the Brewbear cafe. A rogue source of magic has been detected at a nearby abandoned farmhouse and James is on a mission to locate its source. Eli has never known another witch. For centuries, Arcana has investigated paranormal entities parallel to the world of human beings and contained their magic to preserve order. But within Arcana’s celestial interiors and grand halls, the Majors are harbouring a perilous secret. Can Eli and his newfound coven free themselves from the hands of a generational curse?

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.

In this verse novel, eight-year-old Ray is nervous about his family’s impending move to a new town due to his father’s job. In order to comfort himself through this big change, he conjures an imaginary friend named Jacob. Ray’s parents cannot see Jacob, but their family dog, Bess, can – something that matters at the end of the narrative.