The School Librarian 71-2 Summer 2023

Artificial Intellignce and
Information Literacy
By Sarah Pavey
Reading Leader Initiative
By Julie Dawson
The Quarterly Journal of the School Library Association
Volume 71 Number 2 Summer 2023
Unequal Futures: An Imbalance of Opportunities
By Alison Tarrant
www.sla.org.uk

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Contents
The Quarterly Journal of the School Library Association
Volume 71 Number 2 Summer 2023
Welcome from the CEO 2
Editorial 3
SLA News 4
Features
Unequal Futures: An Imbalance of Opportunities
Alison Tarrant 5
Reading Leader Initiative
Julie Dawson 6
Rejuvenating the School Library after COVID
Niamh MacGloin 8
Wellbeing in the School Library
Rachael Brennan 10
Robot Wars – The Unleashing of Information Literacy
Sarah Pavey 12
Patron’s Q&A - Tim Bowler 14
Between the Library and the Classroom 15
Research Highlights 15
Dates for Your Diary 16
Media and Information Literacy Alliance 16
It’s New and Scary Richard Gerver 17
A View From... 18
Curriculum Support 20
Feature: Storytime in School Research Alison David 22
Digital
Features of Genially: A Comprehensive Tool for Teachers and Students 24
Future of EdTech: Future Opportunities for Education Technology in England,
Government Report June 2022 26
Anton Primary School Learning App 28
EdTech Horizons 29
Summer Reading/Reading Role Models on Social Media 30
Three from YouTube – Transition 32
Three Websites – Windrush 75th Anniversary 33
Made By Dyslexia Online Training 35
Remus Magazine Review 35
Curriculum Links 36
Frequently Asked Questions 38
Book Reviews
7 & Under 40
8 -12 52
13-16 64
17-19 68
Professional Reviews 70
Members Corner 71
Book Review Index 72
5
Unequal Futures:
An Imbalance of
Opportunities
6
Reading Leader
Initiative
12
Robot Wars –
The Unleashing of
Information Literacy
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
1

Welcome from the CEO
Welcome to this Summer issue of TSL
As the SLA moves into the second year of our five year
strategy we will continue to work across our five aims
to support our members and change the landscape
which we work within.
Recently we have been busy at the SLA; we have recruited
a temporary fundraiser to enable us to tackle more of those
foundational issues our members struggle with. We’ve also been
working on a new website and association management system –
it’s taken a while to get to this point – but it will be worthwhile.
We are hoping to go live in the Autumn, and so before the
Winter journal there should be a new website live with improved
searchability, enhanced capabilities for you and making it much
easier for you to engage with your community.
At the time of reading we will be weeks away from the 2023
Weekend Course; there’s such a range of great speakers and
experiences. I hope you’ve got your
tickets to join us. And there’s lots of
other new training and networking
events in development, from a
summer school, to a school library
research day to our ‘in partnership’
webinars each month. Do join us
when you can.
I hope you enjoy this issue of
TSL and wish you all the best for
the Summer.
Alison Tarrant
This cover is our second by Swindon author and illustrator, Steve Anthony.
‘Ready, Set, Read’ is the theme for this year’s Summer Reading Challenge. You can
find out more here: summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ or to find out more about
Steve Antony visit his website here: www.steveantony.com
Contributions
Articles, books or digital media for review are always
welcome. We are happy to receive enquiries from potential
contributors and will be pleased to supply further
information. Email: tsl@sla.org.uk
Advertising: 4 Welbeck Avenue, Tunbridge Wells,
Kent, TN4 9BD
Tel: 01892 677742
Email: sharonm@spacemarketing.co.uk
All other communications should be sent to
info@sla.org.uk. Phone number: 01793 530166
We are always keen for feedback.
Subscriptions
The current cost of annual membership of the School Library
Association is £95.00 to include one copy of each quarterly
journal, TSL, or £131.00 to include two copies. The rate for
retired and fulltime student members is £50.00. Details and
membership forms may be obtained from the SLA website.
Members of the SLA receive this journal free; they may
purchase other SLA publications and training courses
at reduced rates; and may use our telephone advisory
service and access members-only resources on the website.
Worldwide institutional subscriptions to the journal only are
available at £122.00 for the calendar year 2023.
Published four times a year by the School Library Association:
spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Cover illustration by Steve Antony.
Copyright © 2023 School Library Association. All rights reserved.
ISSN 0036 6595
The views expressed are those of the contributors and reviewers and
not necessarily the official views of the School Library Association.
Registered Charity Nos. 313660 and SC039453.
Printed on Carbon Captured paper.
Annually the production of TSL creates
44.76 square meters of native British
woodland and captures 1.792 tonnes of CO 2 .
Designed and printed by
Holywell Press, Oxford.
2
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Editorial
AI, research, reading and
more inside
Artificial intellignce and
information literacy
By Sarah Pavey
Reader Leaders
Thank you for picking up this latest
issue of TSL. We appreciate you
taking the time to look through, to
revisit your favourite sections, and
read some of the articles which
provide an element of challenge.
I hope in these pages you find a mix of both, as well
as practical hints, tips, and reviews to help you run
the school library to the best of your ability.
This issue features new research in relation to
storytime in primary schools, and in our ‘Research
Highlights’ feature there’s sure to be something to
inform your thinking. The role of inquiry learning
and school libraries continues to be explored by
Darryl Toerien as FOSIL extends its global reach,
and on a national level we have an update from the
Media and Information Literacy Alliance.
We’re taking a look at digital futures as Sarah Pavey
writes about the impact of artificial intelligence on
information literacy, and Bev Humphrey reviews
a report on the future of Ed Tech, while Jonathan
Viner continues his regular column taking a look
at procurement and implementation – how do
you decide what to get and make it worthwhile? –
something we’re all thinking about. In the regular
‘How to’ column, Kojo Hazel explores Genially – for
infographics, quizzes, and calendars – and how
these can be maximised in a school environment.
In our features section we’re focused on different
activities in the school library – reading leaders,
rejuvenating after the pandemic, and wellbeing.
There’s also an update on the Great School
Libraries campaign following the trip to the House
of Commons to launch the new research. We reach
beyond the school library with our sections
on Curriculum Support and Curriculum Links
(primary and secondary) with topics of wellbeing
and reading interventions. For those who might
not have a chance to read the book reviews cover to
cover, we have highlighted important reads near to
the beginning of each age category.
The digital section also sees coverage of new apps;
a report briefing on the future of EdTech, and the
section closes with three videos on Youtube to
support transition, keeping your reading alive over
the summer, and three websites to help you engage
in the 75th anniversary of Windrush.
SLA President, Richard Gerver, writes about his
vulnerability in trying something new, being open
to criticism, and not forgetting what it’s like to be a
The Quarterly Journal of the School Library Association
Volume 71 Number 2 Summer 2023
By Julie Dawson
Great School Libraries: Phase Two
By Alison Tarrant
www.sla.org.uk
learner – something which is powerful to hold
on to, especially in these times as we plan to say
goodbye to a year group and welcome a new one
in. This though, also applies to those we work with,
not just pupils. The ability to stay engaged and be
empathetic even when we are feeling the stresses
and strains of our own work is a hugely powerful
and positive trait; and one not everyone can put
into practice, or at least not all of the time.
There are times when fighting the
small things is worth it, but there are
times when this can put you in your
own way.
There are times when fighting the small things is
worth it, but there are times when this can put you
in your own way. What’s your end goal, how are
you going to get there, and does this really matter?
Identify the most significant challenges from the
past year – are they ongoing or temporary? Is
there anything you can do to put them behind
you? There are so many books and podcasts about
wellbeing and self-care it is obviously not easy –
otherwise there would be no need for them – but
do what you can to build in time to make next half
term/full term/year better than the last one. My
life as a CEO is different to when I was a school
librarian – more serious, with more at stake, though
similar in terms of predictability! My energy and
focus are the same, though: ensuring everyone
I’m responsible for supporting – members, and
through them pupils – has the best experience
they can.
Alison Tarrant is the Chief
Executive of the School
Library Association, and
is Co-Chair of the Great
School Libraries campaign.
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
3

SLA News
IBA Update
We are thrilled to be announcing the shortlist for the Information
Book Award (IBA) this month!
Sponsored by Hachette Children’s Group, the IBA aims to
celebrate the importance of information books, highlight the
wealth of impressive resources available and support school
libraries to get the most out of them.
Our dedicated team of educator judges have been busy reading
all the submissions and, after whittling down almost 200 different
titles to a longlist of 31, have now compiled a spectacular shortlist
of some of the best information books published in the last year.
What’s more, we have lots of exciting activities planned to help
pick the winners. As well as the judges’ choices, pupils have the
chance to vote for their favourite
titles to crown a Children’s
Choice Winner in each of the three age
categories and overall. Children’s Choice voting will open with
the announcement of the shortlist until October half term, with
the winners announced in November.
Thanks to funding from the Foyle Foundation, we’re also
delighted to have been able to give a limited number of schools
the chance to receive a collection of the shortlisted titles in
exchange for sharing their feedback and experiences of using the
books in their school library or classroom.
You can find all the latest information on the award on our
website: www.sla.org.uk/iba-2023.
Join us for our SLA
Summer School!
Whilst we’re firmly of the opinion that
summer is a time to switch off and relax,
we also know that some of you like to use
part of this rare stretch of free time to learn
and develop your skills. So, if you’re likely
to miss your SLA fix this summer, fear not!
Come along for an exciting day out at our
SLA Summer School.
On Friday 11th August we’ll be inviting
members to an in-person CPD day in
Birmingham city centre focused on helping
school library staff to prepare for the
academic year ahead. This will include
sessions on induction activities, a library
development plan writing workshop, and
vital insight into the latest books hitting
shelves this summer from Peters Books.
Full details coming soon but, if that already
sounds like something you’d like to be part
of, you can register your interest to be the first
to hear when booking opens: bit.ly/43Sfb3p.
SLA Trustee Recruitment
This year we are looking to recruit up to two trustees
to join our board of trustees, as we say thank you and
farewell to Elle Firth and Sue Bastone. Elle has become
Headteacher of her busy primary school, so stands
down as a trustee but remains a judge for this year’s
Information Book Award. Sue has come to the end
of her term as a trustee - a tenure which has seen her
serve as Vice-Chair, Chair and Ordinary trustee. We
thank both of them for the thoughtfulness, care and
passion with which they’ve carried out their roles.
As we look to recruit two new trustees, we are
particularly looking for experience of senior
educational leadership, researchers, or those with
legal experience. All trustees must be SLA members,
and declare that they are not legally prevented from
becoming a trustee. You can find more information
about the board of trustees on the SLA Governance
page (under the members tab when signed in) and
here: www.sla.org.uk/board
Elle Firth
Sue Bastone
In order to ensure the best possible running of the Association, we recruit the
skills we need to the board and advertise trustee vacancies widely. If you’re not
sure of the commitment, or what a trustee of a charity does, please read the
information on the board page or email Amanda Deaville, Honorary Secretary
for the Board of Trustees, via secretary@sla.org.uk. All applications must be
received before 19th June.
4
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Feature
Unequal Futures:
An Imbalance of Opportunities
Alison Tarrant
A lack of consistent and equitable school library provision
is contributing to unequal educational outcomes.
Since 2018, CILIP, the CILIP School
Libraries Group (SLG) and the School
Library Association (SLA) have been
collaborating on the Great School
Libraries campaign which aims to
ensure that every child in the country
has access to a school library and to professional
library staff.
On 7 March 2023, we published our second report
into the current school library provision in the UK.
Schools which have a higher
proportion of pupils who receive free
school meals are less likely to have
access to a library space
The research highlighted the inequality of school
library provision across the UK, both in terms of
quantity and quality. It seems it really does make a
difference where you live, what school you attend,
and what your socio-economic background is.
Schools which have a higher proportion of pupils
who receive free school meals are less likely to have
access to a library space, and when they do, their
libraries are stocked with 60% fewer books than
their counterparts which have the lowest number
of children receiving free school meals. There are
significant variations across UK nations as well.
At the moment, there is a lack of ambition and
aspiration for school libraries from educational
leaders, and in order for that to change we need to
be clear about how we could contribute by giving
training, funding, and support. What does the ideal
version of your school library look like? What will it
need to deliver in 10 years time?
The school library should be at the heart of
learning, growth, and intellectual curiosity: a place
where the work of the classroom is continued,
enhanced and enriched, while also allowing for
personal development. The school
library is a place where both students
and their teachers come for inspiration
and ideas and where academic success
and individual curiosity is allowed
to flourish alongside the social and
emotional support that the space
(and its staff) can offer to the school
community as a whole.
The success of our launch at the House
of Commons has given us much
optimism for the future. An audience
of politicians, publishers, charities,
authors, and other sector bodies all
agreed that by working together we can
put school libraries at the heart of every
school and that it is a matter of social
justice to ensure provision. But we
cannot do this alone.
So, what are we asking school library
staff to do?
1. Have a conversation with a colleague, line
manager or peer about the report. What
questions does it raise for you?
2. What does your ideal school library look like?
Sketch out some ideas – all school libraries are
different; this campaign isn’t about limiting your
options, but ensuring they are heard and the
educational benefits understood.
3. Share stories of what you do with the campaign –
info@greatschoollibraries.org.uk. At the moment
much of it is invisible, and we need to work
together to make it seen.
Download the report and find out more about how
you can support us at www.greatschoollibraries.
org.uk
Top: Attendees of the
launch outside the House of
Commons.
Bottom (left to right):
Alison Tarrant, Mary Rose
Grieve, Anthony Horowitz
and Stuart Lawrence at
the event.
Alison Tarrant is the Chief
Executive of the School
Library Association, and
is Co-Chair of the Great
School Libraries campaign.
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
5

Feature
Reading Leader Initiative
Julie Dawson
We hear how one secondary school boosted impact reading
and learning, as well as wellbeing, confidence, and selfesteem
of their readers.
Our Reading Leader initiative at
Colne Primet Academy began
with a donation to the library of
picture books from a member of
staff, and a conversation about
different ways to support our
academy’s reading strategy. Primet has a high
percentage of children with lower-than-average
reading ages on entry at Year 7 and children with
SEND and ESOL. We particularly wanted these
students, and reluctant readers, to take part.
Our aims included: encouraging students to
read more at home (particularly in relation
to reading aloud and discussing stories with
others); improving reading confidence and
comprehension; and generating a sense of reading
achievement and pride on receipt of awards.
It was hoped that involvement would also improve
individual reading levels, although we knew this
would be problematic to measure.
Reading Leaders launched in March 2022 with a
special section of books in the library, and posters
to promote it. Although open to all students, we
focused primarily on Year 7s and 8s. Students
could borrow up to two books at a time and share
them with a younger child (‘sharing’ meaning a
mixture of reading to a youngster and listening
to them read, and encouraging discussion of the
book illustrations, characters, and plot). Students
taking part were encouraged to see themselves as
‘teachers’, because they would be inspiring and
supporting younger children to read and develop
a love of stories.
In addition to picture books (many of which
students would be familiar with from primary
school), stock included phonic series and first/
easy readers. The intention was that reluctant and
struggling readers would feel they could easily
use the resources, and the Reading Leader award
was an achievable goal. Many of the books were
bought cheaply from charity shops and sites such
as Facebook Marketplace – all in lovely condition.
A Reading Leader blazer badge and certificate
of achievement were awarded once ten books
had been shared. The badge was a big draw! We
tracked progress at the library desk by using a
spreadsheet and by talking to students when they
exchanged books. The latter allowed staff to check
the ethos of the project was being embraced, and
gave students the opportunity to receive support
for any problems they were experiencing e.g.,
‘My baby brother won’t sit still long enough for me
to finish the book!’
Numbers taking part: Between March and the
middle of July 2022, 47 students joined Reading
Leaders (40 girls and 7 boys). Most participants
were Year 7s (30 students in total – with 22 having
scored below than average reading ages on their
Accelerated Reader Star Test in March), 8 from
Year 8 (all having scored below average reading
ages), 4 from Year 9 and 5 from Year 10.
Sixty-four percent of participants (30 students –
26 girls, 4 boys) had achieved their Reading Leader
Julie Dawson is the School
Librarian and Teaching
Assistant of Colne Primet
Academy in Lancashire.
Students taking part were encouraged
to see themselves as ‘teachers’,
because they would be inspiring and
supporting younger children to read
and develop a love of stories.
Pupils show off their books in the library
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VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Reading Leader Initiative
A book corner in the library
award by July (19 with under average reading
ages from Y7 and six from Year 8). Many students
wanted to continue reading, and this resulted in
one gold award for sharing 100 books hastily being
created and awarded.
Conclusions: Reading Leader began as a small
project, but initial feedback has been valuable,
and enlightening. It has highlighted the
initiative’s potential to positively impact reading
and learning, and to improve the wellbeing,
confidence, and self-esteem of not only the
students taking part but the people (children
or adults) sharing the books. More research
and evaluation are needed, and there are
immediate issues to address such as how to assess
(if possible!) the direct impact on reading levels,
and the disproportionate gender representation.
However, it was exciting that so many struggling
and reluctant readers wanted to take part and
went on to earn their 10-book award. Another
huge positive was that ESOL students saw that
adult members of their family might benefit from
taking part and took the initiative to involve them.
As of January 2023, we currently have 82 Reading
Leaders, with 44 having achieved their 10-book
award, and a further 27 working towards their
gold award (100 books shared) – with 3 having
already achieved it. Concerted roll out of the
project will begin once we have implemented
many of the lessons learnt so far from the data
and student feedback. We are excited to build on
a promising project – which is helping even the
most disadvantaged, struggling, and reluctant
readers to find great value and pride in reading
and sharing stories.
Reading Leader: Top Tips
1. Resources: Picture books, first/early readers and phonic
book-sets can be bought cheaply from charity shops, and
online marketplaces. Try asking students and staff if they
have any suitable books they would like to donate.
2. Have a dedicated library section for Reading Leaders,
and include posters and a display if possible.
3. Awards: Our students love their certificates, but the
badge is a big draw. Reading Leader badges are readily
available online in different colours for just over £1 each.
Alternatively, school DT departments could possibly
produce the badges, or alternative, cheaper awards or
rewards can be given.
4. Promotion: Outline the initiative for five to ten minutes
during library/English lessons. Emphasise that whatever
current stage of reading they are at themselves, all
students can enjoy taking part and achieve awards – even
if they don’t like reading.
5. Model being a Reading Leader by sharing a picture book
with your class. A member of staff said it had the added
value of re-discovering the wonder of picture books, and
demands from her year 10 form to be read another story!
6. School Staff: Invite colleagues to take part and earn their
own Reading Leader badge.
7. Tracking Progress: Use a spreadsheet to record who is
taking part and to keep a running tally of books borrowed
or returned (students like to see their tally too). Use
columns to record when individuals joined, achieved
awards, and the ages of those being read with.
8. Supporting those taking part: When students exchange
books at the library desk, it’s a great opportunity to ask
them how things are going – who they are reading with
and any problems they are experiencing. A common
challenge is young children getting restless. Reassure and
tell students to try reading at bedtime, focus on the book
illustrations and skip pages when needed – or try another
time. Above all, sharing the books should be fun and
relaxing for everyone taking part.
9. Presenting Awards: Ask students if they want their award
presented at assembly or in form. Whilst the assembly
presentations allow a wider celebration of student
achievements and promote the project, some students
at our school did not want to be in the spotlight and
preferred being awarded in class.
10. Feedback Forms: Collecting feedback following the first
award steers the project forward by underlining what
is and isn’t working, and new suggestions. We wish we
had asked new joiners to answer a short questionnaire at
the start, which would have enabled us to compare and
measure data.
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
7

Feature
Rejuvenating the School Library
after COVID
Niamh MacGloin
This article takes us on a journey from the chaos of COVID to a
school library that’s flourishing; hear how Niamh reinvigorated
her school library.
A deserted school library at
the beginning of this journey
Niamh MacGloin is the
full-time librarian at The
Cardinal Vaughan Memorial
School, starting in the role
last September (2022).
Niamh is excited to learn
the ropes and become an
active member of the SLA
community!
I
am fortunate to begin my career in
librarianship in a school where the
benefits of reading and, indeed, the library
space, are greatly valued by both students
and staff. I was aware that for a variety of
reasons – COVID, the loss of an excellent
long-standing librarian, etc. – the library had been
in various states of closure over the last few years.
It had been graciously kept alive by volunteers and
members of the English department, who were
taking on the library on top of other commitments,
and I had anticipated the resulting lost and overdue
books. Yet I don’t think I fully anticipated the
challenges lying ahead reintegrating the library
back into school life, especially for someone
tackling a complete reinvention of the library as the
sole librarian with no prior experience.
Having attended the SLA’s ‘New to School Libraries’
training day, it was made immediately clear that
the physical layout of our library was not at its
most effective. Juggling stacks and beanbags with
one-way systems and social distancing meant we
had been left with hidden areas for students to
cause mischief and no comfy seats for our readers
at break and lunch. Thus, I was very quickly thrown
into the world of proposals and reports, for my line
manager, SLT and the governors, to begin to see
how we could update and modernise the space to
really make it comfortable and efficient for work
and leisure time. We were fortunate enough to be
granted money from the governors to renew the
space, and so the real change began.
Like in many schools, our library doubles up as
extra classroom space, and so it was imperative
while planning to make sure that the room could
support both roles. Any rearranging had to work
around seating for classes of up to 35 and a large
interactive whiteboard. The solution that we
have come up with is to split the library in half,
effectively creating two ‘zones’: one focused purely
on reading for pleasure, that houses the fiction,
graphic novels and ‘fun’ reading, and one focused
on classroom learning, housing the subject specific
non-fiction texts and sixth form library. The split
nature of the library is also useful for clubs during
lunch and after school as it means readers can be
in one half, while the club takes place in the other.
Rather than having long stacks of books in A-Z,
8
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Hopefully organisation by genre will encourage students to seek
out new texts more independently, guided by what they already
know they enjoy, while having a seating area at the centre of the
books will encourage more browsing and curiosity.
we are adapting our fiction section to be shelved
by genre and introducing more exciting and open
shelving units in the form of large square shelves,
spinners, and boxes. The placement of these
shelves then provides a space in the centre of the
room for beanbags and soft seating for students
to be able to relax in whilst they are reading.
Hopefully organisation by genre will encourage
students to seek out new texts more independently,
guided by what they already know they enjoy, while
having a seating area at the centre of the books will
encourage more browsing and curiosity.
Rejuvenating the School Library after COVID
The school places a great emphasis on reading for
pleasure and the value that reading fiction outside
of the classroom can bring to curriculum learning,
which is reflected in the quality of the fiction stock.
The trivialities of COVID, however, with the library
being fully closed for extended periods during
lockdowns or accessible only in various bubbles,
returned books being placed in isolation, has
meant that when I arrived, we had nearly 600 books
listed as overdue. I have been running an ongoing
stock check on our computer system since arriving
at the school and many of these texts have began to
appear, hidden at the back of shelves or in random
boxes in the cupboard, though equally many have
been written off entirely. This has meant that I have
not only had to consider fresh fiction to add to our
collection but also consider the value of replacing
texts that have been lost, their popularity and
frequency of borrowing. Like most school libraries,
we are on a tighter budget than we would hope for,
and so it is imperative that every new addition to
the library stock is adding something meaningful,
whether it be increasing the collection’s diversity or
stretching the ability of both our avid and reluctant
readers. We have also chosen this year to stop
using the accelerated reader scheme, hoping to
encourage students to read broadly without any
perceived limitations, though we have retained
a colour-based difficulty system to help students
make informed decisions when choosing books.
The non-fiction subject specific books have
provided a much greater challenge. With the
upheaval of the exam systems in recent years
and the ever-changing nature of the national
Like most school libraries, we are on a
tighter budget than we would hope for,
and so it is imperative that every new
addition to the library stock is adding
something meaningful.
curriculum in general, many of our subject books
have fallen out of date and I have spent a significant
portion of my first term weeding each subject’s
stock and removing hundreds of books from the
shelves that were either outdated, unborrowed, or
no longer relevant to what is being taught in the
classroom. I have begun to liaise with teaching
staff to find the areas that are lacking and ensure
that our non-fiction texts are exciting and up-todate
whilst also remaining relevant to classroom
learning. Having access to curriculum maps has
been really beneficial when looking for new nonfiction
texts, and by housing them open facing in
the classroom portion of the room they will be
much more visible to both staff and students alike
than they had been in the stacks. The books that
have been removed from the shelves have all been
donated through British Book Rescuers (found
on the SLA’s withdrawn books list), who were
incredibly efficient and helpful. None of the books
have gone to waste, which is important to us as a
school that strives to be ecologically friendly.
Now the focus on the physical repair and restocking
has begun, and the space is starting to look very
different; we are all excited to move on to more
of the joyful and engaging aspects of the library.
Support from our developmental team highlighting
the library space in school newsletters and social
media has really helped with outreach to parents
and promoting the library as an active and exciting
part of the school community. Looking forward we
are increasing our number of enrichment clubs,
taking part in the Carnegie Shadowing scheme,
running a school newspaper, supporting the
sixth formers with their own book club, hosting a
parents’ book club, doing poetry recitals, writing
competitions and more. With the (fully supported)
disruption of the strikes, the opening of our new
and improved library space also offers us the
perfect opportunity for a celebration of reading
to make up for an unusual World Book Day. After
all the chaos and the change that’s occurred
throughout the last few years, it is wonderful to see
the library beginning to flourish, and I can only
hope that with the support of my colleagues we will
continue to improve and grow.
Left: The library is split
into different areas, and
browsing is now easy.
Right: the teaching space
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
9

Feature
Wellbeing in the School Library
Rachael Brennan
A career change and a neglected library meant there was an
opportunity for development, and wellbeing is at the heart of a
school library with purpose and community.
Despite all the challenges that
came with it, the COVID-19
pandemic had a silver lining for
me: it inspired me to pursue a
lifelong ambition of becoming
a school librarian. As the world
reopened its doors, I enrolled in a master’s degree
programme in Library and Information Services
Management at Sheffield University
(@InfoSchoolSheff). I previously worked as
a primary school teaching assistant, a role I
thoroughly enjoyed, but it felt like the right time to
finally follow my dream.
After gaining experience working under the wing
of an inspirational school librarian at Stockport
Grammar School, I was offered the role of Librarian
at Stonyhurst College in September 2022. I had
to pinch myself as I approached the magnificent
Grade I listed building on my first day at work.
The More Library was equally as impressive,
an expansive space with traditional decorative
features, but the College had not employed a
dedicated librarian for several years and I soon
realised there was a substantial development
project ahead of me. This presented an exciting
opportunity, and I was eager to bring some of
my own ideas to the role and make meaningful
contributions to the historic library’s future.
It was immediately apparent that the library
functioned mainly as a silent study space, and
I understood the importance of this in a school
where a large percentage of pupils reside on
campus. The library provides a calm, quiet
environment, away from lively boarding houses
and playrooms, particularly in the lead up to
coursework deadlines and examination periods.
However, I believed that the library had the
potential to provide greater benefits. Through the
research I had carried out during my academic
studies, I had developed a good understanding
of the critical role libraries play in supporting
students’ mental health and wellbeing. I felt
that, in addition to its traditional functions, the
library at Stonyhurst had the potential to serve
as a welcoming and inclusive “third place” to
support the social and emotional needs of pupils,
particularly in a setting where home and school life
are often blurred.
I began with small changes to create a more relaxed
and inviting space. I streamlined and reorganised
some of the more cluttered areas and revamped all
the displays and signage so that it felt more modern
and relevant to our current pupils. I added a few
plants and hung-up some motivational posters and
artwork. Unfortunately, you cannot see directly into
the library from the school corridor, so I acquired a
Rachael Brennan became
College Librarian at
Stonyhurst College in 2022
upon completing an MA
in Library & Information
Management at Sheffield
University. Passionate about
creating student-centred
library spaces, Rachael’s
journey continues with a
Professional Doctorate in
Creative Media Education
at Bournemouth University
sponsored by the SLA.
Wellbeing is a visible
presence in the
school library.
10
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Inspired by recommendations made by The Reading
Agency, our Reading Well Collection at Stonyhurst is
a carefully curated selection of books that have been
chosen to support the mental health and wellbeing.
Wellbeing in the School Library
display cabinet nearby and filled it with attractive
posters and artwork directing staff and pupils to
library services and events.
I quickly encouraged pupils to visit the library
during their breaks and lunches, and allowed
them to play chess, computer games, and
watch films together. I saw how these activities
sparked friendships and conversations between
pupils who were trying to make new friends in
a new school, miles away from home. We are
an international school, and our pupils join us
from over 27 countries and the library activities
helped the pupils to find common ground. I have
developed a collection of illustrated books, comics,
magazines, and newspapers that pupils can sit
and share together. I also brought in some mindful
colouring books and crafts such as origami and
beading which attracted an even bigger crowd in,
including staff!
This propelled me to volunteer for Mental Health
First Aid training which was carried out by State
of Mind Sport (@stateofmindsprt) on
behalf of Mental health First Aid England
(@MHFAEngland). This evidence-based program
equips individuals with the skills and knowledge
needed to identify, understand, and respond to
signs of mental health challenges. I felt that this
was an extremely valuable experience, personally
and professionally.
The training gave me confidence to approach
our Safeguarding Lead, Health Centre, Learning
Support Department and PSHE Co-ordinator to
collaboratively develop a Reading Well collection
in the library. Inspired by recommendations made
by The Reading Agency (@readingagency), our
Reading Well Collection at Stonyhurst is a carefully
curated selection of books that have been chosen
to support the mental health and wellbeing of
our pupils and staff. I have displayed the selected
books prominently in an accessible, relaxed seating
area and created striking reading list posters using
Canva templates from visualbooklists.com
(@melissacorey) which highlight topics such as
grief, anxiety, depression, and mindfulness, etc.
I made a really good decision this year to
transition to the Accessit library management
system (@AccessitLib). This allows me to present
the physical book collection alongside digital
resources to pupils, staff, and parents, in an easily
accessible manner, regardless of their location.
Accessit Dashboards are very versatile and easy
to manage and have enabled me to regularly
update reading lists, weblinks and information in
conjunction with wider national and international
initiatives such as Neurodiversity Celebration Week
and Empathy Lab’s annual Empathy Day.
I believe that giving pupils a sense of ownership
is crucial to the sustainability of school libraries.
At the start of the academic year, there was a
wonderful response to my advertisement for Pupil
Library Assistants, particularly from our Sixth
Form pupils who felt the experience would assist
with university and job applications. Since then, I
have gradually accumulated a further set of eager
volunteers who approached me with their own
project ideas such as launching a library Instagram
feed for the library or developing a reading
competition or book club. I often say to the pupils:
‘the More Library is your library’ and I actively
encourage them to pursue their goals. Next year,
I intend to add more structure to the scheme and
develop a library committee with assigned roles
as social media co-ordinator and subject curator.
I hope this will give the pupils a greater sense of
responsibility and provide further opportunities for
connected learning.
This year the library has also been earmarked for
work-experience opportunities by the careers
department and Learning Support team. We have
been able to support a few of our pupils with
SEND in developing skills and interests, building
confidence, and preparing for future employment
opportunities, providing them with a series of
structured library-based tasks which they can
master. I feel that this minority of pupils, especially,
view the library as a safe, non-judgemental
space, and seeing them flourish is one of the
most rewarding aspects of my role as a librarian,
and a major contribution to the wellbeing of our
school community.
As the end my first year at Stonyhurst approaches
at a surprising speed, I find myself reflecting
on the impact of the wellbeing initiatives I have
introduced, but the outcomes of such initiatives are
very hard to quantify. Footfall and book borrowings
have steadily increased throughout the year, but I
feel that it is the welcoming atmosphere and sense
of community and purpose that have grown and
developed within the library walls this year; that is
the real success.
Pupils make use of
crafting materials.
The school library in action.
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
11

Feature
Robot Wars – The Unleashing of
Information Literacy
Sarah Pavey MSc FCLIP FRSA
Sarah Pavey an education
consultant, trainer and
author has over 20 years
experience as a teacher
librarian. She specialises
in information, digital and
media literacy courses for
schools home and abroad.
Sarah Pavey breaks down the hype around AI in education and
gives us a starting point for moving forwards.
A
few years ago, I read a wonderful
book that explained artificial
intelligence (AI) in simple nontechnical
terms, called You Look
Like a Thing and I Love You
(Shane, 2020). The quirky title
was derived from a computer’s limited attempt
at writing a chat up line. How rapidly the world
has changed! We are now pondering over the
enormous social implications, let alone the
education impact, of ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2023 (1)),
the AI programme that will write everything for
you. As information literacy specialists, should
we be rolling up our sleeves for a robot wars
fight or is this the opportunity we have been
waiting for to shift the whole paradigm of how
students learn? Certainly Geoff Barton (General
Secretary, Association of School and College
Leaders) believes the development of this new AI
technology highlights the need for an informed
review of teaching and assessment (Barton, 2023).
The school curriculum stands to be shaken to
the core by AI, but the question is, will the new
technology be endorsed and embraced, or will the
knee-jerk reaction be to ban it rather than work
with it as a learning tool?
We have to face the fact that AI is out there to stay,
and it will require some effort to understand its
advantages and limitations and yes, it is an easy
option (and probably a cheaper option) just to
impose a block. Some educationalists such as the
International Baccalaureate Organisation have
embraced the change enthusiastically (IBO, 2023).
Initially they ruled that ChatGPT can indeed be
referenced, just as a conversation with an expert in
the field of knowledge about a given subject would
be. But even since their courageous and admirable
stance early in March 2023, there have been
developments with the advent of GPT-4 (OpenAI,
2023 (2)). No doubt more by the time this article
is published! Because AI masters its own learning
from experience, the sophistication can only grow,
and far more rapidly than a human would be
able to assimilate the same degree of information
and reasoning. The limitations on currency of
knowledge, poor referencing, cited as reasons why
students would still need to edit content, within a
short time will no longer be valid.
MILA (2023) has set out the reasons why it is vital
we invest in improving the understanding of the
digital and analogue worlds of information in the
general population for a variety of reasons linked
with definitions of information, digital and media
literacy. Part of that responsibility must rest with
schools. AI has been embedded in lesson plans
since 2018 in China and is now being introduced
to school students in the USA (Welk, 2020), so
should we not be adopting this approach too?
As school librarians we may be concerned that if
AI does all the thinking and construction for us,
then students will become less adept at providing
content, leading to a decline in creativity. Machines
are emotionless and lack the passion that often
sparks an innovation. We should indeed be
alarmed about this and change the way we teach
and assess schoolwork, as Geoff Barton suggests,
because otherwise the workers and academics of
the future will be made redundant. Maybe, rather
than the current focus in England on behaviourist
fact regurgitation, easily assembled by AI, we
should concentrate on the non-routine cognitive
elements as suggested by the IBO. We do need
to show our students how to develop a more
critical information, media, and digital literacy
understanding, and for that to happen our National
Curriculum has to change.
So, has ChatGPT handed information literacy
protagonists a great opportunity? For a long time
there has been an argument that we need to
change from a “catch them out” consequences
plagiarism stance to a focus on academic integrity.
Here we can explain to students the importance
of legacy in how we write, setting a solid base for
inventions to come in future generations. By doing
this, we are helping young people to understand
the growth of global citizenship through “standing
on the shoulders of giants”. Possibly the ultimate
12
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Robot Wars – The Unleashing of Information Literacy
Photo: Emiliano Vittoriosi
on Unsplash
limitations of AI in lacking empathy will allow us
to concentrate on what the human brain does best
while taking the tedium out of routine writing.
Possibly the ultimate limitations of
AI in lacking empathy will allow us to
concentrate on what the human brain
does best.
Nonetheless, we are probably still many years away
from this utopia and it is likely that most teachers
will be concerned about the use of this technology
to “cheat”. This has parallels with the approach
to the use of phones and tablets in the school
environment and concerns over online safety –
the solution being to remove the threat rather
than acknowledging its presence and working
effectively with it. There are programs, inevitably,
that have now been developed to recognise chatbot
generated text such as GTPZero (2023). The irony,
however, is that in the Curriculum in England there
is no coursework and all marks towards a national
qualification are given under exam conditions;
no chance to use AI there – or much information
literacy for that matter!
ChatGPT has rocked the education world, but we
should be mindful of other AI developments on
the horizon. The Gartner Hype Cycle for Artificial
Intelligence (Gartner, 2022) gives us clues about
what to expect. The use of computers to analyse
visual material rapidly is already launching,
with huge implications in medical diagnosis.
We will soon be able to create multisensory
3D personalised learning pathways on our
mobile devices.
Are we ready for this brave new world? Can we
persuade teaching colleagues to set better tasks so
that rather than fact finding students are challenged
to be critical in their selection and evaluation of
the sources Chatbot finds? Will students be able
to create new innovative perspectives and text?
AI will free up time for students to become more
competent in information, media and digital
literacy and use their brains more creative… if we
let them use it effectively and give them ample
opportunities to hone their skills.
References
Barton, G. (2023) Why the Rise of ChatGPT Should Liberate
Education – Not Scare It. Available at: https://www.tes.
com/magazine/analysis/general/why-rise-chatgptshould-liberate-education-artificial-intelligence
Gartner. (2022) What’s New In Artificial Intelligence from
the 2022 Gartner Hype Cycle? Available at: https://www.
gartner.com/en/articles/what-s-new-in-artificialintelligence-from-the-2022-gartner-hype-cycle
GTPZero. (2023) GTPZero: Humans Deserve the Truth.
Available at: https://gptzero.me/
IBO (2023) The International Baccalaureate and AI
Chatbot Technology. Available at: https://www.ibschools.com/our-services/blog/7/the-internationalbaccalaureate-and-ai-chatbot-technology
MILA (2023) Media and Information Literacy Alliance.
Available at: https://mila.org.uk/
Open AI (2023 (1)) ChatGPT: Optimizing Language
Models for Dialogue. Available at: https://openai.com/
blog/chatgpt/
Open AI (2023 (2)) GPT-4 is OpenAI’s Most Advanced
System, Producing Safer and More Useful Responses.
Available at: https://openai.com/product/gpt-4
Shane, J. (2020) You Look Like a Thing and I Love You.
London: Wildfire.
Welk, K. N. (2020) AI for K-12: Bringing Next-Level Tech
Skills into the Classroom. Available at: https://elective.
collegeboard.org/ai-k-12-bringing-next-level-techskills-classroom
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
13

Patron’s Q&A - Tim Bowler
Why did you become a patron of the School
Library Association?
I was invited to become a patron of the SLA many
years ago, and I feel as delighted and honoured now
as I did when I first received the letter. To me, the
SLA is special. Like every professional organisation
it has to finance itself, but it is not driven by
commercial imperatives so much as by a passionate
ethical desire to help young people discover the joy
and fulfilment of reading. I think that’s a wonderful,
noble aim, and it places the SLA for me as a kind of conscience
to the book industry and the education service and to those in
government who shouldn’t need reminding that if we neglect
libraries and librarians and the things they need to do their work,
then we neglect the young people they exist to serve and deprive
those students of the full measure of learning they are entitled
to have through properly funded school libraries and access to
qualified librarians.
What inspires you in your work?
People. I read, and the thoughts and feelings of my fellow
human brothers and sisters reach out to me from
this present age or from centuries past or from
thousands of years ago. I write, and my own
thoughts and feelings reach out in turn, travelling
the other way and seeking connection. I teach,
and find I am learning every bit as much from my
students as they could ever learn from me. People,
connection, those are the things that inspire me.
John Donne was right. We are not islands but parts
of a mainland of humanity. Every person’s death
diminishes us because each of us, as Donne puts
it, is ‘involved in mankind’. Reading, writing, and
teaching all help me deepen that involvement and I
feel grateful for that every day.
What was the last book you read that changed
your thinking?
All in Your Head by the late Marcus Sedgwick. It’s a
memoir of the author’s personal experience of longterm
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and it was initially
triggered by his anger at what he saw as the failure
of many of the medical practitioners he consulted
to take his situation seriously, even, in one case,
accusing him of imagining the whole thing, hence
the title of the book, which Marcus cites as actual
words spoken to him by a doctor. The book is not
just a rant, however. It’s an in-depth study of the
condition widely known as ME/CFS, and I found
it moving, humbling, erudite, and – as a friend of
Marcus’s – deeply sad.
What is the most important thing for educators to
prioritize at the moment?
The needs of the young rather than the needs of the educators.
Tim Bowler
In another life what different job would you
have chosen?
I don’t think I’d have made a different choice. It
would still have been writing. But I have other
passions too. I have done a great deal of teaching
and translating during my life and love both. Each
gives me a different kind of buzz. So I could easily
have chosen either or both of those. But if I couldn’t
write as well in that fictitious other life, I’d be
deeply frustrated!
What are you working on currently?
I’m working on something I always intended to devote myself
to at around this point in my life: author mentoring. It’s partly
influenced by my lifelong love of teaching, but it specifically
goes back to my twenties when I was an unpublished author
struggling to finish my first novel. I was in desperate need of
advice and heard about a man who had been a writer for the
BBC. He was then in his late sixties, as I am now, and although
he had written a couple of novels and lots of short stories, he had
achieved his main success as a writer of radio plays. But what
interested me most about him was that he offered
one-to-one writing tutorials to people like me. This
was 1980, long before the Internet and Zoom, and
his system was that students would post him their
latest chapter, he would read and annotate it, then
dictate his thoughts aloud into an old-fashioned
audiocassette and post that back to the student in
a jiffy bag. I used to love receiving that jiffy bag! He
was a good tutor, a straight-talking Yorkshireman,
and although I only worked with him for about a
year, I found him incredibly helpful and I remember
thinking, even back then, that if I ever got anywhere
as an author, I’d like to help people in a similar way
later in life when I was ready to ease back from fulltime
writing. So about a year ago I diffidently put my
name out there, not sure whether anybody would be
interested in having help from me with their writing,
and to my surprise a floodgate opened. Most of the
writers I mentor are adults working on novels, but
I wanted to spread a wider net than my Yorkshire
mentor did and help non-fiction writers, too, and
also keen young people – anybody really who is
serious about improving their writing skills and is
willing to work hard. So now I have a healthy mix of
students from different backgrounds but all with the
common aim of wanting to become better writers,
and I thoroughly enjoy helping them. I work oneto-one
via Zoom and it’s another way of connecting
with people and trying to do something useful.
What’s the one piece of advice you would give to a young
person today?
NEVER. EVER. GIVE UP.
14
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Between the Library and the Classroom
Becoming Integral to the Educational Process
The purpose of this series is to address Jesse Shera’s
charge that academic librarians, and by extension
school librarians, had never developed a theory of
the role of the library in the student’s intellectual
experience, which is not the same as a list of
things that a librarian does. This theory, from my
perspective, is taking firm shape, and is discernible
in the case that I have been making here.
I pause now to reflect on three significant
developments that bring this theory into
sharper focus.
Firstly, following the IFLA School Libraries midyear
meeting at Blanchelande College in April 2022,
I was invited to write a chapter for an upcoming
IFLA book on digital literacy.* Having already
argued at the UK SLA conference in June 2021
that inquiry was an imperative for the library
if we are to become integral to the educational
process in school, this chapter enabled me to
argue that inquiry is an imperative for schools if
we are to adequately strengthen the reality-based
community of error seeking inquirers who uphold
the Constitution of Knowledge upon which liberal
democracy depends (Jonathan Rauch).
Secondly, this emphatically reaffirms Neil
Postman’s assertion that of all the survival
strategies that education has to offer, none is more
potent than inquiry, provided that we resist the
tendencies that rob inquiry of its potency. We
will explore this in detail and at length during an
extended workshop at the IASL conference in
Rome in July 2023.
Thirdly, growing interest in and adoption of
FOSIL in Australia, including by students on the
M.Ed. (Teacher Librarianship) programme at
Charles Sturt University, brings with it a wealth of
theoretical knowledge and practical experience,
especially as a number of these colleagues are
moving from well-established Guided Inquiry
Design programs to FOSIL.
The revolution will not be televised.
*My chapter – ‘Digital Literacy: Necessary but Not
Sufficient for Life-wide and Life-long Learning’ –
prompted me to revisit my presentation at LILAC in
April 2019 – ‘Information Literacy: Necessary but Not
Sufficient for 21st Century Learning’ – which coincided
with the launch of the FOSIL Group. The formation
of the FOSIL Group, in turn, was the unintended but
inevitable outworking of my presentation at the CILIP
SLG conference in April 2018 – ‘Information Literacy
Framework(s): The Next Step(s)’ – which identified an
urgent and growing need to support colleagues who
were beginning to develop information literacy skills
systematically and progressively within an inquiry-based
learning process.
The FOSIL Group is an
international community
of educators who frame
learning through inquiry,
which is a process
and stance aimed at
building knowledge and
understanding of the
world and ourselves in it
as the basis for responsible
participation in society.
Darryl Toerien
Research Highlights
Poetry in Primary Schools 2023
A recent survey of primary school teachers delved into poetry
teaching, its attitudes and approaches. The report findings will be
used as part of The Big Amazing Poetry Project, a joint project
with Macmillan Publishers helping to inform poetry teaching
and learning in primary schools.
The report shows that poetry was considered very important in
schools, with:
• 80% of teachers feeling poetry is a significant part of a literacy
curriculum
• 88% saying that children enjoy engaging with poetry
• 89% reporting that children enjoyed listening to it being read
or performed.
This contrasted with the fact that the majority of teachers have
never received development training on poetry and most
classroom book corners possess very few poetry books in
their collections.
https://clpe.org.uk/research/poetry-primary-schools-2023
Sustaining and developing your school’s reading culture
Many schools promote World Book Day (WBD), and readymade
costumes of characters – sometimes in books but
more frequently cartoon or film characters are part of this.
Book activities may happen in schools and some fortunate
students experience the thrill of an author visit. This does create a
buzz around reading, but WBD should be more than one day.
Teresa Cremin cites the advantages of willingness to read and
attainment but argues that far too many of our young people can
read but do not choose to do so, and she poses the question, might
school provision and practice be operating as a reading roadblock?
She suggests that the key is avoiding relying on a series of “fun”
activities. She advocates using data to plan to develop schoolwide
cultures of reading and gives examples.
https://tinyurl.com/ypphdu72
Read new research from OCLC on using data to identify
library collaboration opportunities.
A new report from OCLC Research explores how collaboration
and partnerships will help long-term sustainability in libraries;
the decision-making principles remain the same for school
libraries as they do for Art and Research libraries in this report.
The project helped art libraries identify opportunities for
beneficial partnerships and built effective collaborative
structures to support these partnerships, making the
collaborations sustainable and successful.
https://oc.lc/sustaining-art-research
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
15

Dates for your Diary
JUNE 2023 JULY 2023 AUGUST 2023
Pride month
1st–14th HiVis
Highlighting services for those with
vision or print impairment
5th World Environment Day
#BEATPLASTICPOLLUTION
8th Empathy Day
Theme = Mission Empathy
19th–25th Refugee Week
21st CKG winner
22nd Windrush Day
23rd–24th SLA Weekend conference
Empowering All Pupils for the Future
Online
26th– 30th School Diversity Week
Plastic Free July
1st International Joke Day
2nd Thank You Day
CLiPPA winner announcement
7th World Chocolate Day
#WorldChocolateDay
11th SLA Awards Winner announcements
Teachers’ Reading Challenge
30th International Day of Friendship
Summer Reading Challenge
2nd Playday
National Day for Play
4th Cycle to Work Day
12th International Youth Day
Fab prize UK Shortlist
Children’s prize for underrepresented
authors and illustrators
12th–28th Edinburgh International Book
Festival
Bookseller YA Book Prize Winner
Announcement at Edinburgh Festival
26th International Dog Day
#InternationalDogDay
Media and Information Literacy Alliance
The Media and Information Literacy Alliance (MILA – www.
mila.org.uk) was launched in October 2021 to champion the
closely related concepts of media literacy and information
literacy. Its vision is of a society in which everyone is
empowered to engage critically with information. The Alliance
is a cross-sector group of organisations and individuals
sharing a common belief in the power of media
and information literacy to help people lead
happier, healthier, safer, and more productive
lives. MILA was originally set up by CILIP and
CILIP’s Information Literacy Group, but has since
widened its reach to include players beyond
the library world, for instance covering health
information, citizenship teaching, adult learning,
and open knowledge.
MILA’s emerging strategy is articulated around three broad
areas: developing the evidence base through research; capacitybuilding;
and advocacy. It is still relatively early days, but it can
already point to a range of activities:
– Funding a comprehensive review of research on the impact of
information literacy, led by Edinburgh Napier University and
due for completion this summer.
– Participation in a UK Government-funded study on evaluating
media literacy with a Theory of Change, in collaboration with
Bournemouth University.
– Devising a framework which sets out what media and
information literacy means for people’s lifelong aspirations.
MILA constantly seeks to develop its outreach, and,
given the current developments in UK national
policy, it has developed an important dialogue with
key interlocutors such as the media regulator, Ofcom,
and the Department for Science, Innovation and
Technology, which is currently responsible for the
national media literacy agenda.
At present, the alliance functions as an informal
association, but aims to set itself up as a registered
charity, which should help it to achieve better recognition
and enhance its credibility. Crucially, it is hoped that charity
status will also put MILA in a better position to bid for
funding; financial sustainability is a major challenge for the
alliance’s viability.
MILA is happy to welcome anyone interested in its work – details
at mila.org.uk/contact.
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VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

It’s New and Scary
A couple of months ago, I announced to the world
that I was writing my first children’s book and the
response was, I have to say, very positive – people
all over the world telling me that they couldn’t wait
and that it was about time. I even had former pupils
tell me how excited they would be to read it to their
own children. Besides making me feel ridiculously
old, the excitement of sharing the news with the
world soon turned to a sense of ‘Oh blimey, what
have I committed to?’
I may have written a few non-fiction books,
which have luckily been well received, but writing
children’s fiction is a whole different thing, and
whilst I am relatively confident about drafting
writing in the genre I know and understand, this
process is very different. Firstly, there are the
simple mechanics. The story I am writing is about
the journey of a young Romanian rescue dog as she
travels to a new life after experiencing tragic and
traumatic events as a puppy; it’s a story about love,
loss, trust, intolerance, and resilience. The research
phase prior to starting the drafting was, for the most
part, familiar and therefore comfortable, but the
minute I began with the first words of the story,
Sometimes the cruelty and decay in the world
can be covered by the mask of night and the
shimmering of the moon and the stars. It is as if
goodness dives deep into a duvet and hides in the
half light, protected by the warmth that comes
with not seeing.
my whole emotional state changed. Put me on a
stage in front of thousands of people, and I feel
at home. Ask me to write about or discuss what
I know or do, no problem. I guess that in the
worlds I am used to inhabiting, I feel in control
and therefore am happy to be held to account or
critique. From the first key stroke here though, the
feeling was very different. I felt a vulnerability and
lack of confidence that I haven’t experienced for
some time.
I felt a vulnerability and lack of
confidence that I haven’t experienced
for some time.
This is new, it’s out of my comfort zone, and if it
was simply for my consumption, that would be
alright, no one would judge me, laugh at me or
be able to tell me that I had done it wrong. But
I had told the world I was writing it, and people
were now waiting expectantly. As I have written
more and more, it has struck me that I will need to
find a publisher, and that is going to be tortuous;
it also means that I will need to submit my work
for judgement. As an author, I have experienced
that before with my other books, primarily when
I submitted my drafts for editing, and then when
they got published for the world to see. At least
before, I knew what I was talking about and had
confidence in what I had to say and how to say it,
but fiction seems so much more subjective – it is a
craft, one honed by so many I admire and one that
definitely can’t be “blagged”.
It’s surprising as adults, how quickly
we forget what it feels like to be a
young learner in school, this process is
bringing it right back into focus for me.
It’s surprising as adults, how quickly we forget what
it feels like to be a young learner in school, this
process is bringing it right back into focus for me.
You are in the spotlight, you are accountable for
everything you say, do, and produce, and you are
judged based on the criteria of others.
For most of my career, I have reminded people
– young and old – that you never learn anything
new by getting something right; you only do so at
the point of a mistake or at the moment when you
realise you don’t know something or you can’t do
something. What I think I had forgotten was just
how terrifying it was to do that. It’s why, as we age,
we tend to learn less and put so much of our time
and energy into protecting what we do, what we
know, and what we have. It’s a control thing; as
children we spend so much of our time having to
be vulnerable, out of control, and judged, that as we
get older and leave formal education, so many of
us attempt to avoid those feelings and increasingly
lock down our lives. I believe it’s partly the reason
why we see some people becoming aggressive if
they are asked to think or behave differently, to
challenge their beliefs or to change path, or why
during a global pandemic, for example, people
hoard toilet paper and tomato puree in an effort to
feel safe and secure.
I am really enjoying writing the book, but know
that the day will come when it leaves my control.
It may, of course, never see the light of day, it may
not be good enough for public consumption, but
I am going to keep going and hopefully learn as
I go. I hope when the final paragraph is written,
if nothing else, I have evolved a little, learnt
something knew and celebrated “feeling the fear”
and doing it anyway. One thing is for sure, I will
have reconnected, empathetically, with what it is
to be a child in a classroom again. It is so important
that all of us lucky enough to work in education
don’t disconnect from how it feels to be a young
learner, waking up every morning knowing that
the day will include that insecurity and feeling of
disenfranchisement. As a result, we can all be a
little bit more sensitive to the courage it takes to
learn or do something new.
Richard Gerver is President
of the School Library
Association, and a worldrenowned
speaker and
author. He was previously a
headteacher.
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
17

A View From …
… a primary school
Author visits are a vital part of reading for pleasure at our
school. From my first, with Cath Howe six years ago (when I felt
clueless), to the six events that I hosted this spring, I now host
with confidence.
Top tips:
• Work with your local independent bookshop. Ours is the
award-winning Nomad Books. Publicists contact bookshops
to find schools for book tours. Book tours (might) equal free
author visits!
• When paying fees, check what is included, e.g. travel,
parking, VAT?
• Find out how book sales work best for your school and ask
the bookshop for advice.
• Check if the proposed dates work with relevant year groups,
and that the venue is available. Book it now!
• Confirm everything in writing with everyone who needs to
know, internal and external.
• Book authors you love. Book well in advance. For Book Week we
had AF Steadman, Catherine Johnson, and Ross Welford. For
WBD we had Ken Wilson-Max, and Louie Stowell who tweeted:
‘Authors, if @RPPSlondon invites you, go go go!
Jenny the librarian (@RPPS_Library) and @nomadbooks are a
dream team to work with! What a brilliant #WorldBookDay2023!
Amazingly creative kids and what a library!’
In advance of the visit:
• Inform the author of safeguarding requirements such as
needing photo ID.
• Can you provide parking?
… a secondary school
Students at Gillotts love taking part in clubs and activities,
and we have quite a range on offer. So much so that it can be
a struggle to persuade children that your club really is worth
coming to! On making enquiries, I found out that rugby or
football club clashed with Book Club. I was also beginning to
wonder whether ‘Book Club’ just seemed too much like another
English lesson.
This term I decided to re-launch the club as ‘Library Club.’ Okay,
not an exciting name, but I put much time and effort into my
publicity. I used Canva and gave a lot of detail about what kind
of activities we’d be doing. Book Club in any case had almost
morphed into an arts and crafts session. The crafts often involve
ripping up books and recycling them into artistic creations –
sometimes useful (such as bookmarks) and sometimes purely
fun and indulgent, such as hedgehogs and trees (trees are not
just for Christmas you know!). I also introduced board and card
games and colouring books.
One of the attractions in the library is our blackboards. I start
a theme on the board, using fluorescent chalk markers, and
let students doodle and get creative. A group of Year 7s made a
promotional display on our smaller board for the new club.
• If they are staying for lunch, check
dietary requirements.
• Provide tea, coffee, and biscuits on
arrival. Often your visitor has had an
early start.
• Find out any technical requirements.
Save the files on a USB to avoid tech
failures. Make friends with your IT
expert at school.
• If they are doing a “draw-a-long”,
have paper and pencils ready for
each child.
The night before:
• Borrow a jug and glass from the dining room to fill with fresh
water in the morning.
• Find a whiteboard and hide it in the library. I learnt this the
hard way with Jonny Duddle on World Book Day 2020, but
thankfully it was found, and we now have beautiful original
drawings.
Top tips on arrival:
• Point out the nearest toilet, show them the venue, and check
the tech is working. Deal with any last-minute requirements.
Ask authors to arrive 30 minutes before the start to make time
for this.
• Make your visitor feel very welcome. You might be feeling
really nervous, but they might be, too!
And finally, enjoy the visit. Take photographs for displays and
social media and ask illustrators (nicely) to do a special drawing
for your library.
Members of Library Club also help
to create displays. We had a brilliant
session recently trying out making
origami butterflies for ‘Reading gives
your imagination wings’. We have just
started making Pop Art style logos
for a graphic novels display; this also
makes use of those trusty tatty books.
We do have book-related meetings too.
I sometimes read a short story; next
term we’ll be enjoying the Carnegie
illustrated books.
Jenny Griffiths, Librarian,
Ravenscourt Park
Preparatory School, London
Sarah Seddon, Librarian,
Gillotts School, Henley-on-
Thames
Current club members are from Years 7, 8 and 10. We sit at a
round table in our non-fiction room. The system of duty staff at
Gillotts means that I don’t have to manage the library on my own
at lunchtimes. Library Club members are our quieter and more
reserved students. They enjoy playing what could potentially be
raucous games, such as Jenga or Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, in
a calm and civilised way. I am always calm and happy by the end
of lunchtime on Wednesdays. Library Club is as beneficial for the
School Librarian as it is for the students!
18
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

A View From …
… a school library service
It’s that time of year when schools are making that last push
before relaxing a little for the summer and when public libraries
are bracing themselves for the annual Summer Reading
Challenge (SRC). The SRC is primarily – and rightly so – about
children reading for pleasure but its impact in sustaining reading
for young people across the six-week break is also important to
acknowledge in educational settings. And that’s why the SRC
works best when multiple agencies are involved in promoting,
supporting, and celebrating it.
It’s hard for staff in public libraries to physically promote the
scheme in every school, but many offer promotional support
materials, or even assembly packs, that are freely available. By
promoting the scheme to pupils and families, and by celebrating
the success of those who took part (not just those who finished!)
in the autumn, schools can help make reading a home-centred
habit for the benefit of wider learning.
What about those children who are unlikely to be taken to the
library over the summer to participate in the SRC? The challenge
is now available online as well, so while children won’t have the
same experience of browsing (and practising their information
literacy) or of interacting about their reading, they can still
benefit from the motivation of the challenge to keep reading.
It’s commonly known that around 20% of children don’t have
books in their homes, but they, too, need access to fresh and
interesting books to keep reading.
Do your lending policies allow
borrowing over the summer? Do you
have access to eBooks that you can
remind children about?
Sometimes children find it hard to
choose what to read without adult
support, which can be a barrier in
itself. Many fall back on familiar and
comfortable reads, particularly when
without peer recommendation as well.
Helping children compile a wish list
of reads, perhaps even demonstrating
Helen Bryant, Hampshire
School library Service
Manager
the local public library OPAC or eBook platform before the
end of term, can give them the confidence to participate. Role
modelling of reading by teachers and librarians, including what
you plan to read over the summer, can also encourage pupils to
report on their successes and enjoyment of their reads.
The Summer Reading Challenge is the biggest event in the Public
Library calendar, and a much-loved activity. Through schools
‘topping and tailing’ the Challenge, it becomes a much more
rounded and impactful scheme.
… a sixth form library
In this freezing spring weather, it’s good to focus on the positives.
One talented Year 13 leaver posted a film on YouTube, with
extensive footage of this library (‘The B-money Experience’).
Another, ‘Meerveld Noire’, lampoons island politicians. Even
funnier is his music video ‘Bismarck’, featuring his friends in
Pickelhaube helmets as the Kaiser and Iron Chancellor, with
lyrics from revision notes on Weimar Germany. Their history
teacher proudly tells me how well their exams went.
The sixth form offers both A levels and International
Baccalaureate. The IB Community Action and Service this year
involves reading with the less literate Year 7s, including I Am the
Minotaur by Anthony McGowan, a favourite of mine (his superb
Dogs of the Deadlands literally made me cry). The lovely Year 12
girl reading it with two small boys shows infinite patience with
their avoidance tactics. When they come to the ‘Stinky Mog’
song, nobody wants the embarrassment of singing it, so they play
‘rock, paper, scissors’ to choose who does it.
Our ‘Staff Reads’ poster campaign for classroom doors continues.
One teacher writes that her book pick helps put her to sleep at
night, which makes me wonder – is this a bonus or a drawback?
I overhear two Year 12s putting finishing touches to their essays:
Boy 1 (typing manically): I can’t get less marks for ADDING
things.
Boy 2 (sagely): You might if you write
incorrect statements.
An email comes, saying that the
school qualifies for free access to
the National Theatre Collections of
50 plays recorded live, thanks to an
anonymous benefactor paying for
this access (via Drama Online) on
behalf of all state schools in the UK
and Channel Islands. I’m so amazed
that I first check it’s not a scam, but no,
it’s genuine. I pass the email on to our
Head of Drama. It’s so nice to be able
to deliver good news!
Anna Quick, Grammar
School and Sixth From
Centre, Guernsey
Regarding news, we’ve recently had a bombshell. The sixth form
was meant to move to a purpose-built campus in 2025, but the
builders have withdrawn due to rising costs. We now face a
“temporary” move to a 50-year-old school building that’s been
described by the government as ‘worn out’, and many staff are
unhappy with this news. The “temporary” site has an unstaffed
11–16 library with no senior resources, so a huge restock or
massive book migration will be needed. We await further
announcements. Roll on summer!
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
19

Curriculum Support
Primary
I’ve had the pleasure of running Year 6 reading interventions in a
variety of forms: a reluctant readers project (a featured article in
2022), a ‘Greater Depth’ book club, a poetry themed intervention,
and currently a book club for a small group of key marginal
children. The thought of running an intervention, particularly for
such a pivotal year group, can be a little daunting, particularly
if teaching staff haven’t given you a specific program to use, but
there is a wealth of resources available that can easily be adapted.
I tend to gravitate towards the Chatterbooks resources as a first
port of call for my book clubs, picking and choosing activities that
suit the children I have in the group.
This term I’ve been running a book club for a small group of
children who are just on the threshold of achieving ‘expected’, to
give them an opportunity to practise those skills that will boost
them just a little further. Using the Chatterbooks resources on
Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Taking the Blame, we’ve created
character profiles, compared the main character Loki to his
Norse myth counterpart, filled out a calendar of key events,
debated his potential for good, and read extracts together as a
group. All of the children who have taken part have really thrown
themselves into the group and enjoyed
reading the text, and I particularly
enjoyed our debate week, where both
teams fully committed themselves
to their respective arguments and
gave really thorough and thoughtful
evidence for their points.
As a librarian, offering interventions
outside the classroom is a real
opportunity to stretch the children
a little beyond the restraints of the
curriculum. Many of us are not
teachers, and our interventions may
take place in different spaces, which
Rebecca Campling
Primary School Librarian,
Orton Wistow Primary
School, Peterborough.
can help relieve the sense of pressure that some of the children
may feel, around SATS in particular. We may also be able to
offer some level of pastoral support. We are in the unique and
privileged position to be able take the skills that they have to
learn, and frame them a little differently: that might be just what’s
needed for them to connect the dots.
Secondary School – Reading for Wellbeing:
A multi-faceted approach
Mental health and wellbeing are very close to my heart and
as such the ‘Reading for Wellbeing’ collections I’ve developed
over the years are something that I am increasingly proud of.
My initial inspiration came from the original ‘Reading Well’
booklist by the Reading Agency along with attending my first
SLA conference in Harrogate (2017) and listening to the panel
talk hosted by Nicola Morgan. Returning to my library after that
weekend, I created my first ‘Reading for Wellbeing’ area and
have continued to expand the collection and its involvement
in everyday school life. Creating connections with members of
staff across the school has enabled the collection to become well
established in the following ways:
Pastoral Tutors:
All receive copies of the booklist and guide that can be
distributed to members of the tutor group.
Housemasters/Heads of Year:
Copies of the booklist are given to housemasters; on top of this
students can request loans through their housemaster, or staff
can borrow titles from the collection on behalf of a student. This
has proven a popular option for individuals who may not have
the confidence to approach the library desk directly.
School Counsellors:
Teaming up with the school counsellors, they are on hand to
provide any recommendations for the booklet and the books
within the collection. They also request anonymous loans as an
element of support for the students that they see.
Citizenship/PSHE:
Books from the collection are
put forward for inclusion in our
‘citizenship mornings’ as a further
resource that students can explore.
Pastoral Detentions:
Relatively new but emerging as one
of my favourite uses of the books is
for our pastoral detentions where the
focus is on what can be learnt from
mistakes made – I have put together a
number of books and online articles
for these and am currently working
Lauren Chatley
on putting together a ‘Pastoral Support’ folder to make resources
even easier to find on some of the common themes, and offer
suggestions of activities to complement the reading. The books
are used as a way of recognising a wrongdoing whilst putting
scaffolds in place to help teenagers understand the world around
them and their contribution to society.
Beyond the books, I would also recommend:
Library and Information
Manager, Bedford​ School.
Positive News (magazine)
Teen Breathe (magazine)
The Happy Newspaper (one of my favourites!)
www.verywellmind.com – great for articles at all levels,
and peer reviewed!
20
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Feature
Storytime in School Research
Alison David
Farshore is undertaking new research into storytimes at primary
schools – and their importance for development, motivation
and the opportunity to fall in love with reading.
Only 37% of 5- to 10-year-olds,
and 18% of 11- to 17-year-olds,
read for pleasure daily or nearly
every day (4+ days per week). 1 In
2012, this stood at 55% and 24%,
respectively. Something must be
done about this – but what?
When children are read to, they also choose
to read independently
We know that parents reading aloud to children
in the home environment is a very powerful way
to encourage children to read themselves. Even
the most reluctant children can become engaged
with reading when they are read to regularly. It
is so enjoyable and impactful that they become
enthused to read independently. It sounds simple
and in many ways it is. But the challenge is making
regular reading aloud to children at home happen.
When it does, its impact can be dramatic. In the
charts below you can see how effective it is. Each
chart shows the percentage of children, by age, who
choose to read independently, ‘daily or nearly every
day’ (for the 0–4s, ‘reading’ includes looking at and
playing with books).
• Chart A shows what happens when they are read
to infrequently at home (less than weekly).
• Chart B shows what happens when they are read
to weekly at home.
• Chart C shows what happens when they are read
to often at home (daily/nearly every day).
Few children in Chart A read daily themselves,
whereas Chart C shows that children who are read
to are often much more likely to read on a daily
basis themselves – almost a half of 5–7s and almost
three quarters of 8–13s do so.
Reading aloud to children often is a key motivator for them to read independently
Alison David is Consumer
Insight Director at Farshore,
a children’s imprint of
HarperCollins Publishers.
Alison has worked with
research as a creator, analyst
and end user. Her research
programme includes
investigating what it takes
to inspire children to read
for pleasure.
Source: Nielsen BookData’s ‘Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer’ 2022
22
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Storytime in School Research
Unfortunately, the prevalence of parents reading to
children is declining, and in addition parents tend
to think, as children get older, that they don’t need
to be read to anymore. Current data shows 46% of
5–7s are read to daily/nearly every day at home,
but by the time children reach the 8–10 age group,
this has reduced to 25%. 2 A further big barrier to
reading for pleasure is that many children think
negatively of reading, seeing it only as a subject
to learn, lessons and homework, not something
enjoyable they could choose to do in their free time.
Could reading aloud work in the
school setting?
If regularly reading aloud to children at home
works so well in changing children’s minds – and
behaviours – around reading, might the same
happen if they were read to regularly at school?
We tested this idea out in a small project in 2018
(one school, 120 key stage 2 children) where
we found experiencing storytime significantly
increased children’s enthusiasm, motivation,
and wellbeing and, over a period of 5 months,
children’s comprehension grew by an average of
10.3 months; this was at twice the expected rate.
While the findings were very compelling, we were
conscious that to test the idea properly we should
take learnings from this pilot study and scale up to
a much bigger project.
Experiencing storytime significantly
increased children’s enthusiasm,
motivation, and wellbeing and, over
a period of 5 months, children’s
comprehension grew by an average of
10.3 months.
Storytime in School
During the spring term 2023 we ran our latest
project, Storytime in School. We worked with 20
schools and 3,000 key stage 2 children in Years 3,
4 and 5. Teachers were asked to read aloud to the
children, daily and for at least 20 minutes, simply
for the children’s enjoyment (no formal teaching
was to be attached to the experience).
We gathered responses from teachers and
pupils before and after the study in the form of
questionnaires and interviews. We interviewed the
literacy or reading lead at the end of the project,
to explore the impact on staff and children. In
addition, Year 4 children took the New Salford
Reading Comprehension test at the start and end
of the project. We have given 200 free books to each
school as a ‘thank you’ for participating.
We know reading aloud to children at
home works well, but given so many
children are not experiencing this,
hearing a story at school might be the
only time they are read to.
We think this is a timely project as there is
increasing focus on reading for pleasure in
education: reading for Pleasure is detailed in
the National Curriculum for English, and the
Government’s 2021 Reading Framework calls for
storytime (section 2). Ofsted is increasingly looking
for evidence of ‘Reading for Pleasure’ in their
inspections. We know reading aloud to children
at home works well, but given so many children
are not experiencing this, hearing a story at school
might be the only time they are read to. In the
20 schools that took part, for the duration of this
project, we knew that no child was missing out
on the joy of stories, of being read to, and on the
chance to fall in love with reading.
We’re currently working through the data and
will be releasing the findings in September 2023.
If you’d like to know the outcome, please register
your interest here: farshoreinsight@harpercollins.
co.uk
Notes
1. Nielsen BookData’s ‘Understanding the Children’s Book
Consumer’ 2022.
2. Nielsen BookData’s ‘Understanding the Children’s Book
Consumer’ 2022
Our hypothesis is that reading aloud to children at school when there are no expectations
(no work sheets, no testing or tasks linked to it, no questioning to make sure they
have understood or to share their opinions on plot and character) makes reading fun,
not learning. This reduces the pressure, reduces the cognitive load, allows children
to relax, enjoy, listen. Listening helps put words and ideas together and results in
improved listening comprehension. It also enthuses and motivates children to read for
pleasure independently.
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
23

Digital
Unleashing Creativity with
Genially
A Comprehensive Tool for Teachers and Students
multimedia elements to engage students and
cater to different learning styles. By designing
quizzes and interactive exercises, teachers can
assess students’ understanding of topics in a more
enjoyable and engaging manner. Genially facilitates
real-time collaboration, enabling teachers to work
with colleagues on joint projects, lesson planning,
and curriculum development.
Uses for Students
Kojo Hazel
Teacher of IT and Diversity
& Inclusion Fellow for
Microsoft Education UK.
@kojohazel
The digital age has revolutionised teaching
methods and introduced a myriad of
online tools to facilitate learning. One such
innovative web application is Genially, an all-inone
content creation platform that helps educators
and students design interactive, multimedia-rich
presentations, infographics, quizzes, and more.
Let’s explore the features of Genially, how it
can benefit both teachers and students, and its
compatibility with Microsoft and Google platforms.
Features of Genially
At its core, Genially is designed to make content
creation accessible, enjoyable, and visually
appealing. Some of its standout features include
an extensive template library, a user-friendly
drag-and-drop interface, interactive elements,
collaboration, and gamification. The platform
offers a vast selection of customisable templates,
catering to various subjects and presentation styles,
allowing users to quickly create professionallooking
content without starting from scratch.
The drag-and-drop interface enables effortless
editing and designing, even for those with limited
design experience. Users can easily add, resize,
and arrange elements on a canvas, making content
creation a breeze. Perhaps my favourite feature,
Genially supports the addition of interactive
elements such as buttons, pop-ups, and embedded
videos, fostering engaging and dynamic content.
Furthermore, Genially offers gamification features,
allowing users to create educational games and
interactive quizzes that boost learner engagement
and motivation.
Uses for Teachers
Genially is a versatile tool that can enhance
teaching methods in various ways. Teachers can
create interactive presentations, incorporating
Genially empowers students to develop essential
skills while fostering creativity. Students can
create visually appealing presentations, refining
their communication and storytelling skills. The
app’s collaborative features make it an excellent
choice for group projects, promoting teamwork
and organisation. Students can also showcase their
work and achievements in a digital portfolio.
Training Materials
Genially provides a wealth of training materials to
help users make the most of the platform. Through
a comprehensive library of tutorials, webinars,
and articles, users can learn about the various
features and best practices for designing interactive
content. Genially also offers a dedicated blog
that shares inspiring examples, tips, and ideas for
successful projects.
Compatibility with Microsoft and Google
Ready for any learning environment, Genially
integrates seamlessly with both Microsoft and
Google platforms. Users can import PowerPoint
presentations and enhance them with interactive
elements, and the platform supports OneDrive
integration for easy file management. Genially
also integrates with Google Drive, allowing
users to store, share, and collaborate on their
creations. Additionally, it supports Google
Classroom, simplifying content distribution
and class management.
There’s no learning without motivation! Genially
is a powerful and versatile web application that
caters to the needs of modern educators and
students alike. Its user-friendly interface, extensive
template library, and compatibility with Microsoft
and Google make it an invaluable tool for creating
engaging, interactive content. This truly is a tool
you’ll use every day.
24
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Meet students where they are
with digital titles
The Sora student reading app offers an extensive catalog that spans
the interests and reading levels of every student, and includes titles
in over 100 languages. With ebooks for visual learners, audiobooks
for auditory learning and diverse subject matter, Sora helps make
sure every child feels included and empowered.
Learn more at
company.overdrive.com/international-schools

Digital
Future of EdTech
Future Opportunities for Education Technology in
England, Government Report June 2022
(tinyurl.com/FutureEdTech)
software, I agree that this is going to be huge
in EdTech.
Bev Humphrey is a
Literacy and Digital Media
Consultant with specialisms
in the use of digital media,
reading promotion, and
event organisation.
Future opportunities for education
technology in England
June 2022
Letizia Vicentini, Laurie Day, Valdeep Gill, Johnny
Lillis, Selina Komers, and Niklas Olausson: Ecorys
This report presents the findings from
the Future Opportunities for Education
Technology research project which ran
from December 2021 to March 2022 and aimed
to give insights relating to the future of the
EdTech market in England, looking at probable
developments in digital technology and education
policy. The demand for EdTech shows no sign
of abating, accelerated by the pandemic, which
by necessity fast tracked the use of technology
to allow children to continue their education
at home.
These are the areas of probable future EdTech
development identified by the report:
Artificial Intelligence
AI can have many uses in education but its main
areas of usefulness according to the report are
in student teaching, student supporting, teacher
supporting, and system supporting. Nesta
(the UK innovation society for social good) uses
this definition of AI: ‘Computers which perform
cognitive tasks, usually associated with human
minds, particularly learning and problem-solving.’
With the growing interest in our sector for AI sites
such as Chat GPT and popular content creation
sites like Canva embracing the use of AI in their
1
Blockchain Technology
Blockchain reduces the need for paper-based
systems of accreditation for educational
institutions, allowing educational records,
etc., to be shared securely and facilitating
payments within institutions using blockchain
based cryptocurrencies. BlockCerts technology
could create an open standard for creating,
issuing, viewing, and verifying blockchainbased
certificates. Students would then be able
to organise and store their educational and
professional certificates easily via an online portal.
This would give students more autonomy over
their credentials and a way to keep certificates
up to date, as well as eradicating false claims of
holding certifications.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
VAR systems can allow learners to practise
skills before applying them in a real-life context
and allow them to enter an immersive world of
learning, which can be of enormous benefit and
accelerate learning. Virtual reality has also been
used in games that have a more serious intent:
a game developed by the University of Washington
uses VR to crowdsource research which will
support and enhance their understanding of
protein structures and their role in diseases such
as Alzheimer’s.
Social Robots
Robots are probably what many of us think of
when we speculate about future technologies and
there are many ways that robots can support both
students and teachers. There are three distinct
roles for robots in education: teaching assistants,
peer learners, and digital avatars, allowing
students who have to remain at home to have a
physical presence in the classroom. The value
of using robots as teaching assistants has been
shown to increase engagement in lessons, and
using robots as peer learners encourages children
to spend more time on learning activities.
When teachers were consulted, they identified
many barriers to use of new technologies, with the
biggest one being the cost and school budgetary
constraints. However, these difficulties accepted, it
has to be said that the way forward is exciting, and
to quote Lizzo ‘about damn time’!
26
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

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Registration closes on 22 September 2023.

Digital
Anton Primary School
Learning App
Roshan Hunt is a Chartered
Librarian with experience
of managing corporate and
school libraries.
The Anton Primary School Learning app
covers maths, English, science, and music
for Reception to Year 6. Available on both
Android and Apple, it is free to use and has over
5 million downloads on the Play store alone. It is
rated 4.9 out of 5.0 based on 113K reviews. It is also
available on the web at www.anton.app and works
well on both the big and small screen. It has a
simple interface and does not have advertisements
for other products. There are 10,000 lessons with
more than 200 exercise types, educational games,
and interactive explanations. It fosters independent
learning by rewarding users with stars which can
be spent on games within the app. Staff can create
classes, assign lessons, and track progress.
There is a breadth of topics to choose from. There is
also content for pupils with English as an additional
language, and some content in European
languages, including Ukrainian. Answering
questions correctly earns you coins which you can
use to play games within the app. The activities are
colourful and lively, it is well laid out, and I didn’t
experience any glitches.
From a parent’s point of view, it is an educational
and interactive use of screentime. It will certainly
leave you guilt-free when you need a device for
entertainment/distraction. I would recommend
using it for any topics which need reinforcement.
I asked primary school assistant headteacher,
Lauren, to take a look: ‘…the interface [is] attractive
and child friendly but not too distracting or
overwhelming. The challenge in the activities was
appropriate and I really had to engage with the
questions to get them right. The tasks are repetitive
which is good but not boring. It’s got areas to
develop but what they’ve done so far is nice. I’d
like to see what it’s like once they’ve completed all
the subjects.’
I also asked my Y6 Library helpers to test out some
of the features. Eddie wrote, ‘I like the premise that
you have to learn in order to play games.’ Hannah
added, ‘It’s a fun way of learning … it will encourage
children to learn.’ William said, ‘It does gradually
get harder which is good but it seems too easy for
many Year 6s.’ Finally, Alexander thought it was
‘... possibly the new TTRS’ (that’s Times Table Rock
Stars for those not in the know).
UK & Ireland Points of View
Reference Centre
Offering balanced perspectives on current events and issues
Using the high-quality content in this research
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• Develop critical literacy and questioning skills
Learn More
www.ebsco.com | 020 8447 4200 | mailuk@ebsco.com
28
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Digital
EdTech Horizons
Wherever you work as a teacher or
school librarian, it’s probably a safe
bet that you’ve never had any formal
procurement training. Yet most people reading
this article will have received dozens of emails
from companies seeking to sell them the latest
must-have piece of educational technology. So how
can educators identify which products are worth
exploring further and buying?
Schools and teachers are being overwhelmed with
choice. This has led to a cacophony of competing
marketing claims from suppliers: ‘We reduce
teachers’ workload by …’, ‘We’re the UK’s No 1 …’
and ‘Students make 5× more progress using …’.
Schools, unsurprisingly, find it difficult to identify
the solutions that best fit their specific needs or
school context and they don’t know which vendors
to trust. As a result, teachers are more sceptical
customers – a recent UK survey found that only 8%
of educators trust the claims of EdTech vendors.
More importantly, the money that schools
spend on EdTech is often poorly focused. 84% of
educators say that their investments in EdTech
failed due to poor implementation. That’s often
because the wrong products were bought in the
first place.
Educators are, therefore, increasingly looking for
evidence before making a purchase decision. In
2022, the UK Department for Education asked
teachers: ‘What policy support would be the most
effective in helping schools and colleges get the
best out of EdTech in future?’ 51% gave ‘evidencebased
EdTech teaching resources’ as their
top answer.
So how can schools and educators find and
use evidence to make smarter EdTech buying
decisions? The Buyers’ Guide produced by the 2023
Bett Show and EdTech impact is a great place to
start. It provides a step-by-step, systematic process
for schools to follow when evaluating or buying
EdTech solutions and includes some key questions
to ask potential suppliers.
Peer reviews are also becoming a critical
component in a school’s buying process. In 2022
Besa asked: ‘Which of the following (sources) are
you most likely to consult when deciding what
EdTech to purchase?’ Online reviews came top –
in fact, primary and secondary schools were four
times more likely to use online peer reviews over
traditional exhibitions.
EdTech Impact is a great site for global schools to
visit and use for such online reviews. Over the last
four and a half years, they’ve gathered over 10,000
independent reviews and recommendations from
teachers and schools on the use of different EdTech
solutions. These reviews reveal authentic insights
into what it’s like to be a customer, how the product
is performing over time, and how it compares
to alternatives.
A move towards evidence-based
decision-making in schools doesn’t
just improve the procurement of
EdTech tools. It can also underpin
their successful implementation in the
classroom or library.
A move towards evidence-based decision-making
in schools doesn’t just improve the procurement
of EdTech tools. It can also underpin their
successful implementation in the classroom or
library. Evidence can also be used to evaluate the
impact of EdTech tools on learning outcomes,
on teacher performance, and on whole-school
attainment. As such, it’s no surprise that the US
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) prioritises the
use and evaluation of evidence-based interventions
as a key tool in improving the overall quality of
school education.
Photo by Gustavo Fring
on Pexels.
Jonathan Viner is the
founder of 10Digits an
independent consultancy
that provides actionable
insight and hands on
support to education
entrepreneurs he also
publishes the fortnightly
Nordic EdTech News
newsletter and is a regular
commentator speaker and
writer on global edtech
trends. @jonathanviner
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
29

Digital
Summer Reading/Reading Role
Models on Social Media
Twitter
The Reading Agency @readingagency
The official site for the Reading Agency’s Summer
Reading Challenge for children. Follow this for
news and updates throughout the summer.
Children’s Laureate @UKLaureate
Follow the current UK Waterstones Children’s
Laureate Joseph Coelho as he promotes all things
literary.
Laura Patricia Rose Reads @Lauraprosereads
Book champion Laura shares her reading and
other book related posts. She mainly focuses on
historical, fantasy, and literary fiction.
Summer Scares @SummerScares
An American based reading program to promote
YA and MG horror for summer reading. As well
as book recommendations, they provide reading
group guides and an associated podcast.
Patron of Reading @patronofreading
Promoting the UK Patron of Reading scheme and
all things literary in schools.
#summerreading
Check out this hashtag for
summer reading chat and
recommendations.
Library Mice @Librarymice
Run by a librarian, this
account shares book
recommendations,
events, and other
industry news.
ReadingWritingAndMe
@ReadWriteandMe
Lanie started book
blogging when
she was 14 and
is now a young
adult. Follow
this account
for regular book
recommendations and links to longer reviews on
her associated blog.
Lauren Thow is a Librarian
and Guidance Teacher at
Stewart’s Melville College.
She is passionate about
school libraries, loves
engaging young people
with literature, and when
she’s not reading, can be
found walking the hills
of Edinburgh.
Instagram
Kim Duffy @bookbairn
Kim shares reviews and recommendations for a
wide range of children’s books.
The Reading Ninja @thereadingninja
The Reading Ninja recommends children’s books
and can be found stealthily decorating New York
City with ‘Reading is Rad’ stickers. What’s not
to love?
Diverse Books for Kids @diverse_kids_books
This site focuses on books with diverse characters
for younger ages. There’s a wide range of titles, and
posts show a sample of the inside of recommended
titles – not just the front cover.
Books On The Underground @booksontheunderground
Spreading reading joy around London, be inspired
by this community which leaves books on the
underground for travellers to read and return.
Amy’s Bookshelf @amysbookshelf
Amy shares reviews, recommendations, and to-beread
lists to inspire your next read. Posts sometimes
link to @_amysbookclub, a subscription-based
virtual book club.
Mariah | The Knead to Read @thekneadtoread
This account is for those who like sweet treats as
Mariah shares recommendations not just for books
but the baking they inspire.
taryn | @mentallybooked
@mentallybooked
Posts on this account are
bright and eye-catching and
as well as recommendations
for recent reads there are
lots of posts promoting
genre fiction.
Joel Rochester @fictionalfates
Joel is an awardwinning
book content
creator sharing book
recommendations and
links to his YouTube
site. Some posts are
sponsored.
Marcela @marcereads
Sharing book recommendations, reviews,
and photos of artistically displayed books.
Emily The Breakfast Book Club @thebreakfast.bookclub
Artful photos, videos, and lots of book
recommendations.
30
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

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Digital
Three from YouTube –
Transition
Beth Khalil is the LRC
Manager/Literacy
Coordinator Northern
Education Trust Thorp
Academy. She has been a
librarian for 30 years and
her passion is encouraging
young people to discover a
lifelong love of reading.
Children and Young People’s
Services – NHS
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLSL0FP9Znc
‘Transition To Secondary School – Supporting Your
Child’ is a webinar presented by Caroline Gibbs, a
clinical psychologist at the Richmond and Kingston
Children and Young People’s Ward. The video runs
for just over 17 minutes and informs parents about
helping their Year 6 child make the transition to
secondary school.
The presentation starts by describing the common
worries that a Year 6 child would have when leaving
primary school, such as not remembering new
names, the work being too difficult, getting lost,
and more.
There is a short video which shows our fight or
flight responses to the threats and worries our brain
perceives are too hard to cope with in stressful
situations. It also lists the physiological symptoms
that occur in our bodies during these times.
Gibbs then presents several steps which get the
child discussing what their main worries are
and encourages them to rate the importance
of their response on a scale of 1–10 so the child
can communicate how stressed they feel about
the situation.
This webinar would definitely help both students
and parents to work through the transition process
so that the child can enjoy their summer break
without feeling anxious.
‘Moving Up! The transition to
secondary school’
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFpVOIpeksk
This is an animated video from the Anna Freud
NCCF, which shows how students could feel before
they make the move to secondary school from
primary. It conveys the worries the children may
have, such as how much extra work they might
have to complete or if the new staff will be as nice
to them as the primary teachers are. They feel safe
and comfortable at primary school, and everyone
knows them.
The animation chronicles the first week of various
children ready to make the same transition to
secondary, who are all feeling nervous with various
anxieties. The video then jumps to a month later
when the children are more settled and happier,
they have made friends, and although they still find
the work tricky sometimes, they are helping each
other through it.
On the last day of the year, the students reflect
on their first year and how they overcame
their worries.
This could be very helpful to students as it is only
four minutes in length but gives a lot of valuable
information through the animated characters.
‘Year 6 transition’
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G63JvItQyn0
Warwickshire Council have an animated video
which addresses concerns students may have
about transitioning to secondary school and how
those anxieties can be alleviated if the student
does some research about their new school,
so they have knowledge instead of facing the
unknown. The two-minute video addresses the
transition through responsibility, organisation,
and independence. There are tips like researching
the school’s website and having a virtual tour, or
looking at the school Twitter and Facebook feeds
to see the types of activities they provide. This will
all help students to understand what secondary
school life is all about.
32
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Three Websites –
Windrush 75th Anniversary
Digital
of the arrivals; a range of historic photographs
‘Memories of the Caribbean’; and ‘Talking Heads’,
films recorded with members of the Windrush
generation and their descendants, discussing
music and songs. A podcast explores the legacies
of the Windrush generation, and teacher notes for
key stage 2, linking with art and history, utilise an
online toolbox that explores stories of migration
and how these impact of a sense of belonging.
British Library Windrush
Teaching Resources
www.bl.uk/windrush/teaching-resources
The British Library has a range of Windrush
resources suitable for both primary and secondary
students. The two downloadable teaching packs
explore the experiences of people who migrated
from the Caribbean and how they shaped Britain
through their artistic and cultural impressions.
Each pack contains a range of creative writing
ideas, with links to original sources including
videos, sound recordings, news broadcasts, poetry
performances, letters, manuscripts, and other
collection items. There is also a link to the British
Library Windrush story website where readers
can view a wider range of resources. The website
is extremely comprehensive, easy to search, and
relevant resources are linked together for ease of
navigation as well as being grouped under themes
such as ‘waves of history’, ‘the arrivants’ and
‘authors, artists and activists’. There is also a Black
Literature Timeline poster that can be downloaded
for display.
Reading Museum
www.readingmuseum.org.uk/explore/onlineexhibitions/windrush-day/windrush-daylearning-resources
With the support of the Reading Caribbean
community, the Barbados Museum and Historical
Society, and the Windrush Foundation, Reading
Museum have created some useful school
resources that will help students understand
the importance of Windrush Day. There are
downloadable worksheets for key stages 2 and
3 that enable students to explore the topic in an
interactive way. There is also a ‘Teaching Resources
Pack’ that links to the National Curriculum
requirements and Ofsted Framework 2019 for
literacy, history, and cultural capital.
Royal Museums Greenwich
www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritimemuseum/windrush-day
The National Maritime Museum in London is
celebrating the 75th anniversary of the HMT
Empire Windrush’s arrival in Britain. To support
this, they have a range of online resources: the
story of the Empire Windrush; video news footage
The learning activities look at historical evidence,
focus on the individual and difficult issues, and
encourage learning from photos. Resources include
videos, articles, documents and records, photos,
and other resources such as a TES PowerPoint and
British Council lesson. They are categorised under
four headings: Caribbean participants in World War
II; the voyage of the Empire Windrush; Windrush
stories; and Barrel children. A useful website with
links to many other sources of information.
Barbara Band is a chartered
librarian with over 30 years’
experience working in a
wide range of schools;
an international speaker,
writer, and trainer, she offers
consultancy services on
all aspects of librarianship
and reading. When not
campaigning for school
libraries, she can be found
reading, knitting, or painting.
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
33

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Made By Dyslexia
Online Training
Digital
Made By Dyslexia is a UK charity that undertakes research into
dyslexic thinking as a skill. Their report Dyslexia: The School
Report, published in October 2022, makes interesting reading;
it found that globally only one in ten teachers had a good
understanding of dyslexia and that 80% of dyslexic children leave
school with their condition unidentified. In order to improve
this situation, the charity have partnered with Microsoft to
provide free online training and are suggesting that schools
#takeadayfordyslexia – New York City has already used this
training with over 100,000 teachers! However, although the
programme is targeted at teachers, it is important to recognise
that these are not the only staff who work with students and that
this training could benefit others working in education.
The training programme consists of six modules that take
approximately six hours to complete, so would make a good
focus for a whole school training day. Each module is broken
down into 6–8 short manageable units with a suggested time
for completion.
Module 1 introduces the training, explores what is meant
by dyslexia, and how it can be identified. Module 2 looks
at approaches for different subjects. Module 3 considers
best practices for teaching, whilst modules 4 and 5 look at
strategies and solutions for reading, spelling, writing, memory,
organisation, maths and technology. The final module reflects
on the
challenges faced by
dyslexic students and the technological tools
available to help them.
The training is well structured. Each unit follows the same
pattern with information presented in an easy-to-read format,
broken up by bullet points. There are videos to watch, featuring
well-known personalities with dyslexia such as Keira Knightly
as well as teachers and students talking about their experiences.
At the end of each unit there are questions for reflection and
links to further reading and resources. The final units include
a knowledge check featuring a short multiple choice quiz and
a summary.
The role of the school library is to
support the needs of the whole
community; this training enables you
to increase your understanding of, and
support for, dyslexic students.
Report: www.madebydyslexia.org/wp-
content/uploads/Dyslexia-The-School-
Report.pdf
Made By Dyslexia: www.madebydyslexia.org
Dyslexia training: tinyurl.com/ycktyhvr
Barbara Band
Remus Magazine Review
ocean.exacteditions.com/magazines/23659/issues
The Remus magazine is produced by the British Museum for
their younger members to browse. It is online to read, and the
articles reflect the exhibitions within the museum at the time
of publication. It is published three times a year and has been
in print since the 1990s. The page is easy to navigate, with the
magazines set out in different time decades.
The archives hold back copies of the magazine, and there is a
vast difference in the style of the issues from the 1990s to the
modernised magazine layout of today. The magazines are full
of really interesting historical information, from articles on the
Parthenon, to ‘Luxury and Power in Ancient Greece and Persia’.
The articles are well set out in small chunks of text, which makes
the magazine accessible to all readers. The pages themselves are
brightly coloured and the text easy to read.
The images alongside the text are a mix of exhibition
photographs and colourful illustrations. There are small ‘Did you
know?’ facts scattered throughout the pages as well as fun facts
which readers will find fascinating to read and recite to others.
The magazines, as well as being fascinating to read, are also
interactive for readers. They contain word searches based on the
topic articles, and there are also craft instructions for readers to
create projects. They can make a Persian Love Cake, animate an
Aztec Code, or make an afternoon tea, to name a few.
There are many learning activities which the readers can try
based on the topics they are reading about. For example, after
the ‘Murasaki Shikibu: Master Storyteller’ article, the readers are
prompted to create their own short story in the space provided.
They can also design an Egyptian pictogram, create poems,
and are encouraged to share their own stories, thoughts, and
illustrations inspired by the magazine, to be published.
One of the most interesting articles I read whilst browsing the
archive, was the ‘Murasaki Shikibu: Master Storyteller’ article,
as it was all about the author’s work, and the fact that many
think her work The Tale of Genji might be the world’s first novel.
The article gives information about the author and recaps the
premise of the story alongside some beautiful artwork, giving
readers a glimpse of what life was like at the Imperial Court
in Japan.
Because they are published three times a year, they can be read
seasonally, so the winter edition in 2020 has articles about the
Antarctic and how to make an igloo or
bake a wintery snowscape.
I enjoyed browsing these magazines
and I hope they continue to be
published as the museum exhibitions
change, as they may encourage
young people to visit the museum for
themselves and enjoy the exhibitions
and displays first-hand.
Beth Khalil
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
35

Curriculum Links
Primary – Democracy
Podcast: Inside Parliament
tinyurl.com/5yuz258b
Explains the origins of democracy from
the Magna Carta until the present day and
the fights over who could vote and when.
Video: UK Parliament’s Education
Service
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAMbIz3Y2JA
How the UK Parliament works, how
laws are made, holding Government
to account and how you can get your
voice heard.
Video: Fundamental British
Values – Democracy
Robert Mitton, leadership and management
consultant
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-D2H5rUuDM
How democracy came into British life,
why it is important from the point of view
of culture and freedom.
Website: Teachwire
Teacher contributor Sally Maddison
tinyurl.com/bdcnh5sd
One approach to teaching democracy by
turning the school council into a school
pupil parliament – a simple thing, which
had a huge impact.
Website: BBC Bitesize, What is
democracy?
tinyurl.com/hs7a6vab
Videos, facts and activities with important
terms used in politics and elections
explained in a straightforward manner.
Website: Encyclopaedia Britannica
kids.britannica.com/kids/article/
democracy/352935
Simple explanation of democracy, its
history, and related terms, with the option
to explore further with appropriate links.
Ability to have text read aloud.
Website: Inside Parliament
tinyurl.com/yeyuj5jj
Explains how voting works, from children
voting for which playground game to play
to MPs trying to get people’s votes.
Book: Rooney, Anne and Antram,
David, You Wouldn’t Want to Live
Without Democracy!
Book House, 2022, 40pp, £7.99,
9781913971618
An accessible and engaging history of
democracy, from its origins to what can
happen when democracy disappears.
Book: Bunting, Philip, Democracy!
Hardie Grant Books, 2023, 32pp, £9.99,
9781761211478
Tips on how to engage in community
discussions, from petitions to peaceful
protests. Explains the history of
democracy in a funny and positive way.
Secondary – Green Matters
Book: Gifford, Clive, The Causes
and Impact of Climate Change
OUP, 2022, 96pp, £7.99, 9780192780300
A clear explanation as to what climate
is, why it’s changing, what greenhouse
gases are and how they are changing
the climate, and how we can slow down
this process.
Book: Winning, Matt, Hot Mess:
What on Earth Can We Do About
Climate Change?
Headline, 2022, 368pp, £9.99, 9781472276728
This book helps readers understand what
the main causes of climate change are,
what changes are needed, and what they
can (and cannot) do about it.
Podcast: Sustainababble
www.sustainababble.fish/?cat=2
Funny, topical, and interesting weekly
podcast exploring new topics with some
famous faces. Now discontinued but
earlier episodes available.
Podcast: Sustainable(ish) –
community of eco-activists
www.asustainablelife.co.uk/a-sustainablelife-podcast/
Different episodes relating to life – ‘The
Carbon Footprint of Christmas’, Council
Services, COP27 explained.
TV Programme: Wild Isles
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0fd45w7/
wild-isles-saving-our-wild-isles
The additional documentary
commissioned by the RSPB, WWF and
National Trust where passionate people
advocate for the restoration of nature in
the UK.
Video: UCLA American University
site: ‘What is Sustainability?’
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx04Kl8y4dE
Defining sustainability and connections
enabling the ability to maintain our
world and become involved in caring for
our planet.
Video: TED Talks: ‘Michael Green:
How We Can Make the World a
Better Place by 2030?’
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o08ykAqLOxk
World governments agreed a new set of
Global Goals by 2030. How these goals
and their vision for a better world can
be achieved.
Video: BBC Earth: ‘Climate Change:
The Facts – When The World Gets
1° Hotter’
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIsjcG7hTmo
How emissions from our energy use are
causing the world to warm by roughly 1°
and its effects.
Video: Nature Slice: ‘Plastic Bottle
Greenhouse Tutorial’
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF7Odl877d4
A plastic bottle greenhouse is the perfect
garden addition to save money and
make use of the growing number of
plastic bottles.
36
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

WF Education | Everna Teen reading spaces
WHY CHOOSE EVERNA MODULES FOR TEENAGERS?
Young people often feel much more welcomed and
valued when libraries create dedicated spaces for them.
WF Education worked with librarians and educators
to design corner modules specifically intended to
engage teenagers to read for pleasure and improve
literacy, by giving them immediate access to materials
and somewhere comfortable to read – whilst giving
custodians choice and speed of selection and
installation.
We have created “turnkey” solutions, designed to
encourage young people to read for pleasure and
develop a taste for reading.
Download the brochure
OUR SOLUTIONS ARE BASED
ON 3 PRINCIPLES:
Perfect
combinations
of face-up and
browser display
ENCOURAGE SPONTANEOUS READING
Optimise engagement and stimulate browsing by increasing the
number of display options. It focuses on providing immediate
access to teens favourite literature and allows you to highlight
authors and genres by showcasing the covers of books on
sloped display shelves.
Add
comfortable
seating within
easy reach
CREATE A COSY ENVIRONMENT
Offer a balance between book presentation and cosy
seating nooks to curl up in, where teenagers are tempted
to stay, immerse themselves in a book, magazine or
graphic novel and read for pleasure. Our integrated dens
are designed to draw teenagers into the space. Add other
elements of loose seating such as bean bags and cushions.
Create a
dedicated space
where teens can
take ownership
ENHANCE THEIR EXPERIENCE
Your feedback highlighted the difficulty in appealing to
different audiences within your library space. Teenagers
preferred visiting the library when they were given a
dedicated corner, where they can feel autonomous. If
teenagers feel welcome and comfortable, they will stay
longer and return more often.
Visit: wf-education.com/solutions/everna-teen-reading Email: hello@wf-education.com Call us on: 01743 812 200

Frequently Asked Questions
answered by Lucy Chambers
What information should I provide
for new students and staff and when
is the best time?
Promoting the library is constant. You
should also offer induction lessons in
September. These may lead to regular
sessions on information and digital
literacy so students can make the best
use of the library for research and
reading. Promote clubs, author visits and
activities too.
1. Year 7s may start school ignorant of
how libraries work if their primary
school had no library or trained
librarian, so induction and library
lessons are essential.
2. Include library facilities, activities and
basic research skills, such as how to
use the LMS, access online journals,
issue, return and handle books.
3. Include information such as location,
opening times, staffing, study facilities,
range of stock, e-resources, activities
in the school handbook and on
the website.
4. Offer research sessions for students
writing EPQs or research projects.
5. Share details of library aims and
activities at parents’ evenings; produce
fiction reading lists for students by age
or genre.
6. Promote library activities and
advertise for student librarians
in September.
7. Hold a library open evening for staff.
Ask them for lists of curriculumrelated
reading for the library and start
links with academic departments.
Promote how you can support
subject teaching.
8. Build links with governors and other
key stakeholders by organising a
library visit.
9. Attend staff meetings regularly to
share library initiatives and what you
can offer staff.
Which are the most relevant school
policies to librarians?
School policies fall into different
categories – from legal requirements
to internal policies – and apply to all
departments, including the library.
Librarians should follow policies like
any other member of staff. Check them
if staff request certain changes in your
working practices or if you need extra
support, for example, is there sufficient
space for wheelchairs around your library
furniture? Do you need more staff help for
supervision? How can you deal with poor
behaviour? How can you stop students
using computers to play non-educational
games? Does your library stock policy
conform to the school equality, inclusivity
and diversity policy? Policies should be
updated regularly.
Selected key policies:
1. Safeguarding: including legal
requirements for child protection,
General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR), IT, e-safety, health and safety,
and Prevent policies.
2. School community: including
accessibility, anti-bullying, behaviour,
cybersecurity, discipline, teaching
and learning, British values, equality,
home-school agreements, working
with volunteers, complaints procedure
and parental code of conduct.
3. Curriculum: policies for each
department and age group. Include
the library policy here. May also cover
assessment, able pupils, marking
guidelines, quality of education
and Special Educational Needs and
Disability (SEND), display policy.
4. Copyright: Staff may only
make multicopies of 5% of a
book for educational purposes.
See copyrightandschools.org
5. Unicef’s Rights Respecting Schools
Award: schools incorporate children’s
rights into their curriculum.
See www.unicef.org.uk/rightsrespecting-schools
I need to write a library policy.
Where do I start?
“The school library provides information
and ideas that are fundamental to
functioning successfully in today’s
information and knowledge-based
society. The school library equips students
with life-long learning skills and develops
the imagination, enabling them to live
as responsible citizens.” IFLA School
Library Manifesto
Write a library policy to state your aims,
scope, resource choice rationale, purpose,
and ethos. Use the same template as other
school policies and update it regularly.
Discuss it with senior management and
include it on the school website. Use your
library policy to answer possible queries
from stakeholders, e.g. about how you
curate and manage books and cater for
the diversity of students and staff.
1. Cover staffing, opening hours, library
staff responsibilities, support for
reading and research, activities,
initiatives, furniture, space, equipment
and its use, stock collection, etc.
2. Refer to other school policies as
necessary, such as the IT, behaviour,
and equality policies.
3. Inclusivity, equality, diversity, and
intellectual freedom are key issues to
be covered. See the CILIP Draft Policy
Statement on Intellectual Freedom
of Access to Information (tinyurl.
com/2p8aczzv).
4. For practical guidance, see the SLA
book Priority Paperwork. Includes
case studies and sample policies for
primary and secondary schools.
5. For quotable ideas about the
importance of school libraries see
Pennac’s Rights of the Reader at
tinyurl.com/ytk48k35 (a useful poster
to display in your library) and the IFLA
Guidelines on: tinyurl.com/32b98r33
Lucy Chambers now concentrates
on writing after 20 plus years as a
primary school librarian. Answers
are her personal opinion based on
long experience.
38
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

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Books: 7 & Under
Allan, Nicholas
The King’s Pants
Andersen Press
2023, pp.32, £7.99
9781839133626
Coronation. King. Classic
It was just a waiting game for this story from
renowned Nicholas Allan. The Queen’s Knickers is
considered a classic book and even more so with
the recent passing of the Queen. With a king on the
throne and a coronation to plan, this book will help
young readers giggle and prepare for history along
the way.
Completely delightful and silly, this book takes
readers on a tour of the king’s pants, from very
special coronation pants to inflatable space pants,
there are pants for all occasions and events.
Nothing like a pair of pants to get a class of children
giggling, this book will certainly engage readers,
likely prompting a re-read of The Queen’s Knickers.
When a mix up occurs with the Royal Mail, pants are
being delivered to all the houses. Cedric, the keeper
of the pants, has a big job to do to get them all back,
and to order new ones for new occasions.
Funny, relevant, and silly, the coronation will be
watched by many with all the children wondering
what pants King Charles will wear!
Erin Hamilton
Bailey, Jenn
Henry, Like Always
Illustrated by Mika Song
Chronicle Books
2023, pp.48, £10.99
9781797213897
Autism. School. Sharing
This is a lovely book, starring a child on the autism
spectrum, which will be a reassuring read for all
primary-aged school children.
Henry likes Classroom Ten. He likes his friends
and he likes the Big Calendar which shows what
happens each day of the week. They are always the
same and that makes Henry feel safe. But when his
teacher announces that there will be a change to
make space for a parade, it upsets everything. Henry
has to navigate the ups and downs of having Share
Time on the wrong day, musical instruments that are
too loud, and days that feel just too orange.
Following on from A Friend for Henry, this
sympathetically illustrated chapter book is
accessible and funny with a wonderful solution to
Henry’s problem that makes everyone happy.
Sue Bastone
Ballagh, Rebekah
Big Feelings and What
They Tell Us
Bloomsbury Education
2023, pp.288, £7.99
9781761069482
Emotions. Wellness. Children
This book is an exploration of feelings and is aimed
at the youngest audiences. Each of the emotions is
displayed by a young child, and we see how they
are affected and what positive outcomes can be
gained. The book has given each of the feelings a
four-page space, which is divided into the emotion
and then how it is dealt with. The text is told in
rhyme, which makes it easier for the young reader
to relate to. The illustrations are large, bright, and
generally use the whole of the page; however, there
is a clever use of space, which keeps the flow of the
story, and which adds to the pacing.
There is a section at the back of the book, which is
aimed at teachers and parents, in which suggestions
are given on how to help a young person cope
with their emotions. This is very useful, and I
particularly love the different methods such as
‘belly breath’ to relax, and ‘hot chocolate breath’ to
calm you down. Altogether an excellent addition to
the classroom.
Margaret Pemberton
Ballesteros, Chris
Frank and Bert:
The One Where Bert
Learns to Ride a Bike
Nosy Crow
2023, pp.30, £7.99
9781839948503
Friendship. Empathy. Resilience
Frank and Bert burst onto the story scene recently
and have become a much loved duo. Told with
plenty of heart, brilliant illustrations, and some
comedic genius along their trails, this duo are perfect
for helping children to learn empathy and friendship
building skills. Bert is learning how to ride a bike
and there are quite a few incidents along this steep
learning curve. Frank attempts the tried and tested
model of holding on to the back until Bert is ready,
but Frank lets go too early and Bert stomps off.
Frank devises a new plan to help Bert ride a bike,
and it works until a truly steep hill causes Frank to be
unable to carry on. Will Bert finally be able to ride a
bike without wibble-wobbling?
Their friendship is a brilliant basis for learning new
concepts and for teaching children friendship,
resilience, and perseverance. Most children will relate
perfectly to the challenges of learning to ride a bike as
well as to feeling cross when a friend lets you down.
From reading this story, hopefully both sides can be
understood and that great empathy bridge built.
Erin Hamilton
Barr, Catherine
Let’s Save the
Okavango Delta:
Why We Must
Protect Our Planet
Illustrated by Jean Claude
Walker Books
2023, pp.23, £12.99
9781406399684
Geography. Climate. Change
Let’s Save The Okavango Delta is a timely and
beautifully illustrated book sounding the alarm to
young people about why it’s such an importance
place to protect. Each double-page spread focuses
on different themes, such as indigenous people,
wildlife, ecosystems, etc. This is a very special book
which easily communicates big topics to young
people very simply and effectively. It is littered with
interesting facts and cute looking animals, almost
guaranteeing that young readers will enjoy it.
Perfect as a leisure book, but also as part of a topic,
this is a great book for your libraries.
Jodie Brooks
Boyadjieva, Vyara
Word Trouble
Walker Books
2023, pp.33, £12.99
9781406398755
Family. Friendship. EAL
This is a lovely book that will be
essential for any primary classroom. This book will
really help to introduce the difficulties a child will
have when moving to another country when they
can’t speak the language.
When Ronnie arrives, he can only say a few words
and he doesn’t understand their questions. This
makes him feel unhappy until his dad takes him
to the park and he learns that he can play without
needing to understand everything every one
is saying.
This book is essential for every primary classroom.
Kate Keaveny
40
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 7 & Under
Windrush
Editor’s picks
Abari, Tonya and
Brown, Tabitha
My Hair, My Crown
Galison, 2022, £11.99, 28pp,
9780735374614
Diversity. Ourselves. Rhymes
A board book with rhyming
words, and colourful illustrations
that highlight a diverse range of
black hairstyles.
Agard, John and Bass, Sophie
John Agard’s Windrush
Child
Walker, 2022, £12.99, 32pp,
9781529501124
Refugees. Homes. Journey
Although they leave sun and colour
to arrive in a cold grey England,
this is still a journey of hope as
families travel across the sea to
new beginnings.
Beneba Clarke, Maxine
When We Say Black Lives
Matter
Wren and Rook, 2021, £6.99, 32pp,
9781526363985
Equality. History. Inclusion
A simple, beautifully illustrated,
and poignant picture book about
the Black Lives Matter movement –
its deep history, background
and meaning.
Beneba Clarke, Maxine and
Knowles, Isobel
Wide Big World
Hachette, £10.99, 2021, 32pp,
9780734420503
Children. Diversity. World-Wide
Difference is everywhere in our
diverse and wonderful world, yet
there are more similarities as we
show our personalities.
Benjamin, Floella and
Ewen, Diane
Coming to England
Macmillan, 2021, £7.99, 32pp,
9781529009422
Autobiography. Caribbean. Emigration
A picture book version of Coming to
England, the biography of Baroness
Floella Benjamin, focussing on her
journey to England from Trinidad as a
young girl.
Edwards-Middleton, Richard,
Edwards-Middleton, Lewis
and Passchier, Andy
My Family and Other
Families: Finding the
Power in Our Differences
Dorling K, 2022, £6.99, 32pp,
9780241563502
Families. Identity. PSHE
With different types of families, this
picture book demonstrates a clear
message of diversity, difference
and acceptance, all interwoven into
a story.
Gravel, Elise
What is a Refugee?
Puffin, 2021, £7.99, 32pp,
9780241423233
Citizenship, Emigration, Refugees
Explains what a refugee is, and the
reasons why people have to leave
their countries and seek refuge in
other places.
Lawrence, Patrice and Sucre,
Camilla
Granny Came Here on the
Empire Windrush
Nosy Crow, 2022, £7.99, 32pp,
9781839942310
Refugees, Homes, Journey
Granny’s suitcase contains all she
brought with her on the Windrush
voyage. She recounts how she built
a life for herself so far away from a
familiar home.
Brown, Alison
Amazing Mum
Happy Yak
2023, pp.40, £7.99
9780008529468
Mums. Love. Humour
This is a lovely book with
some very sweet illustrations by the author. The
personalities and emotions are shown by a variety
of anthropomorphic figures, which add humour
and engagement. These include cats, hippos, dogs,
koalas, and zebras, to mention a few.
The simple rhyming text shows many of the things
that mums do. They can be playful, up for a bedtime
read, searching for lost lego (under the bed!),
watching their children in concerts, fussing, never
letting their children down, and chilling in a bubble
bath! They all highlight how amazing mums can be.
Alison Brown said she wanted to create ‘a book that
is both silly and full of affection’. She hoped that
children would share the book with their mums or
other adults, that it would generate a lot of laughter,
relate to what they knew, and lead them to talk
about what made their mums special and unique.
It is a heart-warming book, to be used sensitively by
teachers, and ideal to be shared on Mothers’ Day or
any other time!
Lee Giddings
Butchart, Pamela
There’s a Beast in the
Basement! - Baby Aliens
Nosy Crow
2023, pp.217, £7.99
9781839940514
Humour. School. Adventure
This is a fun read from Pamela Butchart, and
illustrations by Thomas Flintham only add to the
humour and anticipation as to what is actually hiding
in the basement of Izzy and her friends’ school.
They embark on another mission, this time to
find out what their headteacher, Mr Graves, is
so concerned about. He appears around school
searching for something, almost cries in assemblies,
and when he calls in help from Gary Petrie’s dad,
they follow the two men to find out more. They
overhear Mr Graves talking about treasure and
decide that something of value must be hidden
beneath their school. Thinking that the school is in
financial trouble, they are fearful of exploring the
basement and at one point use Gary’s cat, Cheese
and Onion, wearing a ‘cat-cam’ to find out more.
All is revealed – with help from the school dinner
ladies – and Mr Graves gets his ‘treasure’, much to
the relief of the children.
The short chapters with headline style titles make
this an exciting and fast-paced read.
Brenda Heathcote
Butterfield, Moira
(with National Trust)
National Trust:
Look What I Found
on the Farm
Illustrated by Jesús Verona
Nosy Crow
2023, pp.30, £7.99, 9781839940804
Farm. Nature. Adventure
Here is a high-quality picture book from awardwinning
publisher Nosy Crow, together with the
National Trust, which encourages everyone to
get out in nature and look after our environment.
Beautiful illustrations work well in this treasure hunt
to find items of nature: a tuft of sheep’s wool, a fluffy
chick feather, a fat grass stalk, etc. Each section has
a narrative which rhymes, objects/animals to find
in the picture, helpful information about the farm,
and things to spot: animal footprints, animal babies,
types of wild grass.
As with all Nosy Crow paperback picture books,
this title comes with a free ‘Stories Aloud’ audio
recording; it is available by scanning the QR code
inside the front cover. This is a wonderful feature
and encourages listening skills too. Sample pages
of the book are provided on Nosy Crow’s website to
give you a taste of this adventure story.
I enjoyed this picture book so much that I will be
looking out for two others in the series.
Janet Syme
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
41

Books: 7 & Under
Carr, Matt
Captain Looroll
Walker Books
2023, pp.32, £12.99
9781405299336
Toilet. Humour. Superhero
There is going to be much
sniggering in the corner when children discover
Captain Looroll. Never have so many toilet jokes
been fitted into a slim picture book. Life is dull in
the downstairs loo for our brave superhero and
her sidekicks. Then along comes Toilet Troll with a
dastardly plot to fill the world with filth. Our hero
triumphs, the villain is defeated, and the world (or at
least the upstairs loo) is saved!
This is probably the silliest book which you will
encounter for a long while. Perhaps that is the real
strength of it. Children need some silliness in their
lives and plenty of undemanding fun which will
make the hard work of reading independently seem
worthwhile. Teachers and librarians must concede
that many children find anything toilet related
hilarious. This is an honest, everyday sort of book
which doesn’t aim for the pinnacles of literary merit
but could well be the right book at the right time for
readers who want something easy-going, funny,
and just a bit naughty.
Jaki Brien
Carter, James
The Beasts Beneath
Our Feet
Illustrated by Alisa Kosareva
Caterpillar Books
2023, pp.32, £7.99
9781838915049
Dinosaurs. Poetry. Adventure
Dinosaurs never go out of fashion and each
generation of children seem compulsively drawn
to these extinct creatures and their elaborately
complex names. James Carter’s poem serves
as a perfect text to both read aloud and inform
young children with information about the various
periods and how we have come to know about
their time on earth. He begins by describing the
buried fossil remains which are, ‘Silent, still in a
prison of stone’ and pictured in stark black and
white. The next pages introduce bold and bright
colour to the illustrations and the text continues to
be language rich in describing a range of creatures
from Trilobites to Woolly Mammoths as well as
the kinds of worlds they likely inhabited. There are
some clever rhyming sections and a focus on key
characteristics of the most well-known dinosaurs
but the illustrator makes sure all the key names are
featured. The illustrations work really well and will
keep the most besotted T-Rex and Diplodocus fans
happily turning the pages.
John Newman
POETRY
Carter, James
A Ticket to Kalamazoo!
Zippy Poems to Read
Out Loud
Illustrated by Neal Layton
Otter-Barry Books
2023, pp.160, £12.99, 9781913074104
Fun. Drama. Animals
This delightful poetry collection comprises 19 poems
on many subjects, including a fabulous journey
around the world, an elephant ride, an interesting
conversation with an opinionated fly, a day of
hugging, and many more. It is filled to the brim with
joyful madness, various animals and even species
from another planet.
I loved this, and while, like with any poetry
collection, you can pick and choose the poem
you want to read at a particular moment in time,
it’s the kind of book that is impossible not to read
in one sitting, one delicious poem after another.
Interestingly, I read this with my 9-year-old son,
normally a reluctant reader whose first words at my
reaching for this book were, ‘I don’t like poetry’, and
yet he loved it so much that he re-read it by himself, a
few times over. We were both particularly taken with
the rapping rhythm of the retelling of the Goldilocks
story, which was so much fun to read (rap) aloud that
I can already see lots of BookTok potential there – or
fantastic material for all sorts of classroom fun.
Marzena Currie
POETRY
Coppo, Marianna
Fish and Crab
Abrams
2023, pp.48, £12.99
9781797204437
Friendship. Worries.
Listening
Fish and Crab are best friends. At bedtime, Fish has a
lot on his mind. He has lots of questions to ask Crab
and cannot go to sleep because of all his worries.
Crab begins to lose his patience as he just wants to
go to sleep, so he asks Fish to tell him everything
that is worrying him, so that he can get it all off his
chest. However, this backfires on Crab, as when Fish
has offloaded, he falls straight to sleep, leaving Crab
to worry about some of the ideas Fish has planted
in his mind.
A humorous tale, showing the importance of being
able to share worries with friends and how they
can be easier to cope with when others listen to
your thoughts.
Charlotte Cole
Davey, Patrick and
Smith, Anna
Cheeky Worries:
A Story to Help
Children Talk
About and Manage
Scary Thoughts and
Everyday Worries
Illustrated by Anne Wilson
Jessica Kingsley
2022, pp.188, £10.99
9781839972119
Worries. Emotions. Wellbeing
In this story, an owl offers advice to Finn who
suddenly starts to worry about things that he never
worried about before. The owl explains that these
worries are cheeky worries that sneak up on you.
Finn learns that some of the worries about the slide
or his mum getting off the bus without him are
cheeky worries.
The owl suggests that Finn talk to an adult or tells his
cheeky worries that he is too busy enjoying himself
to listen. What Finn also discovers is that both
children and adults have cheeky worries.
The story has lovely bright colourful illustrations.
This will be a great book to discuss worries with
young children.
Kate Keaveny
Davies, Nicola
The Versatile Reptile
Illustrated by Abbie Cameron
Graffeg
2023, pp.36, £7.99
9781912213689
Environment. Reptiles. Habitats
This is part of a series of books about the natural
world by award-winning Nicola Davies, with
beautiful illustrations by Abbie Cameron.
It is an exciting introduction to reptiles, dismissing
the idea that because of sharp claws and teeth,
poisonous bites and the ability to squeeze an enemy
to death, reptiles should be universally feared. There
is much more to these amazing creatures!
We learn about their contrasting habitats and their
varied diets. Reptiles can run, climb, swim, glide or
(like snakes) move without limbs. They stand out
because of their bright colours or, camouflaged,
they blend into the background. An interesting fact I
didn’t know – iguanas perspire by sneezing out salt
through their noses!
Children will enjoy the puzzle at the end, connecting
reptiles with their diets. Other books in the series
have a ‘How to Draw’ book produced alongside. I
hope one is in the pipeline for The Versatile Reptile.
I think children will find this book absorbing and
fascinating, inspiring them to become more curious
about our natural world.
Lee Giddings
42
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 7 & Under
Donnelly, Paddy
Dodos Are Not Extinct!
The O’Brien Press
2023, pp.32, £10.99
9781788493963
Dodos. Animals. Extinction
Dodos are extinct – right? …
WRONG. They didn’t like the celebrity status
accorded to them on the edge of extinction so
decided to disguise themselves. AND – they aren’t
the only ones – sabre toothed tigers, woolly
mammoths, dinosaurs, and a host of other animals
that people think are extinct are actually hiding in
plain sight in disguise … so children should always
keep their eyes peeled in case they spot one.
A really enjoyable and very funny story supported
by wonderful, bright, colourful illustrations that
children will love. However although a great story,
the book also aims to teach children, in a gentle
way, about extinct animals and the possible causes
of their extinction. The latter half of the book lists
all of the featured animals with a paragraph about
them, when they were last seen, and what caused
their extinction. This is a great way to get children
thinking about wildlife and our planet while trying to
spot the disguises and enjoying the fun of the story.
For ages 5–7.
Annie Everall
Evans, Fay
The Laugh
Illustrated by Ayse Klinge
Flying Eye Books
2023, pp.32, £12.99
9781838740825
Families. Loss. Grief
This compelling picture book describes the
beautiful relationship between a little girl and her
joyful mum, who loves to laugh. But things take a
dramatic turn when Mum falls ill and shortly after
passes away, leaving behind her heart-broken family
who can’t find joy anymore – until one day the little
girl discovers that it’s possible to laugh again despite
the overpowering sadness.
This is a gentle introduction to the subject of loss
and grief, and I was impressed with just how much
the book’s creators managed to convey through
relatively little text and mostly pictorial storytelling,
which gives your imagination a good workout. I
loved the vibrant and expressive illustrations with
an earthy colour palette and the slightly textured
feel to the paper quality which made me want to
touch every page, reaching for the beautiful flowers,
balloons, toys, and animals. I particularly liked the
lovely reappearing sunflower element which could
be seen as a simple take on the cycle of life. A very
nice tool to start a gentle discussion on the subject
of loss and bereavement.
Marzena Currie
Flintham, Thomas
Game on, Super
Rabbit Boy!
Nosy Crow
2023, pp.80, £6.99
9781839949180
Gaming. Adventure.
Graphic Novels
Sunny is a gaming obsessed kid who loves nothing
more than playing his favourite video game, Super
Rabbit Boy. Can he manage to help Super Rabbit Boy
to run, jump and munch his way through the levels
and save Singing Dog before it’s too late?
Testing his skills against armies of robots and a
whole host of perils, he must work his way through
before facing off against King Viking himself.
The first in a video-game-inspired set of graphic
novels, these full colour, 8-bit inspired stories are
perfect to encourage reluctant readers to put down
their devices and pick up a book.
These bright and engaging books also feature a
subtle healthy eating message, without being overt
enough to feel preachy. A fun, quick read, that will
appeal to anyone who loves a platformer.
Becca Watts
Flintham, Thomas
Super Rabbit
Boy Powers Up!
Press Start!
Nosy Crow
2023, pp.72, £6.99
9781839949227
Adventure. Gaming.
Graphic Novels
Super Rabbit Boy returns with another adventure
in the second of this short graphic novel series for
reluctant readers.
Sonny loves to game, and his favourite is Super
Rabbit Boy. Facing Super Rabbit Boy’s toughest
challenge yet, can Sonny solve the mystery, beat the
bosses, and complete the game?
Thomas Flintham hits his stride in this follow up,
with a simple yet engaging quest for Super Rabbit
Boy that sees Sonny’s whole family come together
to solve the puzzle.
The 8-bit illustrations complement the simplistic
storylines in this series and are a great lure for
readers who are looking for a quick but interesting
read. Each book can be read as a standalone, so they
can be shared around a class without a queue of
impatient readers waiting for the next in the series. If
you know a reluctant young reader with a penchant
for gaming, this series is definitely worth a try.
Becca Watts
Hart, Caryl
Meet the Weather
Illustrated by Bethan Woollvin
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
2023, pp.32, £7.99
9781526639813
Weather. Weather Patterns.
Science
This is an early years picture book for use in
Reception and Year 1. It discusses different
weather types such as snow, thunder, rain, and
sun. Engaging and highly memorable rhymes
are used, and each weather type is personified
and introduces itself to the reader. At the end,
the reader is reminded that all your weather
friends want to meet you. Bethan Woollvin’s
bright and colourful illustrations add much to
Caryl Hart’s personification. This book could
also be used as a science text when Key Stage 1
children are studying meteorology.
Rebecca Butler
Hawkins, Samantha
My Mummy
Marches
Illustrated by, Cory Reid
Lantana Publishing
2023, pp.25, £12.99
9781915244154
Peaceful. Protest. Equality
A very positive evocation of the power of peaceful
protest. A proud young girl tells the reader all that
she learns from her mother’s marching for a range
of important causes, in all weathers, alone and in
groups. She learns of the equal rights marches.
She learns of the need to ‘remind people how to
love’ and to ‘help take the pain way from the world’.
We don’t meet the young narrator until near the
end as she prepares to join her mother to become
the next generation of activists who march for
‘freedom, for kindness, and for love’ with the timely
reminder that ‘change starts with you and me!’
Lively double-page spreads convey power, love, and
inspiration for the next generation. Uplifting.
Carolyn Boyd
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
43

Books: 7 & Under
Hesse, Karen
Granny and Bean
Illustrated by Charlotte Voake
Walker Books
2023, pp.25, £12.99
9781529510041
Family. Coast. Wildlife
Granny and Bean take a trip to the beach and enjoy
a windswept coastal adventure in this lyrical, gentle
illustrated poem.
As Granny and Bean encounter the wildlife, weather,
and treasures typical of the British coastline, they’re
beautifully brought to life by Charlotte Voake’s
artwork and Karen Hesse’s lullaby-worthy story.
The muted landscape and recognisable scenarios
make a perfect conversation starter for those who
are planning on visiting, or have recently visited, the
shore with little ones.
This is a lovely story to share between grandparent
and child during a quiet moment, and also works a
treat when it comes to encouraging calm at the end
of a hectic day.
Becca Watts
Irving, Ellie
Oh, Armadillo! This
Party’s All Wrong
Illustrated by Robert Starling
Happy Yak
2023, pp.32, £7.99
9780711276949
Friendship. Parties. Difference
Armadillo lives in the rainforest, down by the river
bend. He feels lonely, so decides to throw a party,
inviting the other animals. He has his own unique
perspective on life, and when his guests make
suggestions as to what should be included in the
party, Armadillo dashes home to get ready. A sponge
cake made of sponges from under the kitchen
sink, an actual musical chair featuring drums and
a trumpet, and a big (hot air) balloon, are soon all
ready for the occasion. Although everything seems
wrong and puzzles the other animals, Armadillo
shows that doing things differently means that you
can still have fun.
Cheerful, bright illustrations accompany a bouncy,
rhyming text in this humorous tale of acceptance
and celebrating difference. With a gentle reminder
that not everyone thinks in the same way, this would
be good to share with young children, encouraging
creativity and inventiveness.
Jayne Gould
Jacob, Catherine
Coco Settles In
Illustrated by Rachael Saunders
Stripes Publishing
2023, pp.128, £5.99
9781788954488
Families. Animals. Caring
A perfect chapter book with
appealing illustrations for all animal lovers, but
particularly appropriate for a young reader who
might have just got a new puppy. This is an exciting
time and Elsa loves her gorgeous puppy Coco. This
heart-warming book details in a comforting way
the highs and lows of having a new puppy. Elsa’s
friends have got new puppies as well and they form
a puppy club, hence the title. Elsa loves the puppy
cuddles but is terrified that her Mum might change
her mind about having a new puppy when Coco
chews everything in sight and the family’s cats
can’t bear the sight of her. The friends set into place
‘operation friendship’ which is a plan to help all the
animals live in harmony. The story ends happily with
Elsa feeling like a real puppy owner and celebrating
by organising an agility course with all her puppy
friends. The good news is that this book is part of
a series with Dash Takes Off coming out soon. This
book will really encourage animal lover readers to
keep on reading.
Becky Taylor
Jeffers, Oliver
Here We Are:
Notes for Living
on Planet Earth
HarperCollins Children’s
Books
pp.39, £7.99
9780008266172
Geography. Global. Citizenship
In this stunning picture book, Oliver Jeffers talks to
his baby son and the reader about the planet that we
live on. He reminds the reader that you are a person
with one body. Take care of it. Most bits don’t grow
back, except for hair and nails! After emphasising the
vastness of the earth, Jeffers ends on a comforting,
hopeful note as he says ‘You’re never alone on
Earth’. In a world which can feel increasingly
disconnected and isolating, this comment reminds
us of our global community. This book could be
used in both geography and science in Key Stage 1.
Rebecca Butler
EDITOR’S PICK
Jewitt, Kath
I Can Be Calm
Illustrated by Ailie Busby
Townhouse Publishing Ltd
2023, pp., £7.99
9781915356192
Play. Emotions. Feelings
These two board books aim to get very young
children to think about their feelings and to develop
ways to manage them. The first half of each
provides questions and statements in rather banal
rhyming couplets (‘After all the games and noise,/
We help to tidy up our toys’ or ‘I feel sad when
things go wrong. / I know that it won’t last for long’)
surrounded by nicely diverse brightly coloured
illustrations. The second half offers little exercises
to help the reader feel better, such as pretend you’re
going for a walk if you feel unhappy or find a calm
and quiet space after a noisy game. Each book has
a semi-circular hole on the right so that small hands
can turn a cardboard wheel to find different options.
Some children – and the adults who work with
them – will find these books a useful way to build
emotional confidence.
Susan Elkin
John, Lou
The Worry Jar
Illustrated by Jenny Bloomfield
Oxford University Press
2023, pp.32, £7.99
9780192782748
Worries. Emotions. Wellbeing
Frida has worries, and all her worries are stopping
her from doing the things she enjoys. For every
worry Frida picks up a pebble. The pebbles are
heavy in her pocket but also the metaphorical
weight of her worries is weighing her down.
It is only when she visits her grandma that her
worries become manageable, thanks to her
grandma suggesting a worry jar. After she puts
her worries in the jar, Frida is able to start enjoying
things in her life again. She finds happiness in the
small things she does instead of worrying.
The illustrations are lovely in this book and help tell
the story, from the quiet withdrawn child with lots of
worries to the more confident, happy Frida who has
managed her worries.
This book is going to become a great resource in the
classroom when teaching about emotions.
Kate Keaveny
44
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

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thamesandhudson.com

Books: 7 & Under
Keilty, Derek
Ivy Newt and the Storm
Witch
Illustrated by Magda Brol
Scallywag Press
2023, pp.166, £7.99
9781915252180
Adventure. Magic. Witches
Join Ivy Newt and her familiar, Tom, on their first
magic-packed adventure in Miracula.
Ivy’s parents, the King and Queen of the Sand
Witches, have prepared her an amazing birthday
present – a magic act where they disappear. But
hold on, they really do disappear. To rescue Ivy’s
parents, she and Tom must travel all over Miracula
on broomsticks and flying carpets and defeat the
evil queen of Grotland.
This is a fabulous fantasy and adventure story full of
magic, mischief, and drama that young people are
going to love. Covering themes of justice, standing
up to bullies, being brave and helping your friends,
this book has everything that young readers need to
help teach them about right from wrong, with a fun
and fast-paced adventure alongside it.
It includes stunning black and white illustrations
by Magda Brol that really help to bring this story
to life. It is a wonderful story which will be perfect
for reluctant readers and will make a wonderful
addition to any primary school library/classroom.
Emma Suffield
Krysa, Danielle
Art and Joy:
Best Friends
Forever
Prestel
2023, pp.40, £12.99
9783791375373
Art. Creative. Emotions
This book is able to evoke so many emotions.
A book read at different points in life will take
on new meaning. This is one if those books:
for children, it is a fun story about overcoming
comments made by a bully and being able to have
fun making and creating; for adults, this book is so
much more – it is a reminder to find joy in creating
and making, to not listen to those who try to tell you
that perfection is keeping between the lines and
doing as others say.
I loved this book. It has such an important message.
Kate Keaveny
Kurman, Hollis
Counting in Green;
10m Little Ways to
Help Our Big Planet
Illustrated by Barroux
Otter-Barry Books
2023, pp.32, £12.99
9781913074166
Counting. Conservation. Activities
How soon should we be encouraging children to
understand the need for conservation and the need
to live mindfully sustainable lives? This book perhaps
rightly suggests as young as possible and it joins
what is a growing area of early years publishing.
It's a nice idea to put these really clear and simple
principles into what is also effectively a green
counting book. It’s an even better idea to utilise
French illustrator Barroux for this, his second book
with this author. The activities listed are all simply and
clearly explained and help to support and encourage
activities a child can understand and, in many
instances, take an active part in such as planting
trees, riding bikes or growing plants and flowers. At
the back there are some additional useful facts and a
list of organisations to help gain further information.
The double page watercolour spreads will help to
prompt discussion as well as entertain. Red Riding
Hood serving the wolf vegetables to discourage
meat consumption is a particular favourite of mine.
John Newman
Lehrer, Tom and
Smith, Chris
That’s Mathematics
Illustrated by Elina Braslina
Mama Makes Book
2023, pp.32, £12.99
9781739774844
Maths. Numbers. Music
The author of this lively maths book, Chris Smith, a
Scottish Teacher of the Year, has hit the jackpot with his
brilliant book based on the ‘That’s Mathematics’ lyrics
by US musician, mathematician and satirist Tom Lehrer.
Pages are headed by a line from the song, a related
basic maths concept is explained with some activities
to reinforce it. This is perfectly complemented by busy,
colourful illustrations. Concepts include symmetry,
geometry, estimation and more. Children will love
studying the detailed jolly pictures and attempting
the activities. These include cooking a recipe for
muffins with calculation thrown in, playing a simple
coin subtraction game, working out time differences
between different cities, and more. The link between
maths and reading music is also explored in simple
terms. This book has an appealing take on practical
maths skills. There’s a glossary, notes for parents, links
to online activity sheets, answers to the problems, and
a link to hear the song as performed by the author.
Highly recommended for introducing maths concepts
to young children, whether in school or at home.
Lucy Chambers
Long, Matty
Who Ate All the
Bugs?
Oxford University Press
2023, pp.32, £7.99
9780192772633
Bugs. Food. Chain
This is a fantastic picture book about the harsh
realities of the insect and mini-beast section of the
food chain, as played out in your own back garden
or local park. As I was reading it to our pupils, I
reminded them that this is happening all around us
right now, with the park being only moments from
our school. I love that most children can enjoy this
book, and then go straight out to discover these
creatures for themselves.
The illustrations (which are in a an over-sized
comical graphic novel type style) add to its appeal to
children. The big reveal at the end is in equal parts
informative and morbid, but it shows the gory reality
of the food chain, which we should not shy away
from. In my experience, children love books about
bugs, and can cope with the gruesome realities of
what really happens along this chain. This is dealt
with here with humour, and I particularly enjoyed
the subtle nod to The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
The story made me laugh, and is packed full of
fantastic facts with a special bug hunt at the end.
Jenny Griffiths
Matheson, Cara
Finding Floss: The
Colour Changing
Cockapoo
Chronicle Books
2023, pp.48, £12.99
9781797204437
Dogs. Families. Safety
A picnic with a blended family one day brings a
rainbow, and when Floss, the boisterous, cheeky
cockapoo, jumps through it, magical changes
happen. Floss can now change colour to blend in
with her surroundings, making her impossible to
find. Gran thinks Floss now fits in with the family
even better as she is such a mixture, but it does
bring a few problems. Floss can now go where
she shouldn’t and when her owner races into a
funfair with no thought for the rest of her family,
she doesn’t realise Floss is keeping an eye on her.
When the little girl gets lost, Floss comes to the
rescue. Children will love trying to find Floss in Mirna
Imamovic’s colourful illustrations. Accompanied by
Cara Matheson’s rhyming text and a jingly storyline
for both adult and child to find, this is bonkers but
fun and also has an important message of safety.
Dawn Woods
46
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 7 & Under
McCombie, Karen
The Broken Dragon
4U2read
Illustrated by Anneli Bray
Barrington Stoke
2023, pp.64, £7.99
9781800901865
Families. Friendship. New
A heart-warming tale about family, friendship,
and fitting in. Dragon-mad Tyra has moved in with
her Nan and she’s worried about starting her new
school. Although it’s not easy, she makes it through
her first day and Nan presents her with a special gift
to congratulate her – a china snow dragon.
When she takes the dragon to school, to hopefully
make some friends, disaster strikes, and the dragon
is smashed. Devastated, Tyra finds herself learning
all about the art of Kintsugi, the Japanese tradition
of mending broken pottery with gold. It turns out
there’s a lot more to learn from this ancient art than
she first thought.
With short, snappy chapters and delightfully
dynamic illustrations, The Broken Dragon explores
different family set-ups as well as the use of charity
shops and struggles many will associate with the
cost-of-living crisis. The story has a warm, easy tone
and compelling characters, making it an excellent
springboard for discussion, as well as celebrating
empathy, resilience and being yourself.
Alison King
McLaren, Meg
Wee Unicorn
Hodder Children’s Books
2023, pp.32, £6.99
9781444964615
Friendship. Fantasy.
Emotions
This is a truly delightful story about a wee unicorn
living in the very far north. All of her friends ask her
to help with their problems and expect her to use
magic, but this little unicorn is not magic and feels
as if she is the odd one out. An encounter with a
monster in the loch frightens her, but then makes
wee unicorn think that perhaps the monster was not
as scary as she thought; so, she sets off in search of
this mysterious character.
What a fantastic way to start the discussion about
being different and learning to accept “people”
and their own special attributes. The setting is a
magical world in which the reader can feel safe
whilst exploring these feelings, and we see this wee
unicorn learn to accept that her character is what
makes her unique. The author has also created the
lovely and very atmospheric illustrations, which
add to the magic of the story. A great story for the
foundation and reception years.
Margaret Pemberton
Meza, Erika
As Brave as a Lion
Walker
2022, pp.32, £12.99
9781406393620
Bravery. Lion. Friendship
The stunning cover of the
little girl and her lion (with the most amazing mane
ever) draws you into this delightful and enthralling
picture book. The illustrations continue to be just as
beguiling throughout the entire story.
I loved reading this book aloud to our Reception and
Year 1 pupils, who were all captivated and joined in
with the “WHEEEEE!” as the girl and her lion joyfully
sped down to earth after finally braving the very
tall slide.
This is an absolute must for your library collection
and would make a lovely gift for any child struggling
with self-belief and resilience. The main theme is
bravery, but there are strong themes of friendship,
family, trust and love, which all shine through.
The story also sparked a lovely conversation about
how we use our imagination in stories, and we
thought about how imagination helps us to deal
with situations in life which can be scary. I am
convinced that all of those children I read this book
to now have their own lions ready to help them
when they need to be brave.
Jenny Griffiths
Neal, Tony
Squeeze in, Squirrel!
Illustrated by Tony Neal
Oxford University Press
2023, pp.27, £7.99,
9780192782847
Maths. Capacity. Position
As well as being picture books, these offer effective
tools for parents and carers to talk with their children.
At the beginning and end of each story are helpful
guides to conversations and activities that can flow
from the books.
Squeeze in Squirrel takes a group of animal friends
to the beach. Is there room inside the car for them
all? Bold, block colour pages show how they all get
in and the unfortunate outcome as the car eventually
bursts and falls apart. Elephant rescues the situation
using his bicycle! Take a Leap Sheep, using the same
format, illustrates how friends use different methods
to get into a free fairground…. A bit like in Bear Hunt,
some go over, some go under, and some go through
the fence – they hadn’t noticed the gate!
The useful vocabulary lists to support talking
with children, and play ideas to emphasise the
mathematical concepts of position and capacity, add
to the multi-purpose nature of these titles: two from
a set of four.
Great for home and day care centres for under-fives.
Janet Sims
Newson, Karl
Little Owl’s Bedtime
Illustrated by Migy Blanco
Nosy Crow
2023, pp.30, £7.99
9781839948893
Animals. Night-Time. Wildlife
Little Owl wakes up at night when other animals
have gone to sleep. Little Owl has important work
to do blowing out the stars all around the world,
shining down on a complete range of animals, from
the familiar mouse and squirrel to the exotic giraffe,
elephant and tiger and over the ocean homes to
whales and penguins. Just as the last star is blown
out, the sun is able to rise, and along with it Elk,
Racoon and Bear. Back on home ground, Squirrel
and Mouse also wake up in Owl’s tree as Owl flies
home to bed and a well-deserved rest after all
his work.
A rhyming picture book by Karl Newson’s talent is
a joy and Migy Blanco’s illustrations of this sweet,
plump owl are a perfect complement to the story.
Dawn Woods
Newson, Karl
The Same but
Different Too
Illustrated by Kate Hindley
Nosy Crow
2023, pp.24, £7.72
9781839947537
Humour. Difference. Inclusion
A delightful, funny, inclusive board book that
celebrates both diversity and similarities, with simple
rhyming text and humorous illustrations. ‘I am me,
and you are you. We’re the same but different too’
says the first double-page spread, with pictures
on each side of one child and one animal, in each
case with things in common, particularly clothes
and haircuts, and things that set them apart. Tails,
for instance.
‘I like breakfast. So do you. But I can’t drink the
way you do.’ Two children and two animals sit at a
table enjoying a delicious meal. Only the elephant
drinks with its trunk. ‘I am short. You are tall.’
Fortunately the giraffe is tall enough to reach a
book from a high shelf for the little boy below. ‘I am
playful. You are too. I can’t hide as well as you.’ The
zebra’s stripes are perfect camouflage against the
wallpaper. ‘I have fewer teeth than you’ says the girl
in the dentist’s chair as the crocodile dentist gets
ready. One thing everyone has in common: they all
love stories.
Anne Harding
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
47

Books: 7 & Under
Newson, Karl
Beware the Blue
Bagoo
Illustrated by Andrea Stegmaier
Happy Yak
2023, pp.32, £7.99
9780711267824
Tolerance. Humour. Fears
In the town of Rumourville tales of the Blue Bagoo
have grown. Everyone has their opinion of what it
looks like and what it does; they’ve even made up a
song about it. But nobody has actually seen one, so
a determined young detective decides to investigate
and uncover the truth. The reality is very different,
and there really is nothing to be afraid of. Not
everything is as it seems.
Quirky illustrations and a lively rhyming text
combine to give a humorous lesson about how
jumping to conclusions and making judgments
without the full facts can lead to rumours and
fears growing. This would be good to share with
young children.
Jayne Gould
Padmacandra
Don’t Be Silly
Illustrated by Padmacandra
Scallywag Press
2023, pp.32, £12.99
9781915252111
Humour. Family. Silliness
Bouncy Bo and Little Smudge live in a castle.
Their father is a judge, and very serious, as are all
the grown-ups. ‘DON’T BE SILLY!’ they are told
whenever they dance, sing or have fun. When they
try to be grown-up themselves by dressing in adult
hats and shoes, the reaction is the same. Then their
father takes them to visit his parents, with strict
instructions not to be silly. They’ve been touring
for years, so this will be their first meeting. To the
children’s astonishment, Grandma – dressed in a
clown outfit – greets them by leaping in the air.
Grandpa cartwheels down the steps. They dance
and juggle and perform amazing acrobatic acts.
Bo and Smudge’s response? ‘DON’T BE SILLY!’
they bellow.
The characters all come across strongly.
The illustrations are striking and unusual and add
enormously to the rhyming, humorous text. Never
mentioned in the words, observant readers will spot
a cat and some mice which get up to remarkably
similar activities to the children, with remarkably
similar expressions on their faces.
Anne Harding
Papp, Lisa
Madeline Finn and
the Rescue Dog
Old Barn Books
2023, pp.32, £8.99
9781910646885
Dogs. Rescue. Helping
This is a delightful book which follows Madeline
as she gets her own puppy, discovering what a
rescue centre is. Determined to help the dogs there,
she organises a read-to-dogs session for the local
community, resulting in a heart-warming ending.
The pictures are beautifully observed and based on
real dogs who once lived in shelters. Children will
pore over the details and nuances of expression,
which add to the story beyond the text. What has
happened to each of these dogs before they arrived
at the shelter? What is suggested in the happy
ending? Only the pictures give up the details.
There is much to discuss in this story with young
readers, including not shying away from tough
and uncomfortable subjects while creating a
sense of agency that they too can have a positive
impact on the lives of those around them, however
removed from themselves. This will also be useful
when discussing the effects of the Covid-19 puppy
boom now affecting shelters in an age-appropriate
way. I can see this becoming a firm favourite
with children!
Elly Roberts
Perry, Caroline
The Corgi and the
Queen
Illustrated by Lydia Corry
Andersen Press
2023, pp.40, £7.99
9781839133213
Royalty. Pets. Dogs
The Corgi and the Queen tells the real-life story of
the Queen’s first corgi pet and also tells the story
of the Queen’s life for the 15 years her beloved
Susan was with her. It’s a charming picture book,
with beautiful illustrations and gentle words which
perfectly portray the young royal’s touching bond
with her pet. I didn’t know about the dog being
smuggled onto the royal coach after the Queen’s
wedding, and I loved the thought of this little
animal playing happily whilst her owner waved to
the massed crowds. This is just one of the several
anecdotes included in the book – Susan hiding a
mouse in Princess Margaret’s shoe is another! –
and these real life stories very much added to my
enjoyment of the book. The subtle silver foiling
on the cover (the Queen’s crown and parts of the
filigree pattern) is attractive and eye catching. There
are two family trees in the back of the book – the
Queen’s and Susan’s – and this is definitely a
book that would find a good home in any primary
school library.
Bev Humphrey
Piedra, Tony
One Tiny Treefrog:
A Countdown to
Survival
Illustrated by Mackenzie Joy
Walker Books
2023, pp.40, £12.99,
9781529509694
Animals. Survival. Biology
Starting from ten and counting down to zero, One
Tiny Treefrog is both a counting book and an early
introduction to nature and survival.
A stunning, bold mix of fact and fiction, this story
follows the journey of ten tiny tadpoles and their
struggle to survive against the odds in a lowland
wet forest.
There’s plenty to engage young children in
this book, with bright illustrations, interesting
typography, and surprising graphics throughout,
and you’ll be able to talk about all kinds of topics,
from frog metamorphosis to natural selection.
What appears, on the surface, to be a fairly simple
picture book, is in reality a pleasantly multi-faceted
text and would be an excellent addition to any
Key Stage 1 library.
Becca Watts
Porter, Jane
So You Want to Be
a Frog
Illustrated by Neil Clark
Walker Books
2023, pp.28, £12.99
9781406399714
Animals. Amphibians. Frogs
Can you wriggle like a tadpole, stare without
blinking, or jump twenty times your body length?
Let Frog Club coach, Fabio Frog, lead you through
the many skills you’ll need if you want to be a frog in
this highly entertaining non-fiction picture book.
Cartoon character Fabio speaks directly to the
reader as he checks out their credentials for
joining the frog fraternity and imparts interesting
information about froggy lifestyle and frogs around
the world. Jane Porter’s love and knowledge of
the natural world is evident as fascinating facts and
information about frogs are presented with great
warmth and humour, making it instantly engaging
and memorable. Enhanced by Neil Clark’s colourful,
detailed, and amusing illustrations throughout,
this easily accessible guide to ‘everything there is
to know about frogs’ is a great book for sharing
with younger children or for independent readers
to enjoy alone – but you can be sure they will be
sharing some of the facts out loud! A must-buy for
any primary school library.
Lynn Marshall
48
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 7 & Under
www.sla.org.uk/meet-the-creator-2023
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
49

Books: 7 & Under
Puckett, Gavin
Blanksy the Street Cat
Illustrated by Allen Fatimaharan
Faber & Faber, 2023, pp.80, £7.99
9780571369607
Friendship. Happiness. Art
Charmingly told in rhyme, this gem
of a book tells the tale of Pete, a busker. One day
Pete is joined by a cat, and from that moment they
are inseparable. The cat isn’t quite as satisfied with
life as a busker, however, becoming irritated by the
number of passers-by who fail to look up. He feels
that Pete deserves more attention (and more coins
in his tin), so he comes up with a plan! Before long,
Pete is singing in front of a vibrant backdrop, signed
by Blanksy, and his audience is growing. Before
long, everyone is atwitter about who the artist could
be – could it be Pete? This gentle tale of friendship
poses important questions about happiness and
where we find it. Illustrations by the talented Allen
Fatimaharan provide lots to discuss as well as
breaking up the text to promote reading confidence.
Alongside the dyslexic friendly font and creamy
pages they create a very readable book. This book is
a quiet triumph.
Helen Thompson
Sparkes, Amy
The Toy Bus: The
Repair Shop Stories
Illustrated by Katie Hickey
Walker Books
2023, pp.32, £12.99,
9781529504774
Families. Generations.
Inclusion
Based on a real story, The Toy Bus tells of Elsie and
her little brother David. David has cerebral palsy
and struggles to stand, but longs to join his sister
in her game of race the bus. When the family see
a beautiful toy bus in a shop window, Elsie knows
that David must have it, and immediately empties
her piggy bank so that they can return to the shop.
The bus is instrumental in David learning how to
stand and eventually walk, until the day he joins
Elsie in racing the bus along the park railings. Passed
down through the family, the bus becomes rusty
and loses the ringing bell. One day Elsie takes her
grandson along to The Repair Shop with the beloved
bus, where the team work their magic to restore
the bus to its former glory. Kate Hickey captures the
cast and characters incredibly well, as well as the
backstory, with time appropriate images, clothing,
and hairstyles. The real story of the bus appears at
the back of the book alongside a mini biography of
the actual repair shop. Absolutely lovely.
Helen Thompson
Scott, Jordan
My Baba’s Garden
Illustrated by, Sydney Smith
Walker Books
2023, pp.40, £12.99
9781529515558
Families. Relationships.
Grandparents
This stunning picture book beautifully conveys the
author’s cherished childhood memories of a special
relationship with his Polish grandmother (Baba).
As a boy, Scott would visit Baba every day before and
after school. Affected by deprivation during WWII,
Baba lives simply and frugally, growing food in her
beloved garden, storing it all around the house, and
cooking enormous quantities for her grandson. As
Baba speaks little English, most communication
is ‘through gesture, touch and laughter’, with the
love of food and tending the garden becoming
shared rituals, strengthening the bond between
them. Growing frailer, Baba moves in with the family
and her grandson helps care for her with the same
warmth and tenderness that he learned from her.
Smith’s wonderful artwork is filled with empathy and
feeling. The warm muted tones and smudgy, rainyday
scenes perfectly capture the sense of memories
revisited, whilst the detailed close-up of Baba’s face
is exceptionally touching. A powerful moving story
of intergenerational love.
Lynn Marshall
Sperring, Mark
If I Were the World
Illustrated by Natelle Quek
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
2023, pp.30, £7.99
9781526626318
Climate. Planet. Earth
‘If I were the world, I’d want flowers and bees,
A chorus of birds singing high in the trees
If I were the world, I’d want sparkling seas
If I were the world………. would you look after me?’
That’s the question the book is asking children –
how can we take care of our planet and why do we
need to take action? A simple rhyming text coupled
with stunning illustrations, which perfectly capture
the feel and messages of the text, make this one
of the best picture books I’ve seen on this topic
for young children. It is beautiful, inspirational,
and would be a really excellent book to use in
classrooms to get young children thinking and
talking about these issues. For ages 3 to 7.
Annie Everall
Skaug, Trygve
If I Were Prime
Minister
Illustrated by Ella Okstad
Lantana Publishing
2023, pp.24, £12.99
9781915244451
Politics. Identity. Life
This is a delightful book in which the protagonist
frankly observes all the things they would do
differently if they were prime minister and running
the country.
Mixing the serious and the silly, the messages of
doing good to other people, looking after the
planet, and being anything you want to be when
you grow up come across clearly to readers.
The illustrations are brightly coloured and
charmingly observed, and include a diverse range of
characters and animals. There is lots to look at and
discuss on each page, but the text is still clearly laid
out and also introduces children to longer and more
complex words and sounds, such as ‘favourite’,
‘rollerblading’, ‘bicycle’ and ‘whale’. Definitely a
book young readers will enjoy!
Elly Roberts
Stevenson, Robert
A Child’s Garden of
Verses
Illustrated by Michael Foreman
Otter-Barry Books
2023, pp.128, £12.99
9781913074388
Poetry. Classic. Childhood
From Otter-Barry Books comes a beautiful new
paperback edition of this timeless classic by Robert
Louis Stevenson. In the foreword by Alexander McCall
Smith, we are reminded of the transience of childhood,
echoed in the final poem of the anthology entitled, ‘To
Any Reader’. McCall Smith reminds us that childhood,
particularly a modern one, passes quickly, and there is
limited opportunity to remain untouched by modern
pressures. This classic anthology is, therefore, the
perfect antidote to modern living with its whimsical
and innocent reflections borne from Stevenson’s
Victorian childhood. In 64 short poems he evokes
the wonders of the world through a child’s eyes, and
through it, adults can help young children learn about
rhyme, rhythm, and poetic form. Moreover, Robert
Louis Stevenson is a name all children should know
with his place in the canon of English Literature as
the author of Key Stage 2 classics Treasure Island and
Kidnapped, and the GCSE staple The Strange Case of
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The beautiful colour illustrations
from Michael Foreman bring Stevenson’s words to life.
Jane Broadis
POETRY
50
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 7 & Under
Sworder, Zeno
My Strange Shrinking
Parents
Thames & Hudson Australia
2023, pp.40, £12.99
9781760761233
Migrants. Parents. Childhood
‘To my immigrant parents. And to all parents who
burden and narrow their own lives in the hope that
their children will be free to go further.’
Thus begins a thought-provoking and unusual picture
story, a fable for our times of mass migration and
social and political upheaval, and the sacrifices made
by parents on behalf of their children to offer them
a better life. The amazing illustrations and poignant
words beautifully capture the difficulties encountered
by immigrant children and their families, and the
author pays homage to the sacrifices made by his
own migrant parents. The trading of their height,
a few centimetres at a time, depicts the reality of
selfless love.
His final words in ‘A Brief Note’ say it all: ‘a debt to my
childhood friends who came from all over the world,
and whose parents came to a new country knowing
that they would be displaced in a foreign land without
their families or language … I learned something about
the strange nature of love; when given it enlarges
both the giver and the receiver. In this way our parents
were giants.’
Carolyn Copland
Timms, Barry
A Pinch of Love
Illustrated by Tisha Lee
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
2023, pp.32, £7.99
9780711280175
Empathy. Kindness. Friendship
This is a heart-warming story about how love and
a pinch of kindness can make a difference. Told in
rhyming verse, so perfect for reading aloud, we
follow a child (not identified as male or female) as
they bake cookies with their grandma and share
them with various people: a knit and natter group at
the community centre, workmen looking at a roof,
a birthday gift, a little child crying. There’s another
story in this book too. The community centre needs
a new roof and a bake sale is organised, but there’s
no flour left in the shops – the shelves are empty.
Cue a friend bringing a bag and helping to bake a
cake for the sale. The illustrations feature a diverse
range of ages and people as well as lots of situations
to explore and discuss, encouraging children to
think about how others may be feeling and to
empathise with them. As the book says, the miracle
ingredient is a ‘little pinch of love’ and it goes a
long way.
Barbara Band
Tregoning, Robert
Out of the Blue
Illustrated by Stef Murphy
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
2023, pp.30, £7.99
9781526627964
Individuality. Difference.
Self-Acceptance
In a dystopian world where all colours except blue are
banned, a young boy lives with a secret – he loves the
colour yellow. The boy hides yellow items he finds in
his bedroom closet, guiltily feeling that loving yellow
must be bad. One night, in an expression of joyous
liberation, he throws all of his yellow treasures into the
air, but investigating the noise, his dad discovers his
secret. The boy is scared and ashamed, but his dad’s
reaction surprises him and he starts to believe that
being different might be ok. As the boy and his dad
defy the colour ban, a chain reaction begins, and the
world erupts into glorious technicolour.
Beautiful illustrations capture the transition from the
sad, worried boy in a dull monochrome world, to the
rainbow explosion of everyone happily loving different
things, and perfectly complement the delightful,
flowing rhyming text. This is an uplifting story about
individuality, celebrating difference, acceptance and
the importance of being yourself. Great for reading
aloud and for Key Stage 1 discussion around difference
and self-acceptance.
Lynn Marshall
Tsang, Katie and Kevin
Space Blasters: Suzie
and the Moon Bugs
Illustrated by Amy Nguyen
HarperCollins Publishers
2023, pp.224, £6.99
9780755500284
Aliens. Stem. Adventure
Following on from her first adventure, Suzie Wen
continues her journey on The Universe’s Best
Spacecraft (TUBS) after being sucked into her
favourite sci-fi tv show in the first book. Alongside
her crewmates, Suzie travels across the universe
meeting friendly aliens and perhaps some less
than congenial species. Crashlanding onto a jungle
planet, the team must work together to stop the
moon bugs from eating their ship and taking over
the universe! This is a full-throttle, high-action
adventure perfect for space enthusiasts. With lovely
illustrations and great little nuggets of STEM facts,
Suzie and the Moon Bugs is a great book for your
emerging readers.
Jodie Brooks
Văn, Mượn Thị
I Love You Because
I Love You
Illustrated by Jessica Love
HarperCollins Children’s
Books
2023, pp.32, £7.99
9780008531652
Families. Multicultural. Diversity
This is a gorgeous picture book to share and
treasure, portraying many different family
relationships and all kinds of families. Jessica
Love’s illustrations are colourful, charming and
eye-catching and Mượn Thị Văn’s gently rhyming
words that put two sides of a statement – ‘I love you
because you’re here’ ‘Because I love you, I am here’
– are just delightful. The story is such a comforting
read and would be perfect for snuggling up to read
aloud to small children or to use in primary school
to talk about diversity and love. A life-affirming,
vibrant and touching book that has earnt a
permanent place on my bookshelf.
Bev Humphrey
Webb, Holly
The Little Lost Kitten:
Little Gems
Illustrated by Abigail Hookham
Barrington Stoke
2023, pp.88, £6.99
9781800901445
Animals. Grief. Family
Lucy and her dad had to say goodbye to their cat,
Patch, and Lucy isn’t sure which of them misses him
the most. When a tiny grey kitten appears in her
garden, she desperately wants it to stay. Worried
that Dad might be upset and send the kitten away,
Lucy tries to keep it a secret. But the kitten can’t stay
in the garden forever; she needs a place to live, so
Lucy must find a way to tell Dad the truth and give
Misty the home she deserves.
This moving tale tugs at the heartstrings, navigating
sensitive topics like the loss of a pet with a sure
but gentle touch. As the story of Lucy and the
kitten winds its way to a satisfying conclusion,
young cat lovers will find themselves thoroughly
invested in their flourishing friendship, and in
Lucy’s Dad-dilemma.
With full-colour illustrations, a super readable
format, and fun activities inside the jacket, there
is plenty here to engage young readers and build
confidence in reading.
Alison King
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
51

Books: 8 – 12 | Fiction and Poetry
Auton, Lisette
The Stickleback
Catchers
Illustrated by Valentina Toro
Puffin
2023, pp.385, £8.38
9780241522059
Adventure. Illness. Friendship
The story is set down by the river where the silvery
sticklebacks swim. A powerful and enchanting
story with an absolutely beautiful front cover.
This book is for fully fledged readers with its small
print, 32 chapters, and occasional black and white
illustrations. The plot covers quite deep themes
such as dementia and disability with sensitivity and
warmth. Mimi is the main character and becomes
very concerned when her gran starts to forget
things. They spend a great deal of time together
and Gran places an advert in the local paper to help
Mimi find some friends. With her new friends, Titch
and Nusrat, they begin to piece together the magical
clues and close the cracks which are appearing
in Gran’s house and send the crows away. They
discover a stone which is the doorway to another
world. At the heart of the story is Mimi, who needs
to keep going and bring Gran back. A moving,
thought-provoking story about relationships and
acceptance which makes you feel like you are down
at the river with the stickleback catchers!
Becky Taylor
Ayoade, Richard
The Book That No One
Wanted to Read
Illustrated by Tor Freeman
Walker Books
2022, pp.124, £10.99
9781529500301
Books. Humour. Illustration
Written in a uniquely entertaining direct address
style, readers will likely never have read anything
quite like this before. Telling the story of a book
discovered high up on a dusty shelf that has never
been read, and which absolutely does not want
to be read anyway, the reader is determined to
change its mind and persuades it to tell a story. This
is a book narrated by a book; you have to read it to
believe it!
This is a very quick book to read as it is jam packed
with engaging and hilarious illustrations, though
the humour in both illustration and text is perhaps
more appropriate for older readers as it could be a
little hard to understand for younger ones. There
is an array of fantastic and impressive vocabulary
throughout the book, and it is sure to entertain
children and adults alike.
Beth Jenkinson
Bethell, Zillah
The Song Walker
Usborne Publishing Ltd.
2023, pp.368, £7.99
9781474966856
Friendship. Adventure. Indigenous
An epic journey – in a literal sense
as well as a journey of self-discovery – the novel
tells the story of a young girl who must fend for
herself after a crash in the Australian outback.
Alone, lost, and unable to remember her past,
she then meets a First Country Australian girl
who can help her survive, putting into practice
the skills and knowledge acquired through the
teachings given by her ancestors and the guidance
originating from the songlines of her dreams. This
beautiful novel has a perfect combination of the
author’s signature gentle, sensitive storytelling that
grabs your attention from the start, and a lively
adventure which continues to keep you at the edge
of your seat until the last page. The novel provides
more than entertainment; it gives the reader a
good understanding of the history and life of the
indigenous people in Australia, but throughout
embraces the specificity of the culture in a much
more universal way.
Marzena Currie
Blackwood, Remi
Mission to Shadow Sea:
Future Hero
Illustrated by Alicia Robinson
Scholastic
2022, pp.164, £6.99
9780702311789
Fantasy. Quest. Mythical
Mission to Shadow Sea is the second book in a
futuristic fantasy series that will appeal to young
fans of Black Panther and Beast Quest. In the first
book, the titular ‘future hero’ Jarell found his way
into Ulfrika, the world of his ancient ancestors, and
with the help of a plucky new friend, Kimisi, began a
mission to find the four missing parts of a powerful
staff. This time, Jarell is searching for the Iron
Crocodile. He isn’t a ready-made hero – he’s a quiet,
creative 11-year-old in his own world, who goes out
of his way to avoid trouble. But by the beginning
of this second adventure, he has already gained in
confidence. While perfectly pitched for 7- to 9-yearolds,
this would also be ideal for older reluctant
readers. The writing is fast paced and action packed,
with illustrations by Alicia Robinson and ‘Top Trump’
style character cards at the end. Remi Blackwood is
the pen name for a collective of Black writers ‘who
are passionate about telling exciting and magical
stories that explore the mythologies of Africa and
its diaspora’.
Chris Routh
Clayton, Dhonielle
The Marvellers
Piccadilly Press
2023, pp.416, £8.52
9781800785472
Fantasy. Magic. Inclusive
Eleven-year-old Ella Durand
has received an invitation to attend the Arcanum
Training Institute – a school for children that
have magical gifts that is based in the clouds. Ella
is a conjuror and until now, they have not been
permitted to attend the institute. However, due to
a recent change in the law, Ella is the first conjuror
to be allowed to study at the Arcanum Training
Institute. Ella is greeted with contempt by some
of her fellow students, but she manages to find
friendship with others who are also finding it hard
to fit in.
As one of the most notorious members of the Aces
escapes prison with a conjuror’s aid, Ella becomes
the prime suspect. She fights to clear her name and
to discover the whereabouts of her Elixirs teacher
who strangely disappears.
A magical adventure that is inclusive, featuring
many cultural traditions. Suitable for readers aged 8
and above.
Charlotte Cole
Cross, Gillian
Ollie Spark and the
Exploding Popcorn
Mystery
Illustrated by Alan Snow
David Fickling Books
2023, pp.256, £6.99
9781788452410
Funny. Environment. Ingenuity
There’s lots to recommend this book, whether for
reading at home, or for the Year 2 or 3 classroom:
the humour (replicated in Alan Snow’s animations)
and the crazily imaginative plot involving espionage,
marauding sea-gulls, noodle-knitting octopuses and
a handy toolkit owned by a boy called Ollie Spark,
which he uses to great effect. Stopping the villain of
the piece is fiendishly difficult, but Ollie doesn’t just
have a super-smart scientific mind, he has friends
on his side. Together, they can surely win the fight
against evil on behalf of our wild world, whether or
not they win the coveted food-festival prize.
This is a rib-tickling tale centred on the serious harm
done to the environment by some greedy humans;
harm which will lead to the demise of protected
species and special habitats. I like that combination of
serious and silly, as will many young readers.
Teachers may be interested to know that the author,
Gillian Cross, has shared some tips on writing mystery
stories. Here’s the link: tinyurl.com/539put53
Jane Rew
52
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

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Books: 8 – 12 | Fiction and Poetry
Dockery, Daniel
Wendington Jones and
the Missing Tree
Illustrated by Marco Guadalupi
UCLan Publishing
2023, pp.332, £8.99
9781915235374
Adventure. Family. Myth
Wendington is plotting revenge when we first
meet her, but by the end of the evening, she will
learn she is an orphan and the revenge becomes
unnecessary. Pennington Jones is an intrepid
traveler, explorer, and writer, well known across the
world and it is her death that sets off a mission like
no other. Boarding a ship, Wendington is bound for
Uluru and Alice Springs, where she believes the tree
of life may rest, according to her mother’s unfinished
manuscript which has now been stolen!
The 42-day journey from England via ship gives
Wendington time to contemplate her new position
in life and the steps she much take to protect her
mother’s reputation as well as her own life. As the
reader, you meet so many incredible characters on
this voyage that you are constantly swayed back
and forth. What is certain is Wendington’s abilities,
strengths, and courage. She will run for her life more
times in this book than anyone should have to and
there is a determination within her to see her mother’s
life fulfilled thought the fabled tree of life.
Erin Hamilton
Dronfield, Jeremy
Fritz and Kurt
Illustrated by David Ziggy Greene
Puffin
2023, pp.352, £8.99
9780241565742
Holocaust. WWII. True Story
Kurt, his elder brother Fritz, his two
sisters and parents live in Vienna in the 1930s. They
are Jews and Kurt’s biggest problem is his brother’s
good-natured teasing. But Hitler has invaded Austria
and has started to make life difficult for Jews,
separating families, sometimes forever.
Fritz, although a child, and his father are taken to
a Nazi prison camp. Their mother fights to get her
other children evacuated to safety and succeeds in
sending Edith to Britain and later Kurt to the USA.
What follows in this illustrated narrative is the true
story of how some members of the family survived
the horrors of the Holocaust – because of their
inner strength and the kindness of strangers – and
some did not. Illustrated by David Ziggy Greene, this
book has been adapted for children by the author
of the adult book The Boy Who Followed His Father
into Auschwitz. Although it relates to a horrific
period in history, this is ultimately a book of hope
and resilience.
Dawn Woods
Easton, Tom
Vikings on Vacation:
Hotel of the Gods
Illustrated by Steve Brown
Orchard Books
2023, pp.192, £6.99
9781408365564
Gods. Goddesses. Humour
Atlas’ parents get new jobs running a luxurious hotel
and he can’t believe his luck. But then he discovers
the hotel has some very unusual residents – ancient
gods and goddesses. When Atlas accidentally
releases the monsters Cerberus, the Furies, and
the Chimera, usually kept locked in the basement,
the race is on to contain them again before too
much death and destruction ensues. Sometimes
a book can really surprise the reader, and for me
this was one of those books. I thought it was going
to be an average middle grade read but in fact I
absolutely LOVED it. It’s a fast-paced read, and the
characters of the gods, goddesses and monsters are
really cleverly drawn. It’s full of humour and witty
one-liners which children will love. I also think it
teases the reader and invokes a curiosity that will
encourage children to want to find out more about
these ancient gods. Possibly the first book in a new
series and I really hope so because I can’t wait for
the next! For ages 6–9.
Annie Everall
54
Elphinstone, Abi
Saving Neverland
Puffin
2023, pp.308, £14.99
9780241473320
Adventure. Magic. Family
In this modern reimagining of the
children’s classic, readers are once again visited
by the mysterious and mischievous Peter Pan and
whisked off to the magical island of Neverland.
Following in the footsteps of the Darlings, Martha
and Scruff find themselves on the adventure of a
lifetime, but Neverland is in grave danger. Captain
Hook has cast a terrible icy curse on the island and
only Martha and Scruff can break the curse and save
the magic of Neverland and all its inhabitants.
Those who have read JM Barrie’s Peter Pan or
seen one of the many films will recognise various
characters and locations mentioned in this book,
which is an exciting little treat when reading, but
even newcomers to the world of Neverland will
be quickly absorbed by the magic and wonder of
Elphinstone’s version. Full of excitement and thrilling
entanglements with all manner of magical creatures,
both friendly and not, this is also an uplifting tale of
a little girl who learns the importance of family and
holding on to childhood as long as possible.
Beth Jenkinson
EDITOR’S PICK
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
Evans, Lissa
Wished
Illustrated by Bec Barnes
David Fickling Books
2023, pp., £7.99
9781788452038
Adventure. Fantasy. Disability
Ten-year-old Ed is a wheelchair
user. He and his younger sister, Roo, are spending
the holidays with a neighbour, Miss Filey, much to
their distaste. They find ten unused magical birthday
candles in Miss Filey’s drawer and many adventures
ensue. One of the stand-out features of this book, is
the fact that the author, Lissa Evans, does not allow
only the lighter side of disability to be explored.
This is a very valuable asset of the novel. The other
prominent feature is Atlee, Miss Filey’s sarcastic cat.
It is also rare to have visible disability in a fantasy
adventure and this is something which should be
more common.
Rebecca Butler
Falase-Koya, Alex
Marv and the
Blizzard Zone
Illustrated by Paula Bowles
Oxford University Press
2023, pp.112, £6.99
9780192780485
Friendship. Fantasy. Ice-Skating
Another Marv book in which Marvin uses his superpower
suit to combat the evil Master Blaster who tries
to take over the ice rink where Marv and his friends
are having fun. With the help of his robo-friend, Pixel,
he removes the source of the Master Blaster’s powers
and restores order and fun to the scene.
This is a pacy chapter book with a cracking climax,
a satisfying outcome, and lots of good messages
in the mix. Friendship and fun are more important
than showing off and being the best. Being kind and
helpful and remembering loyalty, saying please and
thank you are ideals dripped through the storyline
effortlessly and rather heroically … like in any
super-hero classic. Grandad offers words of wisdom,
bringing all the fast fantasy and magic down to earth.
I loved this book.
The illustration and background colour is an icy blue
which adds drama to the setting and atmosphere
for a newly independent reader of longer stories.
Language is simple enough but extends with careful
vocabulary choices and some complex sentences.
Highly recommended for ages 7–10.
Janet Sims

Books: 8 – 12
Windrush
Editor’s picks
Dapo, Adeola
Joyful, Joyful: Stories
Celebrating Black Voices
Pan Macmillan, 2022, £20.00, 190pp,
9781529071504
Anthology. Black Culture. Positivity
A colour-illustrated collection of
stories and poems celebrating joy,
showcasing 40 talented Black writers
and artists from across the world on a
range of themes.
Benjamin, Floella and
Avelino, Joelle
Coming to England
Macmillan, 2021, £7.99, 144pp,
9781529045444
Autobiography. Caribbean. Emigration
Floella Benjamin was just a young
girl when she and her siblings arrived
in England to join their parents,
leaving Trinidad to make a new home
in London.
Collins, Jordan and
Lesnie, Phil
Where?
Allen & Unwin, 2022, £6.99, 32pp,
9781911679516
Equality. Perspectives. Racism
An illustrated poem about racism and
unity, through the eyes of a young
boy. A shared history and experiences
of all humans, and the irrelevance of
racial divisions.
Courtauld, Sarah
Story of Slavery
Usborne, 2022, £5.99, 64pp,
9781801314800
History. Personal stories. Slavery
Slavery from ancient times to the
official abolition of the slave trade
more than 200 years ago, plus the
continued existence of slavery today.
Grant, Colin, Dyer, Emma,
and Taylor, Melleny
Windrush
Ladybird, 2023, £6.99, 49pp,
9780241544204
History. Immigration. Racism
The movement of people after
the Second World War in Britain,
exploring the treatment of Black
people, the struggles they faced, and
those they continue to face.
Rosen, Michael and Blake,
Quentin
On the Move: Poems
about Migration
Walker, 2022, £7.99, 144pp,
9781529504361
Exclusion. Migration. Poetry
Migration and displacement from
different viewpoints told in a series
of poems. Hope and despair tell
individual stories, all linked in themes.
Sangera, Sathnam
Stolen History
Puffin, 2023, £8.99, 208pp,
9780241623435
British Empire. History. Power
Adapted for children from
Empireland, this is an accessible and
essential introduction to the British
empire. Britain’s imperial history.
Zephaniah, Benjamin
Windrush Child
Scholastic, 2020, £6.99, 208pp,
9780702302725
History. Immigration. Racism
A young Jamaican boy arriving in
Britain with his parents in the late
1940s tries to make the best of things
despite the racism he encounters. A
true-life account from a great poet.
Field, Colm
Kyan Green and the
Infinity Racers
Illustrated by David Wilkerson
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
2023, pp.288, £6.99
9781526641748
Adventure. Gaming. Racing
When Kyan finds a racetrack toy in his loft whilst
trying to help his dad fix their flat, he thinks it might
be a fun way to pass some time. The first time he
plays, he realises the track transports him to a
different universe, Jumanji style! In the first level,
he competes to win a race and the prize is money –
money that would really help out his family right
now. Each level is more intense than the last – police
chases, space travels and a submarine trying to
avoid sea monsters.
As the story travels through the multiverse, the plot
moves quickly, and the action will keep readers
hooked. However, it also deals with some family
issues: Kyan’s family are being threatened with
eviction from their rented flat and the mean landlord
Mr Stringer serves as a good nemesis. Kyan’s wise
grandma tries to show him that family is the most
important thing.
This is a great middle grade adventure book, sure to
engage readers who like gaming or racing. A sequel
is due soon.
Jenni Prestwood
Fine, Anne
Next to Alice
4U2read
Illustrated by Gareth Conway
Barrington Stoke
2023, pp.64, £7.99
9781800901742
School. Friendship. Reward
When a broken window forces a change in
classroom seating arrangements, Ben is reluctant
to sit next to Alice. She’s scary and tells him off for
his sloppy work and poor table manners. However,
when he starts to take her advice, he realises that
she might have a point and discovers that sitting
next to her isn’t so bad after all.
A brilliant look at classroom dynamics and
friendships, this is an enjoyable short read.
Shona Page
Flanagan, Liz
Into the Dark Forest:
Book 1
Wildsmith Series
Illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton
UCLan Publishing
2023, pp.171, £7.99
9781915235046
Dragons. Magic. Nature
Rowan and her mother are forced to flee their city after
war is declared. They join Rowan’s grandfather in the
Dark Forest – a grandfather she didn’t even know she
had. Whilst there, although she is worried about her
father, who stayed behind, Rowan discovers a world of
magical animal care through her grandfather’s role as
Wildsmith. Her worries are soon forgotten after Rowan
rescues a clutch of dragon eggs from poachers and
spends the summer looking after them with her new
friends. However, they know it’s only a matter of time
before the poachers return, so they must hatch a plan
to protect the forest’s animals from further harm.
This is the first book in the Wildsmith series and is a
great introduction to chapter books or for children
who want a shorter read. The story is accompanied by
beautiful illustrations and the short chapters make it an
exciting and quick-paced read. Animal fans will enjoy
reading about Rowan’s escapades raising the baby
dragons and helping her grandfather care for other
injured animals in the Dark Forest.
Beth Jenkinson
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
55

Books: 8 – 12 | Fiction and Poetry
Fraser, Tim & Soh, Sarah
Juniper Mae: Knight of
Tykotech City
Flying Eye Books
2023, pp.64, £9.99
9781912497454
STEM. Graphic. Novel
Juniper Mae is one of life’s loners, inventing things
in her bedroom and finding it hard to make friends.
When her city’s power source is threatened,
however, she finds the courage to protect the city
and stand up to someone who could have become
her only friend, whilst making a cute creature ally at
the same time. This brightly coloured quick read is
perfect for encouraging girls interested in inventing
and science, and Juniper Mae is a brilliant role
model for young women, letting them know that
they can be inventors and protectors just as much
as the more classic male stereotypes. Juniper Mae’s
nurturers are her grandfather and father, and it’s
good to see males in this role presented positively. A
fun story and the first in a series, which is great, – I
look forward to seeing what this kick ass, caring
inventor comes up with in future books.
Bev Humphrey
Getten, Kereen
Ada Rue and the
Banished
Illustrated by Simone Douglas
Bloomsbury
2023, pp.96, £6.99
9781801991292
Families. Adventure. Magical
This short chapter book with its appealing black
and white illustrations is ideal for children who
are starting to gain reading confidence and
understanding. With its magical theme, it proved to
be quite a page turner and the story really draws you
in with its exciting plot. Ada’s family have moved to
a small town for her Mum’s new job, but it becomes
obvious as they start to settle in that something is
not quite right. Out on her paper round, Ada comes
across a mysterious wall of fog. Unbeknownst to
Ada she has been selected by the Banished to save
them and the town that she has just moved into. An
inspirational story which encourages resilience and
shows that putting yourself outside of your comfort
zone can really save the day!
Becky Taylor
Hegarty, Shane
Big Berry Robbery:
The Shop of Impossible
Ice Creams
Illustrated by Jeff Crowther
Hodder
2023, pp.224, £6.99
9781444962529
Humour. Adventure. Teamwork
Limpet runs an ice cream shop with his mum, selling
highly unusual flavours – cucumber or fried onion,
anyone? His mum must go away for the weekend,
leaving the shop in the safe hands of Limpet and his
dad, which would be ideal if he hadn’t misread the
date that the judge from the Golden Sprinkles Award
is due to visit …
What ensues is a funny tale of arch nemeses,
teamwork, and an evil pigeon.
Although this is the second in a series, enough
background is given throughout the story that you
don’t feel lost if you haven’t read the first one. I
particularly liked the family relationships, especially
between Limpet and his sister, and found it really
refreshing that Limpet’s divorced parents are on
friendly terms with each other. A good, fun read.
Shona Page
Jardine, Lis
The Detention
Detectives
Illustrated by Glen Thomas
Puffin
2023, pp.331, £7.99, 9780241523384
Murder. Friendship. School-Life
A must-buy for Key Stage 2 and 3 pupils!
The Detention Detectives is a fresh new take
on the murder mystery genre. The setting is a
contemporary secondary comprehensive with three
Year 7 misfits as the accidental sleuths. Jonathan
(Jonno) Archer, with his Swiss German mum and
mortician Dad, has reluctantly moved to Hanbridge
High because the family has inherited Nanna’s
house. Soon after his arrival, Jonno and classmate
Daniel, a Star Trek-obsessed brainiac, discover the
dead body of their PE teacher in a big plastic trunk of
footballs. School journalist Lydia Strong, desperate
to impress with a scoop, joins the team to try and
discover who murdered the less-than-popular Mr
Baynton. For Daniel, there’s an important reason
why the real perpetrator must be caught and not
the woman arrested and accused of the crime.
With humour and authenticity, Jardine harnesses
the energy and voices of modern teenagers in this
fast-paced whodunnit which gives insights into
guardianship, the life of a young carer and the
challenge of moving away from friends.
Jane Broadis
Jones, Andy
Bob vs the Selfie
Zombies
Piccadilly Press
2023, pp.256, £7.99, 9781800783485
Time. Travel. Humour
Eleven-year-old Bob can time
travel to the future, often at inconvenient times.
In the present, what matters is that he and his best
friend Malcolm win the school talent show with their
band the Tentacles of Time and avoid Gloria, the
annoying girl next door. Bob has lost his mum which
is something he sometimes thinks about.
Through many hilarious escapades, meetings with
his future self and future Malcolms and Glorias and
glimpses of alternative realities, Bob learns that the
safety of the world is also strangely dependent on the
outcome of the same school competition. Disaster
looms unless Bob can prevent the wrong person
winning as Eno his clever schoolmate has entered
his invention of a self-activating selfie hat. If Eno
wins, in his future he becomes an evil genius and
legions of rampaging selfie-addicted zombies will
be everywhere.
Quirky illustrations depict many of Bob’s funniest, and
in one instance most poignant, moments. An ideal
book for fans of fast-paced adventure comedy stories
but may also resonate with any child coming to terms
with a loss.
Sue Polchow
Khoo, Rachel
The Wishkeeper’s
Apprentice
Illustrated by Rachel Sanson
Walker Books
2023, pp.240, £7.99
9781529507904
Magic. Family. Adventure
Lonely Felix doesn’t believe in wishes but feels a
growing distance forming between himself and his
older sister, so makes a wish into the local penny
fountain, longing for them to be close again.
As a result, he embarks on a magical adventure
entering the world of the eccentric wishkeeper, Repus.
But the evil wishsnatcher who feeds off despair comes
to town and will stop at nothing to capture Repus and
deprive all wishers of their hopes and dreams.
When Repus is taken and timelines start to unravel
with some realities not even existing, Felix must
rescue the wishkeeper and save himself from
fading out of existence and the whole world from
a very bleak future. For Felix, help comes from an
unexpected source.
The story emphasises the power of wishes and the
importance of hope, friendship, and family ties in
a heart-warming way. With charming illustrations
throughout and a detailed map at the start, this
book will appeal to readers who love tales of quests
and magic.
Sue Polchow
56
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 8 – 12
Lamb, Simon
A Passing On of Shells:
50 Fifty-Word Poems
Illustrated by Chris Riddell
Scallywag Press
2023, pp.112, £10.99
9781915252128
Debut. Poetry. Funny
This charming debut collection of poetry by Simon
Lamb, stunningly illustrated by Chris Riddell, is both
the perfect addition for any library and a delightful
gift. These enjoyable poems are for all year round and
for many occasions. They made me laugh, made me
feel sad, made me reminisce, and made me instantly
want to share them with everyone around me.
The poems are a pleasure to read aloud, or to curl
up in a cosy place to devour on your own. They
particularly feel special if you can read them whilst
looking out to sea!
The book itself feels beautiful, from the choice of
material and shade of blue for the cover and the
comical shell illustration, to the title which is a line
from Life on the Rock about hermit crabs caring for
their shells (in the knowledge that they will pass them
on to others).
I firmly believe that this book will inspire children to
write their own poems, using techniques such as ‘50
words only’ or variations of, as it makes poetry feel
fun and accessible.
Jenny Griffiths
POETRY
Lapinsky, L.D.
Jamie
Orion Children’s Books
2023, pp.256, £7.99
9781510110922
LGBTQ+. Secondary School.
Friendship
Jamie is a gloriously positive and
enlightening story about a non-binary 11-year-old
who is about to move up to secondary school.
But there’s a problem; in Jamie’s town the local
secondary schools are single sex- a boys’ school
and a girls’ school- but where does that leave a
student who does not identify as either? Why should
they have to pick a gender and then pretend to be
something they are not?
Jamie’s journey is a gentle yet insightful way to
explore non-binary identity within a Middle Grade/
upper Key Stage 2 novel. By going on the journey
with Jamie and his friends the reader is given a
greater understanding of what it is to be, or know,
a non-binary person. We see the ignorance, and
the barriers they face in everyday activities- like
clothes shopping, using public toilets and of course,
choosing a school. It opened my eyes to how binary
society is and how we can help create a more
inclusive school or home environment by sharing
books like Jamie with our readers- young and old!
Cassie Kemp
Larwood, Kieran
The Treekeepers
Illustrated by Christopher Wormell
Faber & Faber
2022, pp.370, £12.99
9780571364565
Adventure. Quest. Magic
Arborven is a city within the enormous Undrentree,
inhabited by thousands of people and unusual
creatures. But the Undrentree is under threat from
another more sinister tree, Bitterblight – hungry to
seep its poisons into the Undrentree and suck the life
and magic out of it.
Liska has been sent to tree-wizard school so she can
learn to mature and use her magic wisely. But while
she should be listening to the boring teachers, she
hears of another tree, whose heart could save their
own, and she plans to find it. Unfortunately, none of
the grown-ups or powerful Treekeepers believe her.
But the evil Noxis knows that Liska is on to something
and fears she will ruin his plans.
Liska knows it’s a race against time, so, along with her
friends, she embarks upon a perilous quest to save
Arborven. Could this mythical tree be the thing that
saves the Undrentree after all?
Beautifully illustrated and full of bold characters and
exciting new creatures, this is a great recommendation
for children who love a magical adventure.
Angela Dyson
Lewis, Gill
Moonflight
Illustrated by Pippa Curnick
David Fickling Books
2023, pp.320, £7.99
9781788452571
Adventure. Animals. Bravery
You may be familiar with Gill Lewis,
who loves to write stories featuring animals, but with
Moon Flight you will likely find that this is Gill Lewis
as you have never read her before. Here is a story
of adventures, and with deep, heartfelt meaning,
here is a story with an animal we usually consider
vermin – the rat – as a potential hero; I hope you will
give this rat the chance to show that he can indeed
be a hero.
Tilbury is a very timid rat, and he is about to go on
the journey of a lifetime that will find him journeying
across the seas to return a priceless diamond to its
rightful owners. Tilbury is a Dockland Rat and the
curse of the diamond hangs over him for it is only
he who can break is, being the seventh-born of a
seventh-born litter. His journey is not going to be
easy; there are going to be new lands, unfamiliar
enemies and a quest to discover just what true
treasure really is. An exciting story.
Louise Ellis-Barrett
Lincoln, Beth
The Swifts
Illustrated by Claire Powell
Puffin
2023, pp.449, £12.99
9780241613009
Family. Loyalty. Mystery
On the day they are born, each
Swift is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary.
They are given a name and a definition, and it is
assumed they will grow up to match.
Shenanigan Swift is not sure she wants to match
her name. Why can she not be a pirate, an explorer,
or even a detective? When Aunt Inheritance calls a
family reunion, causing havoc in the family house,
Shenanigan gets her chance. With an attempted
murder and two further deaths, Shenanigan and her
sister, Phenomena, begin to investigate, aided by
their cousin Erf. An entertaining romp of a murder
mystery follows with an eclectic cast of characters,
all with unusual names allocated from the family
dictionary. The word play is brilliant and the humour
original if quite dark on occasions. The regular
rehearsals of Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude’s funeral
borders on slapstick.
Touching on themes of loyalty and gender identity,
this is a fun read full of quirky humour.
Ellen Krajewski
McKenna, Skye
Hedgewitch
Illustrated by Tomislav Tomić
Welbeck Flame
2023, pp.400, £7.99
9781801300681
Magic. Friendship. Family
The second instalment of the enchanting Hedgewitch
series sees the arrival of autumn in Hedgely and
the coven preparing for Halloween. A flamboyant
young Irish witch called Aoife causes a stir when
she joins the coven, while Cassie is surprised by the
arrival of her irritating younger cousin Sebastian for
the seasonal holiday. But more worryingly, some
of the villagers have been behaving very strangely.
Then Cassie’s aunt Miranda, the hedgewitch and
protector of the village, is unavoidably called away
on business, and the scene is set for Cassie, Rue and
Tabitha to (ill-advisedly) tackle the problem on their
own. They find themselves caught up in a race to find
a powerful faery spear before it falls into the hands of
the Erl King.
Their quest takes them even deeper into the
dangerous woods; new magical creatures are
encountered and more is learnt about the traditions
and stories which bind the village community
together. This exciting adventure is bristling with
jeopardy and brimming with magic, served up with
copious quantities of tea and cake throughout.
Chris Routh
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
57

Books: 8 – 12 | Fiction and Poetry
McLachlan, Jenny
Stink
Farshore
2023, pp.240, £7.99
9780008524272
Humour. Fairies. Friendship
Here is Jenny McLachlan living
out her childhood dream to write AND illustrate a
book. Think of a cross between Diary of a Wimpy
Kid and Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good
and you have it: this is presented as the diary of an
eleven-year-old boy who is about to start secondary
school and is (embarrassingly) stuck with a real
but very naughty fairy. Stink (or more precisely S
dot Tink) says she will only go away if Danny helps
her to earn 100 fairy nuggets by doing some good
deeds – what could possibly go wrong?! So begins
a hilarious sequence of events involving a troll who
tries to eat his best friend, amongst a lot of other
things, an out-of-control gnome wearing a Princess
Jasmine costume, a chocolatey chocolate-themed
party, and a wacky raft race.
Jenny has said that ‘Stink may be a silly book about
a conniving, rude fairy that ruins a boy’s life … but
it’s also about friendship, perseverance, and looking
after foxes and elderly neighbours.’ And there’s
more to come – hooray!
Chris Routh
McNicoll, Elle
Like A Curse
Knights of Media
2023, pp.300, £8.99
9781913311377
Neurodiversity. Dyspraxia. Fantasy
Like A Curse is the second book in
the Like A Charm duology and continues the story
from the first novel. In book one, we discover that
Edinburgh is full of magical creatures known as
Hidden Folk, but only Ramya Knox, our dyspraxic
heroine, can see them. In the first book, as Ramya is
fulfilling her grandfather’s dying wish to document
all magical creatures, she uncovers family secrets
and learns about the dangers of the sirens. In this
story, as the city falls under the spell of a powerful
siren, Ramya is stuck at Loch Ness with her Aunt
Opal, trying to learn how to use and control her
powers but is desperate to escape to help save
her beloved city. A magical fantasy adventure that
will delight fans of Elle McNicoll, this is a vividly
descriptive book that deals with healing and
forgiveness after the theme of grief in the first book.
There are some marvellous characters, particularly
Aunt Opal, and the neurodivergent representation
is, as always, excellent.
Barbara Band
Mellon, Jim
Juno’s Ark
Illustrated by Simone Fumagalli
Fruitful Publications Limited
2023, pp.128, £7.99
9781739250508
Intensive. Farming. Animal
I can’t help thinking that the author
would have done better to have written a factual
book for children on the subject of cruelty-free food
production. He has the experience and expertise,
according to the final few pages of the book (which
also contain a quiz and a wordsearch). As a story, it’s
very pedestrian and strikes as over-simplistic, not
least in its attempt to engage children in the debate
about poor farming practices. Even Key Stage 1
children benefit from the use of richer vocabulary
and more nuanced storytelling, so I shall continue
to recommend those titles (e.g. by Gill Lewis) rather
than this one.
Those who did enjoy the book might be interested
in Mellon’s website, which also has games and
further background on the author, as well as his
books for older readers.
As for age suitability, based on the illustrations
and page length, it will probably appeal most to
7- to 8-year-olds.
Jane Rew
Muncaster, Harriet
Emerald and the
Ocean Parade
Oxford University Press
2023, pp.160, £9.99
9780192783974
Mermaid. Magic. Adventure
Emerald is learning how to be a mermaid princess,
but she doesn’t feel like one at all. She’s not very
good at waving to crowds and royal headdresses
just aren’t her thing. Emerald’s wriggly pet octopus,
Inkibelle, doesn’t much like living at the royal palace
either. The annual Ocean Parade is coming up. Will
Emerald be brave enough to be a mermaid princess
but do it her own, special way? This is a brand-new
series featuring Isadora’s mermaid friend, Emerald,
which readers are going to love from start to
finish. This book is perfect for readers who are
looking for a fun and exciting magical mermaid
story with a splash of wildness and wonder and the
stunning two-colour illustrations are just charming
and really help to bring this book to life. The story
has many hidden messages about being who YOU
want to be and not letting anyone mould you into
being someone else – there can be mutual changes
that may mean a lot to someone. Emerald and the
Ocean Palace is going to make a wonderful addition
to any primary school library/classroom.
Emma Suffield
Nabi, Zohra
The Kingdom Over
the Sea
Illustrated by Tom Clohasy Cole
Simon & Schuster Children’s
2023, pp.368, £7.99
9781398517707
Magic. Adventure. Fantasy
A riveting read for fans of mystical and
magical adventures.
When Yara’s mother passes away, she leaves behind
a letter and a strange set of instructions. Yara must
travel from the home she has always known to a
place that is not on any map – Zehaira, a world of
sorcerers, alchemists, and simmering magic. But
Zehaira is not the land it used to be. The practice of
magic has been outlawed, the Sultan’s alchemists are
plotting a sinister scheme, and the answers Yara is
searching for seem to be out of reach.
Yara must summon all her courage to discover the
truth about her mother’s past and her own identity …
and to find her place in this magical new world.
The characters are so well drawn that I was able to
picture them as they appeared – it would adapt well
to a screen.
Carolyn Copland
Naidoo, Beverley
Children of the Stone
City
Harper Collins
2023, pp.416, £7.99
9780008471774
Race. Repression. Music
Carnegie Medal Winner Beverley Naidoo’s career
began with her ground-breaking anti-apartheid
novel Journey to Jo’burg. Nearly forty years
later, she has turned to a present-day apartheid
system, in the Middle East. The Stone City is
never named in the story, which is an allegory of
repressive racial divisions wherever they occur.
However, this is actually modern Jerusalem, as the
author’s note makes clear. Adam, nearly thirteen,
is a gifted student violinist, but he belongs to the
‘Nons’, a racial group brutally downtrodden by the
‘Permitteds’ – their freedom limited, their homes
and rights of residence under constant threat. When
a high-spirited friend puts both their families in
danger, Adam seeks help through his music. He finds
that not all Permitteds are enemies, though cruel
injustices remain. Naidoo offers no easy answers,
and the ending is hopeful rather than happy. This
tale of risk and bravery is a political novel, simply
told but passionate in its care for equality and
freedom. It is Orwell for children, a gripping and
eye-opening story.
Peter Hollindale
58
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 8 – 12
Noakes, Laura
Cosima Unfortunate
Steals a Star
Harper Collins
2023, pp.304, £7.99
9780008579050
Adventure. Disability. Friendship
An unusual book which shines a light on the prejudices
encountered by people with disabilities, both seen
and unseen. The author has captured the aura of
Dickensian London, with its workhouses and human
exploitation, and this seems to magnify the injustice of
the prejudice.
Cosima Unfortunate has spent all her life at the Home
for Unfortunate Girls – a school where any disabled
children, or children deemed different, are sent,
whether their families want it or not. With her friends –
Pearl, Mary, and Diya – they start to practice mini heists
involving the theft of cakes, biscuits, and other goodies.
When Cos finds out that Lord Francis Fitzroy, the
explorer behind the Empire Exhibition, is planning
to adopt them (for unknown reasons), she and her
friends plot to steal Fitzroy’s prized tiara, containing
the legendary Star Diamond of India! But, as they start
preparing for the day, Cosima finds herself drawing
ever closer to discovering the one secret she’s always
wanted to know – the truth about her parents.
Reminiscent of the Lemony Snicket stories, this is a
great read for fans of adventure stories.
Carolyn Copland
O’Hara, Mo
Honey’s Hive
Illustrated by Aya Kakeda
Andersen Press
2023, pp.176, £6.99
9781839133282
Adventure. Honey. Bees
Honey is a young bee, buzzing with
ambition, who can’t find her role in the small hive.
Just when she thinks she’s found a job she likes,
a swarm threatens the whole hive! Honey makes
her escape and discovers a rooftop paradise at the
top of a tower block – the perfect place to set up
a new hive. Fighting off a swarm of angry wasps,
and working together with her friends, Honey
saves the day and builds a new home for her and
her community.
As well as a fun story, this is a wonderfully
informative book about bees, with key facts about
bees at the end of the book. I learnt so much
about bee behaviour and also about how we
need to do more in our gardens to help the bees.
The text is accompanied by stunning black and
white illustrations by Aya Kakeda – these drawings
really help to bring the book to life. This book will
make a wonderful addition to any primary library/
classroom, be perfect for reluctant readers, and will
also be a good addition to any biology/geography
lesson surrounding nature.
Emma Suffield
O’Neill, Richard
A Different Kind of
Freedom: A Romani
Story
Scholastic
2023, pp.208, £6.99
9781407199580
Romani. Football. Culture
This highly engaging story will appeal to a wide age
range. Written with great personal sincerity, Lijah,
is a young Romani boy, facing the many challenges
of his culture in a changing world; dogged by
prejudices and injustices meted out by ignorant
people (both in the settled community, but also his
own family) he finally manages to make his way into
the world of football. He is a talented and dedicated
player, inspired by the real Romani Rab Howell,
former England player. Written in the first person,
Lijah tells his story from the heart, introducing his
readers to his cultural traditions.
O’Neill’s narrative is authentic and inspiring,
sensitively introducing the realities of living in
marginalised communities. Lijah quietly and
determinedly pursues his ambition, but retains his
Romani identity.
Part of the Scholastic Voices Series (featuring BAME
figures from British history), O’Neill’s book will
be a most valuable addition to both Primary and
Secondary bookshelves.
Stephanie Barclay
Perry, Jamar
Cameron Battle and the
Escape Trials
Bloomsbury
2023, pp.240, £6.99
9781526656179
Fantasy. Mythology. Adventure
In this sequel to Cameron Battle and the Hidden
Kingdoms, we follow Cameron on his next
adventure. After returning two months ago, and
now being back in his middle school classes,
Cameron is itching to return to Chidani, a magical
kingdom, to find his parents. When Cameron and
his friends realise school bully Vince is actually
possessed by mmo, he tries to snatch the book
of Chidani from Cameron’s chest, they open up a
portal and all end up back in Chidani without any
sort of plan. This mystical realm is still very new to
the group, and they don’t always know where to
seek help.
Definitely start with the first in the series; it doesn’t
quite stand up as a stand-alone story – not knowing
all of the back story made this a little confusing
at times. Cameron struggles with his identity in
this book, adding an LGBTQ element to the story.
A good adventure story, inspired by West African
history, this is great for fans of mythology or
fantasy series.
Jenni Prestwood
Reeve, Philip
Otter Chaos:
Adventuremice
Illustrated by Sarah McIntyre
David Fickling Books
2023, pp.128, £6.99
9781788452670
Animals. Adventure. Goodness
This is the first of a series of stories about the
adventures of Pedro, a mouse for whom staying
safe at home was not enough. He sets off to join the
Adventure Mice, guardians of the Mouse Islands.
Pedro has to prove himself to join their ranks. He
does so by leading the rescue of Mortlake, a giant
Otter caught up in an abandoned fishing net who is
being sucked into a whirlpool. Mortlake promises
not to threaten the Mice Islands again.
Philip Reeves has created an enticing world where
Ivy gives life to a toy seaplane, where mouselets
race their dinghies, and scavenger mice raid the
mainland for cheese and cake. Newly confident
readers will be carried along by the pace and
excitement of the narrative and drawn into the life
of the Mouse Islands by Sarah McIntyre’s bright and
often dramatic illustrations. These are to be found
on nearly every page: the whirlpool looks deep
and dangerous, the map of the islands offers the
prospect of further adventures, and a cross section
of the Mousebase demands careful study.
David Mallett
Ross, Alice
The Nowhere Thief
Nosy Crow
2023, pp.256, £7.99
9781839943768
Adventure. Families. Time
Elsbeth lives with her mother in
a seaside town. They own a giftshop, but money
is tight. When Elsbeth realises she can visit other
worlds, she brings back items to sell in the shop,
or at antique fairs. However someone finds out
that she is travelling to other parallel worlds, and
her mother disappears. Elsbeth goes to look for
her mother and meets another time traveller, Idris.
The worlds described are varied, and the adventures
have some exciting twists. For younger readers who
appreciate His Dark Materials.
Alison A Maxwell-Cox
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
59

Books: 8 – 12 | Fiction and Poetry
Rutter, Helen
The Funniest Boy in
the World
Scholastic
2023, pp.292, £8.52
9780702314674
Families. Humour. Friendships
This book is a sequel to The Boy Who Made
Everyone Laugh but stands alone and encourages a
read of the rest of the series. With 35 chapters and
only a few illustrations, it is for confident readers
and covers hard pressing issues such as how to
manage a stammer, how to deal with a bully, how
to deal with a pregnant mum and one with alcohol
addiction. It is a very funny book and has some
cracking jokes in it which will make you laugh
out loud.
Billy, the main character, is desperate to become a
comedian until everything goes wrong at his first
gig. However, he is spotted by a celebrity comedian
who posts a social media clip of Billy which changes
everything. Billy learns that sometimes people are
not quite what they seem and that you need to
hold on to people who truly care for you. There
are some very touching relationships in this story
and it’s a wonderful happy ending. This book is for
a confident reader who will be keen to find out if
Billy’s plan works.
Becky Taylor
Sedgwick, Marcus
Ravencave
Barrington Stoke
2023, pp.136, £7.99
9781800901926
Bereavement. Ghosts. Suspense
James, his elder brother Robbie,
and their parents have come to Swardale one year
after their previous visit, bringing the ashes of
James’ Grandma in order to scatter them close to
her roots as was her wish.
The family are disjointed. Dad has recently been
made redundant and is still angry about the way it
was handled. Mum has writer’s block so has lost her
lucrative income and self-esteem, and Robbie is
sullen and uncommunicative.
The weather has been bad, so it’s only on the last
day of their getaway do they climb the peak as they
had done last year, this time with Grandma’s ashes.
On the walk up, James is distracted by a young girl
he recognises is from the past and she urges him
to follow her. In doing so, James discovers more
about himself and moves his family towards dealing
with their demons. A Barrington Stoke adventure
read taking the reader into an unexpected pathway
of suspense and a reminder of the loss of such a
talented author.
Dawn Woods
Siggins, Gerard
Rugby Rookie:
Stepping Up a Level,
Stepping Back in Time
(Rugby Spirit)
The O’Brien Press
2023, pp.224, £8.99
9781788493987
Rugby. Sportsmanship. Ghosts
Rugby Rookie is book nine in the acclaimed Rugby
Spirit series from Gerard Siggins, published by the
O’Brien Press. Whilst part of a series, Siggins brings
readers up to date in chapter one and there’s no need
to go out and invest in the whole set, though the
books are great for rugby fans and a good alternative
to Matt and Tom Oldfield’s or Tom Palmer’s football
books for pupils who love sport fiction. Here, talented
player Eoin is back playing rugby at his school,
Castlerock College, but is feeling insecure amongst
older Senior Cup teammates; on him rides extra
pressure as the headteacher expects him to help bring
home the Senior Cup after a decade of losses. In this
book, readers meet the ghost of George Stack, the
first man to captain Ireland and, through a suitcase
of memorabilia from Eoin’s Grandad, learn about
the early days of rugby in Ireland. The use of ghostly
rugby greats returning to visit Eoin and his friends is a
useful device for teaching young rugby fans about the
history of the game.
Jane Broadis
Smart, Jamie
Bunny Vs Monkey:
Multiverse Mix-Up!
David Fickling Books
2023, pp.256, £9.99
9781788452922
Comic. Anarchic. Humour
Jamie Smart’s action-packed collection of comics
is now published in book form. It is the seventh
book in this graphic novel series. The A5 glossy
pages are just right for holding in your lap and quick
page turning. Bunny, Monkey, and friends travel
through portals to explore all sorts of anarchic
universes. Laugh out loud silliness. Adult jokes and
childish humour.
Carolyn Ovenden
Smith, Chris
World Tales for
Family Storytelling
III
Hawthorn Press
2023, pp.184, £15.99
9781912480678
Storytelling. Traditional. Stories
This is a celebration of the power of oral storytelling,
encouraging children and adults to become
confident storytellers themselves. The introductory
chapters discuss the history and importance of
the oral storytelling traditions as well as different
ways this book can be used to encourage children
to recount the stories from memory rather than
just reading them aloud. The stories themselves
are simplified and very short, the bare bones of the
story. At the beginning of each story there are notes
about where the story comes from, its purpose,
as well as hints on how to embellish or enhance
the retelling. There is an impressive array of stories
from a wide range of countries and cultures. This
would be a great book for encouraging storytelling
either by sharing one-to-one or in small groups.
I particularly like the inclusion of an index of the
different sources and resources used for each of
the tales. So if you particularly liked a story, you can
delve deeper by reading different variations and
exploring the other web resources highlighted.
Brenda Heathcote
Taylor, Sarah
A Spoonful of Spying:
Alice Éclair, Spy
Extraordinaire!
Nosy Crow
2023, pp.272, £7.99
9781839940972
Spies. Cakes. Adventures
I am happy to report that the highly anticipated second
book in the Alice Éclair series lives up to expectation.
It is packed full of mystery, with cakes described in
such delicious detail that I wished I was eating them
alongside this daring tale.
Set during the latter part of the inter-war years, Alice
is positioned at the World Fair on a huge site in Paris
where the nations showcased their might through
everything from fashion and food to aeronautical
expertise. It is the perfect place for competing spies to
steal each other’s secrets.
It is a thrilling tale with a central character full of spirit
and bravery. There is a strong message of self-belief,
with themes of resilience, friendship, teamwork and
working for the greater good. This series is a gentle
introduction to the tricky World War theme for slightly
younger readers. As I was reading it, I could think of
many pupils who would thoroughly enjoy this story,
and it is complemented by delightful illustrations by
Beatriz Castro.
Jenny Griffiths
60
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 8 – 12
Tulloch, Jonathan
Cuckoo Summer
Andersen Press
2022, pp.256, £7.99
9781839132094
Secrets. Adventure. Friendship
A fast-paced adventure story,
Cuckoo Summer is set in the beautiful rural Lake
District, in the year of 1940. The story is about two
youngsters, Tommy and his friend Sally. Tommy is
native to the Lake District and lives with his aunts,
as his father is missing in action. Sally is an evacuee,
and lives with Mr Scarcross, a bitter and unkind
man. One day, following the crash of a German
aircraft in the village, the youngsters find an airman
in the woods. Sally convinces Tommy not to tell
anyone as she believes Mr Scarcross will shoot him,
and over the next few weeks they take care of him.
This is a lovely story about friendship and trust, but
also a great depiction of life in the 1940s in a rural
setting. The Lake District, and life there at that time,
is beautifully described, enabling you to become
fully immersed. As the story unfolds, secrets are
uncovered, and we learn the true measure of
resilience. A moving feel-good story for youngsters.
Linda Nash
Ward, Nick
Gorilla City: The Lost
Diary of Charlie Small
Guppy Books
023, pp.144, £7.99
9781913101916
Adventure. Jungle. Humour
When Charlie Small goes out exploring, he does not
expect to be gone beyond teatime. Equipped with
his trusty rucksack of explorer’s necessities – ball
of string, water bottle, penknife, mint humbugs,
notebook, scarf, pyjamas, telescope, wild animal
collector’s cards (you never know when you might
need them!), glue stick, old railway ticket and, of
course, a mobile phone – Charlie heads down the
river on his raft. As a storm blows up, Charlie gets
tossed and turned and ends up in the jungle. As he
tries to find his way home, he encounters a myriad
of strange creatures, learns to speak gorilla, gets
in and out of several scrapes, and eventually finds
himself catapulted on to a desert island – but that’s
the next adventure.
A fast-paced, exciting and funny adventure
punctuated with Charlie’s drawings and maps.
Ellen Krajewski
Ward, Nick
Pirate Galleon: The Lost
Diary of Charlie Small
Guppy Books
2023, pp.192, £7.99
9781913101923
Pirates. Adventure. Humour
We pick this story up where the last one ended
and, having landed on a desert island, Charlie
finds himself taken prisoner by a motley band of
female pirates. Captain Cutthroat and her merry
crew are the wives of pirates. They got fed up with
their husbands being way and having all the fun, so
they became pirates themselves. With cunning and
guile, Charlie manages to win their trust, sort of,
and rescues them from some daring scrapes using
all the skills he acquired in his first adventure in the
jungle. And all the while he is trying to find a way
to escape.
Charlie’s diary continues to be illustrated with
his entertaining drawings of the pirates and
his inventions.
A clever lesson in using transferable skills, this
adventure is just as entertaining as Charlie’s first
story, and I suspect there are more laughs to come
in the future.
Ellen Krajewski
Welford, Ross
The Monkey Who Fell
from the Future
HarperCollins Children’s Books
2023, pp.310, £7.99
9780008544744
Dystopian. Time-Travel. Adventure
2023 – With her cousin Thomas by her side, megabrain
Kylie is about to showcase her ‘Time tablet’
project live on TV.
2044 – the year the meteorite struck Earth and spread
its alien germ amongst the population. The event that
ended the Wonder Age and began the Great Silence.
2425 – Ocean Mooney lives in a small dystopian
town. Since the meteor strike, nature has taken over,
electronic communications no longer work, and the
population is significantly smaller. Items from the
Wonder Age are rare, but Ocean and her friend Duke
have just dug up a 400-year-old tablet.
With the population watching, Kylie is about to prove
how real time travel can be, but when the tablet
malfunctions, Kylie and Thomas are sucked into 2425
whilst Ocean Mooney appears in 2023, with a monkey!
Both parties are stuck in the wrong century and must
work together to get back within 24 hours, whilst
saving the future of humanity!
A great time-travelling adventure that would appeal to
many readers.
Angela Dyson
Weze, Clare
The Storm Swimmer
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
2023, pp.336, £7.99
9781526622211
Families. Friendship. Debt
Ginika is confused and angry about
why she and her parents had to leave their homes,
and why she now must move away alone to live with
her grandparents. Relocating to the seaside, Ginika
fails to appreciate the beauty surrounding her;
instead she dreams of the city, the Docklands Light
Railway and her mum and dad. Facing an uncertain
future, she retreats to the beach every day to mope,
but all of a sudden, she spots a boy weaving through
the water like a dolphin and this is where the story
really begins. Ginika dives headfirst into a watery
adventure with her new friend Peri and together
they explore her new hometown, but nothing is ever
straightforward and soon she must race to save him.
This is a colourful, exciting, and hugely enjoyable
book full of emotions, relatable circumstances,
and characters that everyone can see reflected in
themselves. With an eye-catching cover and a great
storyline this deserves to be a popular book.
Jodie Brooks
Williams, Eloise
The Curio Collectors
Illustrated by Anna Shepeta
Barrington Stoke
2023, pp.96, £7.99
9781800902008
Historical. Mystery. Adventure
The Curio Collectors is a historical
novel, set in 1896, and this is a truly delightful book.
Lily, Tom, and Ma Hawker are the Curio Collectors,
travelling the country and enthralling crowds with
their amazing collection of treasures. This is an
adventurous tale with the main story wrapped
around the finding of an interesting piece of
scrimshaw. Anna Shepeta’s beautiful illustrations
perfectly capture Eloise Williams’s fantastic story.
For such a short story (97 pages) it really does pack
an awful lot in!
Barrington Stoke have published this book with a
dyslexia-friendly layout, typeface, and paperstock
so that even more readers can enjoy it. It would
easily appeal to younger readers as a challenge, but
also to older readers as a relaxing, easy read.
Emma Price
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
61

Books: 8 – 12 | Information
Ard, Cath
Earth’s Incredible
Places: Yellowstone
Illustrated by Bianca Austria
Flying Eye Books
2023, pp.80, £14.99
9781838748562
Geography. Nature. America
Yellowstone covers more than 3,400 square miles
and was the world’s first designated national park.
It sits on top of the largest supervolcano in North
America, is home to nearly 400 different species of
animal, and is visited by around four million people
every year.
Throughout this book readers will journey through
the history of Yellowstone National Park, explore the
physical geography of the area, meet the creatures
which call the park home, and finally learn about
life in the park today. Each page features beautiful
full-colour illustrations that make the reader feel
like they are right there in the park alongside the
bison and bears. The book is packed full of facts and
stories, but they are laid out well in named sections
and bite-sized chunks so that the large amount of
information doesn’t feel overwhelming. This was
a unique read in that I have never seen a children’s
book about Yellowstone before, and it would
certainly be a fascinating addition to any library
or classroom.
Beth Jenkinson
Francis, Sangma
Earth’s Incredible
Places: Everest
Illustrated by Lisk Feng
Flying Eye Books
2023, pp.80, £10.99
9781838741457
Geography. Mountains. History
Part of the series Earth’s Incredible Places, this book
explores the highest point on the Earth’s surface:
Mount Everest. As well as examining the Himalayan
mountain range, it also looks at the animals that live
there. In the section on climbing the mountain we
are introduced to the five goddesses and sisters
of long life and some of the amazing individuals
who have climbed to the top. The first successful
attempt was in 1953 and involved 350 porters
and 10 climbers. Over the years the mountain has
also inspired a number of inventions, including
down feather jackets and nylon climbing ropes.
The youngest woman to climb it was Poorna
Malvaath in 2014 when she was just 13 years old.
I particularly liked the section on the yeti and the
suggestions for further topics and activities. Pupils
will find the book a rich resource, and I am sure it
will act as a springboard for further investigations on
this fascinating mountain and its secrets.
A valuable asset for school libraries or as a
classroom resource – a great book.
Godfrey Hall
Jennings, Andrew
Maths Like a Ninja:
An Essential Maths
Toolkit for Every
Child
Bloomsbury Education
2023, pp.112, £4.99
9781801991964
Maths. Numbers. Text
The colourful cover of this succinct maths book
belies the detail inside. This is a crib book for
essential maths concepts and skills tied in with the
Key Stage 2 National Curriculum, ‘an essential maths
toolkit’ as stated in the subtitle. Flick through and
find the Ninja for a useful tip, such as counting in
tens and hundreds to make calculation easier or
how to use a Hundred Square. The contents are
broken down into key areas, such as ‘Number &
Place Value’, ‘Fractions’, ‘Statistics’ and more, each
section broken down further into sub-sections,
thus covering everything you need to know in
a handy small paperback. This book is part of a
series of Ninja books which cover language and
maths. A useful book for KS2 children who need
reminding of the maths they need for SATS and
beyond, and for teachers and parents too.
Lucy Chambers
Kanani, Sheila
Can You Get Rainbows
in Space?
Puffin
2023, pp.128, £14.99
9780241519721
Science. Light. Colour
This appropriately colourful book about light and
colour is written by a planetary physicist science
teacher, giving it great authority. After introductory
sections with facts, chapters cover clear and detailed
scientific information about rainbow colours,
using questions, answers, jaunty illustrations, and
lively text. For example, ‘Red’ discusses why blood
is red (and why it sometimes looks blue), the red
features of Mars, and surprising facts about certain
animals (I learnt that hippos have red sweat). Topics
range across colour words in different languages,
idiomatic usages, paint colours and more. There is a
combination of longer paragraphs and short snippets
about colour, for example, a range of random facts
about the colour orange such as how fire burns
and why leaves turn orange in Autumn. Liz Kay’s
illustrations are arresting, from the beautiful front
cover and endpapers to captioned pictures on each
page. Read to the end of the book to find an answer
to the titular question. This beautifully stylish book
will excite any young person interested in science. I
recommend it for Key Stages 2 and 3.
Lucy Chambers
Magee, John
The Happy Tank: Fill
Your Life With Happy
Habits
Illustrated by Sarah Lawrence
Bloomsbury Education
2023, pp.96, £7.99
9781801992312
Mental Health. Resilience. Self-Help
The Happy Tank from John Magee, published by
Bloomsbury, is a self-help guide for Key Stage 2
children with illustrated chapters that each outlines a
technique that can lead to greater happiness. The book
stands alone but is also supported by YouTube videos
on John Magee’s ‘Kindness Matters TV’. Children read
guidance on six different ways to fill their Happy Tanks
and are encouraged to practise Breathing, Reflection,
Kindness, Affirmations, Gratitude and Happy Tapping.
The affirmations that children are encouraged to
learn off-by-heart include, ‘Comparison is the thief of
joy. I do not need to compare myself to anything or
anyone’ and, ‘I deeply and completely love and accept
myself’. The book would be particularly powerful used
as part of a PSHE programme designed to improve
children’s mental health and build resilience but could
be helpful as a loan from a school library. The Happy
Tank Challenge at the end of the book provides a space
where children can record their progress using the
techniques taught. Engaging illustrations throughout
and clear layout make the book highly accessible.
Jane Broadis
Novials, Àlex
Tutankhamun:
The Tale of the Child
Pharaoh and the
Discovery of His Tomb
Illustrated by Eva Palomar
Orange Mosquito
2022, pp.48, £14.99, 9781914519567
History. Archaeology. Ancient
An excellent introduction to the most fascinating
aspects of ancient Egypt. We are treated to
sumptuous illustrations alongside blocks of
explanatory text walking us through the discovery
of Tutankhamun’s tomb, what was found, and how
it was removed. Ostensibly narrated by Howard
Carter in the first person, we get his potted biography
before launching into a description of the discovery,
then an explanation of Pharaohs, on to the Nile
and how agriculture worked, until we land back at
the excavation. The book is both entertaining and
informative, and I can see young readers returning to
it time and again. The huge fold-out pages tend not
to fare well. They look impressive, but unless there
is a need to present a massive item to scale I’m not
sure they really add anything. I’m disappointed by the
lack of an index, contents page, or glossary, but I’d
happily buy a copy for the school library. Written with
an enthusiasm and love for the subject that radiates
from the page, and illustrated with skill, accuracy, and
vibrancy, this is a book that will find a lot of love.
Helen Thompson
62
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 8 – 12
O’Brien, Louise
100 Things to Know
About Architecture: In
a Nutshell
Illustrated by Dàlia Adillon
Happy Yak
2023, pp.112, £14.99
9780711272668
Buildings. Architecture. World
The book explores the some of the most iconic
buildings from around the world, as well as the
history of architecture. There are 100 entries, and
each entry is summed up in 100 words. As well
as featuring buildings such as the Sydney Opera
House, Guggenheim Museum, and the Reichstag,
it also includes topics such as Art Deco, Village,
Skyscraper, Dame Zara Hadia, Biodiversity, Culture
and 3D printing and their architectural relationships.
Each topic is featured on a single page and
includes the 100-word information text and an
illustrated drawing. The book also has a glossary
and an author’s note. An interesting and fascinating
approach to this subject, presented in in lively and
informative way. For ages 8–11.
Annie Everall
Owen, Polly
Darwin’s Super-
Pooping Worm
Spectacular
Illustrated by Gwen Millward
Wide Eyed Editions
2023, pp.40, £12.99
9780711275959
Worms. Science. Darwin
Appropriately, Darwin’s Super-pooping Worm
Spectacular, shows the rapid evolution of non-fiction
books for children, from the staid, simplified reference
texts of the past, to the lively, engaging, wellwritten
books which lucky children encounter now.
The research has not been sacrificed in the creation of
this engaging book which considers Darwin’s research
into earthworms and the implications it has had on
our understanding of ecosystems. It is impressive that
the writers have been able to offer a thorough account
of experimental methods in a succinct and engaging
way. The focus on careful observation and the
challenging of assumptions is very impressive. There
is humour too and, above all, a depth of love for the
subject which draws readers in to discover the things
which fascinated Darwin.
Children may choose this book because there is
a mention of poo in the title but will discover that
worm poo is much more than a reason for giggling.
A gorgeous, eccentric, mind-stretcher of a book.
Jaki Brien
Scales, Helen
Scientists in the Wild:
Galapagos
Illustrated by Romolo D’Hipolito
Flying Eye Books
2023, pp., £15.99
9781838740931
Geography. Environmental. Adventure
As an author and journalist I have travelled extensively
all over the world, but the Galapagos are still on my
bucket list, so I was impressed that I received this
book for review. Linked with importance of protecting
wildlife whist observing the fascinating species found
on the Galapagos, the book joins several scientists
as they explore this unique archipelago. Written by
Helen Scales, a marine biologist and broadcaster, this
comprehensive volume provides an in-depth analysis
of flora and fauna whilst at the same time addressing
the problems of waste and climate change. Together
with seven scientists from around the world, we
are taken on a journey of adventure which includes
encounters with penguins and meetings with amazing
giant tortoises on Espanola Island. Having visited an
albatross breeding centre just outside Dunedin in New
Zealand, I was fascinated by the section on the longdistance
wanderers of the sky and their links with the
islands. An amazingly well thought out and illustrated
guide to the Galapagos.
Godfrey Hall
Seed, Andy
Interview with
Blackbeard & Other
Vicious Villains
Illustrated by Gareth Conway
Welbeck
2023, pp.128, £7.99, 9781783128327
Biography. History. Pirates
Ten talks between time-travelling author Andy Seed
and some of history’s most fiendish villains. The usual
suspects are here – Nero, Ivan the Terrible, Bonnie
and Clyde – but there are also a spattering of more
obscure names, like Zheng Yi Sao and Victor Lustig.
We learn new information (e.g. that Blackbeard’s real
name was Edward Teach and there’s no evidence that
he killed anyone) even as we enjoy the improbability
of the unfolding scenes, and laugh at the corny,
sometimes self-deprecating humour, which is ideally
matched to the book’s intended readership (Year 3
upwards, I surmise). Gareth Conway’s black-and-white
illustrations suit the comedic style perfectly too.
The overall design is clear, the format easy-to-follow
and the cover eye-catching. Each chapter ends with
a ‘What Happened Next?’ paragraph, as well as other
titbits of information that will pique children’s interest,
and, where helpful, a map. In common with the best
non-fiction, the book concludes with a glossary,
as well as offering a quiz for those who like a fun
challenge. A book for the primary school library.
Jane Rew
Wakelam, Darrell
Art Shaped:
50 Sustainable Art
Projects to Kickstart
Children’s Creativity
Bloomsbury
2023, pp.176, £19.99
9781801990233
Art. Creative. Interactive
This is such a fantastic book, and unlike any art I
have ever come across before. Darrell Wakelam
has encompassed years of creative experience in a
handy book to help inspire the next generation of
artists with sustainable 3D art projects.
Split across five parts, including ‘Birds & Beasts’
and ‘Imaginary’, children can create everything
from fossils to crowns and helmets. This also
provides many links to the curriculum across a wide
range of age groups. The instructions provided
can be tweaked and adapted, allowing for more
individuality, and uses simple tools and materials.
All of the projects can be easily replicated in the
classroom or at home.
Wakelam sums up the book perfectly in his own
words, it is ‘achievable, affordable, effective,
enjoyable and useful.’ I highly recommend this book
to both teachers, parents and children of all ages
who want to reignite their creative spark without lots
of expensive materials and complicated instructions!
Emma Price
Whyman, Matt
Our Planet
Illustrated by Richard Jones
HarperCollins Children’s Books
2023, pp.96, £12.99,
9780008560607
Earth. Environment. Conservation
Created in partnership with WWF, this is the
official children’s book to accompany the Netflix
series, Our Planet. It is not necessary to have seen the
programmes to appreciate the book. In the foreword,
Sir David Attenborough invites us to ‘be among the
next characters who can, if they wish, tell the most
extraordinary story of all – how human beings in the
twenty-first century came to their senses and started to
protect Planet Earth.’
The book opens with a map of the world, and we visit a
range of habitats: Frozen Worlds, Jungles, Coastal Seas,
Deserts and Grasslands. We see plants and creatures
living there, and are told how to protect each habitat.
Fascinating information is presented in accessible
chunks, complemented by glorious photographs
and illustrations. The size of the pages enhances the
visual impact. The global connections of each habitat
are stressed, and we are encouraged to take steps to
protect our planet.
The book closes with pictures of filming the series,
a glossary and index. An uplifting book that inspires
children to care about the environment.
Brenda Marshall
EDITOR’S PICK
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
63

Books: 13 – 16 | Fiction and Poetry
Alexander, Kwame
The Door of No Return
Andersen Press
2023, pp.432, £14.99
9781839133244
Verse novel, West Africa, Slave Trade
A stunning, deeply moving verse
novel that is the first of an epic trilogy following
the life of one boy, Kofi growing up in in the Asante
kingdom of Ghana in 1860. He loves his family, apart
from his tormenting cousin, the fireside tales of
his grandfather, a girl named Ama, and swimming.
But when a sudden death occurs during a festival
between rival villages, Kofi ends up in a fight for
his life on a terrifying journey that will carry him
through “the door of no return” and across the
ocean. The wonderful spare, yet lyrical writing
gives a real sense of the rich culture and folklore
of those taken by the transatlantic slave trade,
incorporating elements of Twi that are explained
in a glossary at the end, as are the Adinka symbols
which thematically front each chapter. Powerfully
combining themes of conflict within and between
cultures, with a relatable coming-of-age story of
an indomitable character who never loses his hope
or humanity, this is an unflinching and essential
reminder that African American history begins in
Africa, not in slavery.
Joy Court
Ansar, Mariam
Good for Nothing
Penguin Books
2023, pp.280, £8.99
9780241522073
Prejudice. Friendship. Identity
Following an unfortunate incident
of a fairly low criminal nature, the paths of three
young people from different backgrounds cross
as they’re to serve a community service led by
a PC constrained by the prejudices of his family.
The teenagers’ new experience helps them bond,
and to grow, as they struggle with their anger and
confusion, seeking answers to various questions,
including that of their own place in the world and
the right approach to overcome all the obstacles
which are thrown their way.
This is a well-observed drama which young readers
are bound to find topical, relevant, and often
relatable, not only because of the everyday school
and family situations, but also in terms of the kind
of difficulties originating from injustice, prejudice,
and ignorance. The different points of view are
successfully depicted, giving each character a
distinctive voice, and helping the reader follow the
story in a way that makes their judgement of the
protagonists’ actions bounce back and forth, until
the novel’s striking ending. A great novel for all sorts
of classroom discussions.
Marzena Currie
Barrow, Sue
SOLD: What Will It Take
to Find Freedom?
Cadence Publishing
2023, pp.272, £8.99
9781914578083
Families. Grief. Trafficking
This is the most compelling young adult title I’ve
read in a long time. Roza leaves her family in Albania
and travels innocently to the UK – all the danger
signs are obvious to the reader – where she has
been promised a much better life with her aunt. In
fact she has been sold by her loving but desperate
father. In an Oxfordshire village with her appalling
aunt and her doctor husband she is enslaved,
imprisoned, and beaten. Eventually she finds a
way out during the day and makes friends locally
– a delightful café owner named Wendy and her
nephew, Jason. But terrified, fiercely independent
Roza won’t tell anyone the truth, and the suspense is
built superbly. The characterisation is excellent and
nuanced. Josef, the uncle, is always torn. Eventually
a teacher back in Albania and her journalist Londonbased
brother-in-law ride to the rescue and the
middle-woman whose business this is gets her
comeuppance, but there’s tragedy back in Albania.
Human trafficking is obscene. Anything which raises
awareness of it gets my vote. Share this page-turner
with every young person you know.
Susan Elkin
EDITOR’S PICK
Black, Holly
The Stolen Heir: A Novel
of Elfhame
Hot Key Books
2023, pp.356, £16.99
9781471410727
Fantasy. Magical. Betrayal
Returning to the world of Elfhame, this story
centres around two characters who have previously
appeared as children – Suren, the changeling
queen, and Oak, a reluctant prince. Together, they
must go on a quest to the north. The first in a new
duology, this book can be enjoyed without any prior
knowledge of previous titles, although they would
enhance enjoyment and understanding.
There was a lot about The Stolen Heir that I really
enjoyed. This book is full of complex and wellwritten
characters. While the story itself did feel a
little slow in some parts, overall it was engaging and
compelling enough that I ended up reading half the
book in one sitting. There was an unexpected reveal
at the end of the story, leaving me intrigued to see
where the story will go in the second book. Overall,
I would say that this book was gripping and magical,
full of mystery, intrigue and of course faeries! Holly
Black always goes down well with our fantasy fiction
readers, and I’m sure this latest instalment will be
no exception.
Shona Page
Gourlay, Candy
Wild Song
David Fickling Books
2023, pp.352, £12.99
9781788452076
Racism. History. Family
It’s 1904 and preparations for
the World’s Fair in America have begun. As well as
showcasing new inventions and foreign foods, the
World’s Fair will put people on display. Wild Song
follows the story of one of these people: Luki, a
Bontoc girl from the Philippines, who sees the
World’s Fair as a chance for adventure and freedom.
However, the treatment she receives will gradually
erode her optimism: she will realise that America is
not the Land of the Free or the Land of Opportunity
for everyone.
Wild Song is a moving account of the experiences of
a Bontoc girl in America at the turn of the century.
The reader witnesses the racism of white people
towards people of colour, characteristic of that time
period. Some moments may be upsetting for some
readers, such as the death of a sibling or raciallymotivated
assault. Nevertheless, this book gives a
voice to the individuals that were so mistreated in
1904 and provides readers with the opportunity to
acknowledge the racism that existed 120 years ago
and consider the racism that exists today.
Matt Cowie
Hawkins, Finbar
Stone
Zephyr
2022, pp.266, £14.99
9781838935641
Fantasy, Magical, Family
This is a great book for Year 7
upwards. Initially you just assume you’re reading
a fantasy / magical story about a teenage boy
who finds a stone that allows him to see events in
the past. However, the writer has cleverly weaved
the exploration of grief and how four different
characters all impacted by the death of a loved one
progress through their personal journey of loss.
Sam, the protagonist is a teenage boy who has
recently lost is father in active duty. There is a new
girl in school who Sam feels connected to but he’s
not sure if she likes him or his best friend Chad who
all the girls seem to fall for and his sister Beth who is
always looking out for him. Sam continues to bottle
up his feelings so his mum gets him to agree to
counselling, which is where he meets Bill, an elderly
gentleman who has also recently suffered a loss.
An elderly gentleman and a teenage boy -
sometimes helping someone else, you inadvertently
help yourself.
Tanya Henning
64
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 13 – 16
Windrush
Editor’s picks
Biram, Tracy
Racism
Independence, 2020, £7.95, 46pp,
9781861688330
Racism. Human Rights. Discrimination
Looks at the issue of racism in the
community and in the workplace
and ways that racism can be tackled
and challenged.
Chimbiri, K.N. and Avelion,
Joelle
The Story of Afro Hair:
5,000 Years of History,
Fashion and Styles
Scholastic, 2021, £9.99, 128pp,
9780702307416
Culture. Fashion. History
A different perspective of black
history via an illustrated exploration
of the history of afro hair. Covers
politics and fashion.
Jewell, Tiffany and
Durand, Aurelia
This Book Is Anti-Racist
Frances Lincoln, 2020, £8.99,
160pp,9780711245204
Activism. PSHE. Racism
Advice to help young people to
understand racism and give them the
ability, the language, and the power
to fight against it.
Olusoga, David
Black and British: A Short
Essential History
Macmillan, 2020, £7.99, 224pp,
9781529063394
Black British. Empire. History
This abridged edition of the bestseller
Black and British by award-winning
historian and broadcaster David
Olusoga is Illustrated with maps,
photos, leaflets, and portraits.
Oke, Arike and Garrett, Scott
Anti-Racism
Franklin Watts, 2022, £13.99, 48pp,
9781445181387
Citizenship. PHSE. Racism
How to be anti-racist in a positive and
safe way. This book can help you spot
racism and stop it in its tracks.
Reynolds, Jason
Stamped: Racism,
Antiracism, and You:
A Remix of the National
Book Award-Winning
Stamped from the
Beginning
Little, Brown, 2020, £14.99, 320pp,
9780316453691
History. Race Relations. USA
Adapted from the adult book, a
history of how anti-black racist
ideas rose and spread throughout
the history of North America to the
present and how to spot and discredit
those ideas now.
Skukla, Nikesh and
Heuchan, Claire
What Is Race? Who Are
Racists? Why Does Skin
Colour Matter? And Other
Big Questions
Wayland, 2020, £9.99, 48pp,
9781526303998
Identity. PSHE. Racism
An important and timely book
on race and racism, encouraging
children to think for themselves
about the issues involved and
challenge racist behaviour, wherever
it exists.
Vallepur, Shalini
Refugees & Displacement
Booklife, 2021, £8.99, 32pp,
9781839271656
Human Rights. Migration. Refugee
Looks at the movement of
people across the world due
to their becoming refugees or
being displaced.
Mohamud, Ayaan
You Think You Know Me
Usborne Publishing Ltd.
2023, pp.400, £8.99
9781803704500
Racism. Refugee. Speaking
Hanan Ali is an excellent student
and is studying hard towards her final exams at her
grammar school. Hanan and her family fled Somalia
ten years ago to escape the civil war in search of a
better life in the UK. Hanan strives to work hard, as
she knows everything her family had to go through
for her to be in the position she is in. Hanan is the
target of racist bullies at school, and she does her
best to ignore them, until the school caretaker
is murdered by a Muslim and then suddenly all
Muslims are to blame.
This book tackles topic of hate crimes, institutional
racism, Islamophobia, bullying, and gang culture.
This is a compelling and hard-hitting read about
problems faced by Muslims in the UK. A very
important book that should be on the shelves of
secondary school libraries. Suitable for students
aged 13 and over.
David Mallett
Parr, Lesley
Where the River Takes
Us
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
2023, pp.320, £7.99
9781526647771
Adventure. Grief. Friendships
Set in 1974, when the miners were striking and
working was cut to three days a week, life was a
struggle with less money to live on. Thirteen-yearold
Jason has recently lost his parents in a car
accident, and is being cared for by his 18-year-old
brother Richie who, in desperation with not enough
money to pay the mortgage, takes on extra work
for some unsavoury characters and gets in too
deep. Jason is worried that if Richie gets caught,
they will be separated.
Rumour has it that there is a big wild cat roaming
the forests near a town some distance away, and
when Jason and his three friends learn that there
is a reward of £100 for proof of its existence, they
decide to go and look for it so they can give the
reward money to Richie. The friends begin their
journey: following the river, camping out overnight,
and along the way face challenges, learning more
about each other, strengthening their friendships
and helping Jason deal with his grief. A beautiful,
relatable, real-life and historical fictional story.
Linda Nash
Wood, Laura
The Agency for Scandal
Illustrated by Mercedes deBellard
Scholastic
2023, pp.517, £8.99
9780702303241
Historical. Detective. Feminist
Izzy Stanhope is recruited by
The Aviary – an all-female detective agency –
leading her to life of disguised back street brawls
and challenging inequality.
Strong women are a staple in Wood’s books, and her
latest novel set at the end of the nineteenth century
is packed full of them!
There is an extra special treat in that characters
from her previous novel Single Thread of Moonlight
appear as minor figures – so existing fans of her
young adult fiction will devour this one, for sure.
This is definitely one of those books you don’t want
to end, such is the draw of immersing yourself into
the world Wood so masterfully creates.
Her longest novel to date, this would be a best fit
for 13+ avid readers who like their historical fiction
to have a strong romantic element whilst staying
unashamedly feminist.
Helen Emery
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
65

Books: 13 – 16 | Information
Day, Elizabeth
Failosophy for Teens:
A Handbook for When
Things Go Wrong
Red Shed
2023, pp.144, £8.99
9780008582616
Information. Self. Help
Elizabeth Day discusses what failure is and why
everyone needs it. She also states that if you can
turn it into a positive, which she admits is very
difficult, you can learn and grow from it. She shares
her own failures and some of those of various
celebrities who have been guests on her podcasts,
by way of example. This book could be useful if used
with other adult support and guidance. Some of the
methods advocated will take quite a lot of effort to
implement. If read alone when feeling vulnerable,
there is a possibility of feeling worse before
feeling better.
Rebecca Butler
Tomlinson, Davinia
Cash is Queen
Illustrated by Andrea Oerter
Frances Lincoln
2023, pp.160, £9.99
9780711276345
Finance. Money. Women
Many women ‘face significant
challenges when it comes to cash’. Financial expert
Davinia Tomlinson addresses this in her book. She
describes her role as ‘your financial fairy godmother’
and explains clearly in a friendly tone what a girl
needs to know to understand and manage money and
develop a ‘Royal Money Mindset’. Information is well
organized in a logical sequence of chapters. Questions
and activities engage the reader. ‘Crown Jewels’
at the end of each chapter summarise key points.
The content covers topics such as your financial
personality, setting long- and short-term goals, how
to live within your means, and how to make financial
decisions that work for you. Information is up to date,
including investing in cryptocurrency, cashfishing,
credit ratings, and text scams. Pages are colourful and
well designed. Vivid illustrations enhance the text. At
the back of the book there is a useful glossary.
An important handbook that encourages readers
to establish financial habits that will last a lifetime. It
will empower young women and girls, and boys and
adults can learn from it too. Highly recommended.
Brenda Marshall
Mora, Francisco
Frida Kahlo: Her Life,
Her Art, Her Home
Illustrated by Art Masters
Self Made Hero
2023, pp.72, £15.99
9781914224102
Disability. Biography. Art
This hardback is a joy to hold in my hands and read.
The high quality and beauty of its cover, endpapers,
pages, illustrations, and narrative are exceptional. It is
translated from the original Spanish. Most of the book
is in graphic novel form, but there are some full-page
and double-page illustrations, with a detailed timeline
at the back.
Frida Kahlo was a major artist of the twentieth century
and this biography has been endorsed and supported
by the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City. This volume
is quite comprehensive, covering her birth in Mexico,
her family, how she was disabled and suffered trauma,
her relationships and marriages. There are lots of facts
about her talent as an artist, her exhibitions, and her
connections with other well-known figures of the time.
Amongst many other pieces of information, I found it
interesting to learn how Kahlo adopted the Tehuana
dress of this matriarchal society. It was striking and
beautiful, besides being used to hide her disability. This
work will undoubtedly appeal to teenagers and above.
Janet Syme
The Voice: 40 Years of
Black British Lives
Ebury Press
2022, pp.320, £20.00
9781529902426
Journalism. Politics. Voice
This fascinating celebration of
The Voice – the longest running
and only national newspaper written for and by
Black Britons – is very illuminating reading. Sir Lenny
Henry writes the foreword, reflecting on this great
achievement and commenting on media diversity. After
an introduction on ‘The Importance of the Black Press’
by Michael Eboda, the volume considers four decades
of The Voice, each explored by an editor or journalist of
this newspaper.
The chapters look at how The Voice developed from
its launch at the Notting Hill Carnival in 1982 right up
until its coverage of COVID and how this pandemic
affected the Black community. Whilst some problems
have changed, there are others which have remained
constant. This is a striking publication which includes
quality illustrations of front pages at key times
in history.
I would recommend this title to teenagers and
upwards: it is an interesting read for anyone keen on
journalism or politics, as well as being an engaging
social historical record and celebration of the
Black population.
Janet Syme
Somara, Shini
Engineers Making a
Difference
Illustrated by Manuel Sumberac &
Adam Allsuch Boardman
What on Earth Publishing
2023, pp.224, £16.99,
9781804660270
Engineering. Careers. Stem
This beautifully produced book would be a good
addition to a secondary careers library. The author,
herself an engineer, has interviewed 46 young
engineers about their work. Their specialisms are
hugely varied and cover projects as different as
‘The Washing Machine Project’ (affordable humanpowered
washing machines for developing countries)
and ‘Pluumo Packaging’, made from recycled
chicken feathers.
Each interview, which includes details of the
individual’s journey to their present career, is
illustrated by Manuel Šumberac, with a unique
graphic framing each photo portrait. Interviews are
grouped by project type. There are also double-page
spreads on topics such as ‘Factories of the Future’.
Many projects aim to reduce waste materials and
energy, and it’s clear that the future of the planet will
rely on solutions as ingenious as those developed by
the engineers profiled here. There is a useful glossary,
and a guide to the academic routes to engineering to
encourage more students down this career path.
Anna Quick
EDITOR’S PICK
Don't
miss the chance
to take part in this year's
Information Book Award!
With posters, lesson plans
and more!
www.sla.org.uk/iba
66
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 17 – 19
Brooks, Isla R.
Novus
Clifton, Harry
Gone Self Storm
POETRY
Contos, Andrea
Tell Me No Lies
Amazon
2023, pp.342, £9.99
9798378273706
Dystopia. Family. Danger
This is a dystopian novel, set in a
world that is very different from our own. It follows
the heroine Rayne as she faces great dangers in
order to find her siblings after she has been left for
dead and they are taken away.
This is aimed at the young adult market and the
story has a similarity with many of the popular
novels of the last decade or so. The book is
published by Amazon and this has allowed for a
slightly different look to the work. The cover is
very dark and plain and reminds me of several
poetry collections, but it is the text itself that is
different. Most of the story is told in paragraphs
of no more than eight or ten lines, and these are
interspersed with single line sentences, which give
a particular resonance and pace to the story. This is
one of those books that divide audiences because of
the format, but for those who love dystopian novels
they will find much to attract them, not least the
unusual layout of the book.
Margaret Pemberton
Bloodaxe Books
2023, pp.96, £10.99
9781780374536
Ireland. Travel. Quest
A ‘quest, through origin and
migration … for a lost maternal ground’, this
haunting collection begins on a ship from
Valparaiso and ends by the grave of Seamus Heaney
among ‘local names to whom, one day, I just may
add my own’. Between, we visit New York, Chile,
Ulster and Dublin, with detours to North West
London in 1974 for memories of musician Graham
Bond, and a Thai refugee camp ‘where millions
sat … the air was rank with hanging fire’ and ‘only
Alice … was always clean’. The collection is densely
populated, as poems celebrate individuals such
as Margaret Doran ‘who gave her body to Trinity
College and her soul to Rome’. Communication
stalls, as when ‘we seem to be endlessly clearing
our throats, you and I, and nothing coming out’,
and a hitchhiker who ‘lit into me at once with “Are
you saved?”’ finds herself back on the road. Poetry
is ‘beaten into art, boxed into chocolates, dried
into flowers’. Powerful lines and imagery strike
hard: ‘the masks are all off, now, the churches
empty. Civilisation, Irony, cannot save us.’ A
memorable collection, ripe for discussion.
Frank Startup
Scholastic
2022, pp.372, £8.99
9780702323270
Sisters. Mystery. Secrets
Sophie’s boyfriend Garrett has
gone missing without a trace and Sophie has no idea
where he went or why he left. The only thing she is
certain about, is that the last person to see Garrett
was her sister Nora. Nora, her dead-smart and
introverted sister whose only goal in life is to attend
Brown University, was suddenly spotted talking
to Garrett at a Halloween party on the same night
he went missing. When Sophie begins to lose all
hope of ever seeing her boyfriend again, suspicious
messages and horrifying clues seem to appear out
of nowhere.
Full of gripping drama, suspense and twists in
every chapter, Tell Me No Lies is a fantastic novel
for young adults who love an unsolved mystery.
This novel is highly enjoyable and leaves its reader
on edge the entire time, as author Andrea Contos
reveals that both sisters had more involvement
in Garret’s disappearance then they first thought.
Has the bond between these two sisters truly been
severed forever and what dark secrets are about to
come to light?
Sophie Matter
Hailey, Carole
The Silence Project
Corvus
2023, pp.400, £16.99
9781838956066
Dystopian. Relationships. Society
On Emilia’s thirteenth birthday, her
mother Rachel makes a decision which will change
many lives. She moves out of her home, the village
pub, and into a tent in the neighbouring field. And
she stops speaking. Soon, other women come to
join her, and her tent becomes the Camp, where
speaking is forbidden. This becomes a movement,
which in turn becomes a powerful organisation, the
Community acquiring a world-wide base, where
disciples promote the benefits of collective silence
as a way of paradoxically improving communication.
However, Rachel’s notebooks show her dissatisfaction
with the movement, and she looks for a new way to
protest. This ushers in the Event, where Rachel and
thousands of her followers world-wide deliberately
set fire to themselves. The movement re-groups to
explore ways of initiating social change. Emilia, now
a young adult, decides to work for the Community
as a way of evaluating her mother’s legacy and
becomes increasingly unsettled by what is being done
in her mother’s name. Readers who enjoyed The
Power or The Handmaid’s Tale will be absorbed by the
novel’s exploration of dystopian themes.
Sandra Bennett
Hussain, Anika
This Is How You Fall in
Love
Hot Key Books
2023, pp.352, £8.99
9781471412806
Families. Relationships. Romance
Zara and Adnan are best friends and have been since
babies. Their families are great friends and, along
with their other friends, would love for the pair to be
a couple. In their culture relationships are celebrated
and Zara and Adnan’s Mums constantly say they
were meant to be together.
Zara loves love in all forms and longs to have her
own great love story. Adnan is chasing another
girl who wants to keep their relationship a secret
and the best way to do that is to pretend to be
with Zara. Zara reluctantly goes along with this.
There's something in it for Zara too: making her
parents, who love Adnan, happy might just stop
them arguing for a while. But this opens up more
complications than it solves when Zara finds
someone else with whom she connects. Should
she come clean and disappoint their families, or
maintain the deception?
A humerous and heartfelt romcom for fans of Holly
Bourne.
Dawn Woods
Ritsos, Giannes
A Broken Man in
Flower: Versions of
Yannis Ritsos
Translated by David Harsent
Bloodaxe Books
2023, pp.160, £14.99
9781780376493
Imprisonment. Exile. Greece
This book presents the life and work of ‘one of the
most significant Greek poets of the last century’.
The poems were written in prison or under house
arrest during the rule of the Greek Junta when, as
a leading Communist writer and public intellectual,
Ritsos was considered a dangerous influence. Before
we reach the poetry, there is a riveting account of
his life and the circumstances under which he wrote,
evidence of continuous work throughout the periods
of incarceration, to his restitution, appearance at
a London poetry festival and Nobel Peace prize
nominations, plus a fascinating description of the
collaboration between David Harsent and John
Kittmer which produced these ‘versions’. There is
also a chronology and a personal letter written from
detention in 1969. All this prepares us for a generous
selection of poetry. This intimate record of thoughts,
emotions, hopes, fears, the ‘intensity of vision’ under
extreme conditions is historically important and will
illuminate studies in different areas of the curriculum.
Frank Startup
POETRY
68
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: 17 – 19
Windrush
Editor’s picks
Allen, Devin
No Justice, No Peace:
From The Civil Rights
Movement to Black Lives
Matter
Little, Brown, 2022, £25, 192pp,
9780306925900
Activism. Portraits. Protests
Documenting the protests of the
Black Lives Matter movement, from
its early days to the present. The
black and white photos show the
fight for social justice.
Campbell, Pauline
Rice & Peas and Fish &
Chips: One Woman’s
Story of Overcoming
Racism
Imprint 27, 2021, £14.99, 192pp,
9781914343018
Autobiographies. Immigration. Racism
Pauline Campbell was brought up on
‘rice and peas and fish and chips’ after
her parents crossed thousands of
miles, leaving the warm shores of the
Caribbean, to settle in Britain.
Fairweather, Tony
Twenty-Eight Pounds
HopeRoad, 2023, £11.99, 320pp,
9781913109196
Emigration. Promises. Regeneration
After World War Two, England
called out to the British Empire for
volunteers to help rebuild. The
Caribbean islands were quick to
respond, paying £28.10s to board
HMT Empire Windrush.
Henry, Lenny and Ryder,
Marcus
Black British Lives Matter
Faber & Faber, 2022, £9.99,
336pp, 9780571368518
Equality. Identity. Racism
A collection of essays arguing how
and why we need to fight for Black
lives to matter – not just for Black
people, but for British society as
a whole.
Kara, Siddharth
Modern Slavery
Columbia University Press, 2023, £22,
360pp, 9780231158473
Consumerism. Economics. Slavery
Documenting the astonishing scope
of slavery which continues to this day.
Drawing on sixteen years of research
to show modern slavery is embedded
in global supply chains.
Robinson, Roger and Pitts,
Johny
Home Is Not a Place
Harper Collins, 2022, £25, 192pp,
9780008469511
Back Britain. Culture. Slavery
Poet Robinson and photographer
Pitts left London to follow the
Thames from the Empire Windrush
dock to find the history of Empire and
transatlantic slavery.
Sands, Philippe and Rowson,
Martin
The Last Colony
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2022, £16.99,
160pp, 9781474618120
Colonialism. Human Rights. Justice
The devastating impact of Britain’s
grip on its last colony in Africa, and
one woman’s fight for justice for her
personal journey.
Wambu Onyekachi
Empire Windrush:
Reflections on 75 Years
of the Black British
Experience
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2023, £25,
432pp, 9781399601917
Emigration. Journey. New Beginnings
A collection of some of the most
significant writing from the 75 years
following the arrival of Empire
Windrush. A unique journey from
Black voices.
Sage, Amara
Influential
EDITOR’S PICK
Satyamurti, Carole
The Hopeful Hat
POETRY
Stevenson, Anne
Collected Poems
POETRY
Faber & Faber
2023, pp.362, £8.99,
9780571377343
Mental Health. Social Media.
Racism
Almond Brown is a successful
influencer with 3.5 million followers. In partnership
with her mum they promote fashion and makeup.
Almond’s life is controlled by her agent, who is
continually urging her to engage with her followers,.
Almond’s home life is split between her parents’
homes with her beloved dog Honey banished to
her dad’s. Her anxiety is high and a recent argument
with her long-time best friend over a boy hasn’t
helped. She has developed a skin disorder resulting
in scarring on her legs she must keep covered to
avoid frightening off the fashion deals.
When a high-profile contract is potentially being
considered, Almond for the first time is thinking
about her payment as, approaching 18, she would
be free to take the money and run – as far away
as possible.
But with adoration also comes the haters and
internet trolls, and a rivalry among influencers
threatens to destroy everything Almond’s mum has
built up.
Dawn Woods
Bloodaxe Books
2023, pp.64, £10.99
9781780376530
Poetry. Dying. Courage
It seems strange recommending
poems about age and impending death to teenage
readers, but this slim collection, prepared in extremis
by a woman diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, ‘a
hole where voice used to be, no more singing,
calling, blowing candles out’, shows life-affirming
courage. She records death’s approach, describing
phenomena with clarity and wit, such as the
apparently accelerated passage of time: ‘Soon it will
be Wednesday twice a week’. She writes of ‘not being
anywhere. Your molecules returned to the cosmic
soup’, with the saving recognition that ‘nothing goes
to waste, no atom is destroyed’, and seeing beauty
in dissolution: ‘celebrate the reds, the blues, the
blacks’. Fiercely, she exhorts us to ‘get out there, with
your small voice, your light tread’ while we can. The
opening poem depicts ‘a dishevelled woman’ in the
street tunelessly playing a recorder beside a ‘hopeful
hat’ for coins, a lovely image and a metaphor for hope
generally as the closing poem, while recognising
death’s inevitability, still asks, ‘where do the colours go
when the carpet fades?’ This is inspirational poetry, no
matter how old you are.
Frank Startup
Bloodaxe Books
2023, pp.576, £25.00
9781780376516
Poetry. Life. Living
This huge collection represents the
work of a major twentieth century poet writing over
sixty years in America and Britain. We are told that she
was ‘an inveterate reviewer and recycler of her poems’,
a continuous process throughout her career, making
this a crafted, shaped final edition, more a legacy than
a collection. While the range of content is breathtaking,
the voice is consistent. She describes her
tone as ‘serious without being funereal, acquiescent
without indulging in confessional despair’. She can be
formal without pedanticism, effective both in strictly
metrical and free verse, employing a wide range of
forms, but the diction is always engaging. She can be
reflective, impressionistic, challenging, or acerbic, but
what is conveyed most consistently is great humanity
and warmth whatever her subject matter. It would be
pointless to attempt illustrations from a volume this
vast, but mention must be made of an astonishing
cycle written in 1974, a whole family history spanning
a century told in epistolary verse complete with
genealogical table and obituaries. A remarkable,
and hugely enjoyable, body of work for students
to explore.
Frank Startup
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
69

Books: Professional
Beardon, Luke
What Works for Autistic
Children
Sheldon Press
2021, pp.192, £12.99
9781399801682
Neurodiversity. Autism. Inclusion
Author, Dr Luke Beardon, is a senior lecturer at
Sheffield Hallam University and has published
several books on this subject. This book, his most
recent, focuses on autistic children and identifies
current practice, considers why that might be
problematic, and looks at how to change this
practice. There are five chapters: language and
concepts, which includes what is autism and varying
attitudes towards it; professional practice and the
need for autism knowledge to change it for the
better; identification, including both professional
and self-identification; schools and education; and
beyond school, covering friendships, free time and
intervention. The book is informative and instructive
with a good use of sub-headings and bullet points
to break up the text, and an index for accessibility.
It would be an excellent addition for the staff
library and useful for anyone working with autistic
children, particularly the chapter on schools; this
has some excellent ideas and advice for creating an
“autopia”, that is, an environment best suited to the
autistic child.
Barbara Band
Feely, Michael and
Karlin, Ben
The Teaching and
Learning Playbook
Routledge
2022, pp.246, £19.99
9781032187099
Education Excellence Technique
This is a most valuable addition to any Teacher’s
library, providing honest examination and
comprehensive provision to support individuals and
teams to develop and improve practice in education
delivery, through excellent teaching techniques.
The authors demonstrate passionate belief in the
transformative power that education can bring to
disadvantaged pupils and have written this manual
of best practice to support it. They introduce the
(well researched and cited) principle of ‘deliberate
practice’ as the means to improve; a highly practical
menu of techniques on which to base deliberate
practice teaching provides the means for teachers
to identify and build their own. Supported by
comprehensive online video resources, the four-step
techniques are both easy to follow, yet inspiring.
Reading this gives teachers the opportunity to
self-examine, ask difficult questions and consider
changing; engaging and using the techniques could
be transformative. To use the cliche, this book really
‘does what it says on the tin’.
Stephanie Barclay
Garai, Anita Kate
Being with our
Feelings – A Mindful
Approach to Wellbeing
for Children: Routledge
2022, pp.250, £29.99,
9781032233277
Wellbeing. Feelings. Mental Health
This teaching toolkit consists of a guidebook and
four picture books that explore different aspects
of emotional health and wellbeing. Part one of the
guidebook discusses the ‘Being with our Feelings’
approach, how to use the toolkit, and the possible
outcomes and impact on emotional literacy whilst
part two contains activities and resources for putting
it into practice. Each of these is broken down into
specific activities, time to reflect questions, and
further meditations on what you have learnt. These
are categorised into Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, so their detail
and complexity increase according to the relevant age
group. The books cover: exploring self-acceptance;
exploring anxiety, fear and uncertainly; exploring the
challenge of making choices; and exploring the energy
of anger and other strong emotions. Each book has
a story, with expressive and colourful illustrations,
followed by questions for reflection that support the
activities in the guidebook. This is an excellent resource
for helping children connect with and understand
their feelings, and to learn how to develop a healthy
relationship with them.
Barbara Band
Keable, Georgiana and
McFarlane, Dawne
Fairytales, Families
and Forests:
Storytelling with
Young Children
Illustrated by Araiz Mesanza
Hawthorn Press
2023, pp.272, £24.99, 9781912480388
Storytelling. Nature. CPD
This is a storytelling guide and sequel to The Natural
Storyteller. It aims to develop storytelling skills
amongst parents, carers, and professionals in order
to build confidence, aid enjoyment, and enhance
the experience for everyone involved.
Designed to instil a love for the outdoors and
respect for the natural world, the book contains 50
fairytales, rhymes, singing games and stories along
with detailed information on language development
and comprehension, and the vital role that
storytelling has to play in both.
Each chapter is dedicated to a single year, from
birth to age 7, with specific stories, verses, and
games to use as well as details on sign language and
additional leaning needs. Each of these chapters
is colour-coded, with bright pages and a variety of
beautiful illustrations.
A useful resource for parents, carers, librarians,
teachers and performers.
Alison King
Liptak, John and Scallon,
Michelle
Bounce Back Move
Forward
Loggerhead Publishing
2023, pp.400, £45.00
9781739668310
Resilience. Optimism. Workbook
This is a reproducible activity workbook that is
perfect for professionals working with young people
who have high levels of stress due to experiencing
traumatic events in their lives.
The workbook includes an introduction to the
problem, and a very helpful section on symptoms
of traumatic stress. The five main chapters are:
Master the Art of Motivation; Set Hope Goals; Create
Resilient Relationships; Take Control of Your Life;
Harness Your Strengths.
The authors, who have written several books
together, have years of experience and knowledge
behind them on a global level. The work they have
put into this book, and the thinking behind the
activities, is invaluable.
This workbook is a fantastic resource to have, and it
is something that will last for a long time and be very
beneficial to many young people that professionals
work with.
Emma Price
Llewellyn, Bryn, and
Holmes, Ian
How to Move & Learn
Crown House Publishing
2022, pp.152, £16.99
9781785836312
Movement. Planning. Resources
There is plentiful evidence that most primary
school children are falling well short of the
recommended time given to moderate or vigorous
physical activity in the school day. This book is an
account of the ‘Move & Learn’ approach designed
to improve things. The writers are aware of the
doubts many teachers will have about movement
and activity spread beyond breaks and PE: lack
of time, suitable spaces and resources, teacher
confidence, fear of Ofsted. Their argument is
therefore buttressed by theory and research-based
evidence, and suggests many small steps that can
gradually change a school’s approach. The aim is to
introduce movement, not only for its own sake but
as a positive aid to subject learning, in the mainly
sedentary parts of the curriculum, especially maths
and English. There are practical examples of how
this can be done, and two encouraging case studies
written by teachers already using the approach
successfully. The purpose is wholly admirable, and
the book should be widely read.
Peter Hollindale
70
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

Books: Professional
Maxwell, Lucas
Let’s Roll: A Guide to
Setting Up Tabletop
Role-Playing Games in
Your School or Public
Library
Facet Publishing
2023, pp., £32.99, 9781783306138
Games. Library. Guide
Here is a comprehensive guide for those working in
school or public libraries who would like to set up
a TTRPG. As the terms in the glossary show, these
games have a whole language of their own, and it
is easy to feel anxious about venturing into this new
world of Dungeons & Dragons et al.
Not only does the knowledgeable author shed light
on the benefits of these games — which can be used
to win over reluctant managers — but he includes five
detailed case studies. The experiences of librarians in
different settings are very useful and the enthusiasm of
those running the clubs is clear to see.
There is plenty of practical advice, including setting
up your game area and promoting the events. Helpful
illustrations work well with the text, and I liked the
inclusion of examples where things don’t always go to
plan. The final section is particularly handy, describing
different TTRPGs to try; online resources; a reading
list of other guides; and a fiction reading list for keen
gamers aged 9 upwards.
Janet Syme
Taylor, Andrew
You Got This! Thriving
as an Early Career
Teacher with Mr T
Bloomsbury Education
2023, pp.208, £16.99
9781801990196
ECT. Advice. Information
This will be a really useful book for anyone
embarking on their teaching career. The format of
each chapter is engaging with a summary of what
will be covered, daily tips, coaching moments,
comments from other early career teachers (ECTs),
and the key takeaway points at the end.
Yet within each chapter there is also a wealth of
advice and information to help and support the
reader. It is a book that you could methodically work
through or a book you can dip into when you need
something specific. Andrew Taylor is well known as
Mr T through the twitter account @MrTs NQTs.
Charlotte Cole
EDITOR’S PICK
Pettegree, Andrew and
Weduwen, Arthur der
The Library: A Fragile
History
Profile Books
2022, pp.518, £10.99
9781788163439
Libraries. History. Librarians
This is a sweeping narrative, covering libraries from
the famed library of Alexandria to the present day.
Far too many libraries have succumbed to war, fire,
damp, and neglect.
Several themes emerge: Firstly, the importance
of technology. For example, the invention of the
steam press and the railways in the early nineteenth
century made books much cheaper to print and
distribute and made widespread book ownership
possible. Secondly, with limited library space,
librarians have always had the problem of what
to keep and what to dispose of. Thirdly, there is
a conflict between what librarians and public
authorities feel that the public should read and
what they actually want to read. The rise of popular
fiction happened despite, rather than because
of, libraries.
This is a book for the holidays. It is long (about 500
pages) and unlikely to be immediately relevant to
a librarian’s work. It is, nevertheless, of interest to
librarians and book lovers.
Charles Harvey
Members Corner
Name? Winnie Quinn
Role? Librarian
Where do you Work? John Henry Newman Catholic College,
Solihull, West Midlands. This is a secondary academy with
approximately 1300 students on role from Year 7 to sixth form.
How long have you been a member? I first became a member
of SLA in 2011 when I left my role as a primary school teacher
to run a primary school library and qualify as a librarian.
What’s your role? Managing the school library and providing
a calm, safe study space for students. Providing digital reading
resources, running reading events such as author visits and
reading competitions or awards, leading library skills lessons,
and promoting reading for pleasure across the school.
Which bits of the job do you love? Finding books to capture
the attention of students who claim they ‘Don’t like reading!’
Seeing a face light up when a student discovers that our library
has a book they were looking for.
Reading with students individually or in small groups and
listening to their discussions about what they have read.
What challenges do you face in your role? There are a
number of students arriving at secondary school who have
lost their love of reading and have little interest in books. It is
always a challenge trying to find
new ways to engage these students
in reading and to help them
become engrossed in books.
It can also be challenging to ensure
that there is a range of appropriate,
diverse texts in the library that
Winnie Quinn
reflects the school community and
helps students to connect with the books they are reading.
These texts should also help to develop positive insights
about others.
What’s the one piece of advice you would share with others?
Remember that you are not alone! Try to make links with other
school librarians and associations to share worries, concerns,
ideas, advice, and training. It’s quite funny to talk to other
librarians and find out that students across the country try to
use their mobile phone in the library, all want to read manga,
sneak their lunch in, struggle to bring books back on time, and
fail to put books they have browsed back in the right place!
Why would you recommend the SLA? The SLA has great
time-saving resources, and can be a good support network for
librarians. The SLA also provides useful tips and guidance and
wider reports about how you can improve your library and
keep the school library at the core of the school.
VOLUME 71 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023
71

Books: Review Index
Page numbers in italics indicate a book that features
in the Editor’s Picks highlight box on that page.
A
Abari, Tonya and Brown, Tabitha - My Hair, My Crown 41
Agard, John and Bass, Sophie - John Agard’s Windrush Child 41
Alexander, Kwame - The Door of No Return 64
Allan, Nicholas - The King’s Pants 40
Allen, Devin - No Justice, No Peace: From The Civil Rights
Movement to Black Lives Matter 69
Ansar, Mariam - Good for Nothing 64
Ard, Cath - Earth’s Incredible Places: Yellowstone 62
Auton, Lisette - The Stickleback Catchers 52
Ayoade, Richard - The Book That No One Wanted to Read 52
B
Bailey, Jenn - Henry, Like Always 40
Ballagh, Rebekah - Big Feelings and What They Tell Us 40
Ballesteros, Chris - Frank and Bert: The One Where Bert
Learns to Ride a Bike 40
Barr, Catherine - Let’s Save the Okavango Delta:
Why We Must Protect Our Planet 40
Barrow, Sue - SOLD: What Will It Take to Find Freedom? 64
Beardon, Luke - What Works for Autistic Children 70
Beneba Clarke, Maxine - When We Say Black Lives Matter 41
Beneba Clarke, Maxine and Knowles, Isobel - Wide Big World 41
Benjamin, Floella and Avelino, Joelle - Coming to England 55
Benjamin, Floella and Ewen, Diane - Coming to England 41
Bethell, Zillah - The Song Walker 52
Biram, Tracy - Racism 65
Black, Holly - The Stolen Heir: A Novel of Elfhame 64
Blackwood, Remi - Mission to Shadow Sea: Future Hero 52
Boyadjieva, Vyara - Word Trouble 40
Brooks, Isla R. - Novus 68
Brown, Alison - Amazing Mum 41
Butchart, Pamela - There’s a Beast in the Basement! -
Baby Aliens 41
Butterfield, Moira (with National Trust) - National Trust:
Look What I Found on the Farm 41
C
Campbell, Pauline - Rice & Peas and Fish & Chips:
One Woman’s Story of Overcoming Racism 69
Carr, Matt - Captain Looroll 42
Carter, James - The Beasts Beneath Our Feet 42
Carter, James - A Ticket to Kalamazoo! Zippy Poems to
Read Out Loud 42
Chimbiri, K.N. and Avelion, Joelle - The Story of Afro Hair:
5,000 Years of History, Fashion and Styles 65
Clayton, Dhonielle - The Marvellers 52
Clifton, Harry - Gone Self Storm 68
Collins, Jordan and Lesnie, Phil - Where? 55
Contos, Andrea - Tell Me No Lies 68
Coppo, Marianna - Fish and Crab 42
Courtauld, Sarah - Story of Slavery 55
Cross, Gillian - Ollie Spark and the Exploding
Popcorn Mystery 52
D
Dapo, Adeola - Joyful, Joyful: Stories Celebrating Black
Voices 55
Davey, Patrick and Smith, Anna - Cheeky Worries:
A Story to Help Children Talk About and Manage Scary
Thoughts and Everyday Worries 42
Davies, Nicola - The Versatile Reptile 42
Day, Elizabeth - Failosophy for Teens: A Handbook for When
Things Go Wrong 66
Dockery, Daniel - Wendington Jones and the Missing Tree 54
Donnelly, Paddy - Dodos Are Not Extinct! 43
Dronfield, Jeremy - Fritz and Kurt 54
E
Easton, Tom - Vikings on Vacation: Hotel of the Gods 54
Edwards-Middleton, Richard, Edwards-Middleton, Lewis and
Passchier, Andy - My Family and Other Families:
Finding the Power in Our Differences 41
Elphinstone, Abi - Saving Neverland 54
Evans, Fay - The Laugh 43
Evans, Lissa - Wished 54
F
Fairweather, Tony - Twenty-Eight Pounds 69
Falase-Koya, Alex - Marv and the Blizzard Zone 54
Feely, Michael and Karlin, Ben - The Teaching and
Learning Playbook 70
Field, Colm - Kyan Green and the Infinity Racers 55
Fine, Anne - Next to Alice 55
Flanagan, Liz - Into the Dark Forest: Book 1 55
Flintham, Thomas - Game on, Super Rabbit Boy! 43
Flintham, Thomas - Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up! Press Start! 43
Francis, Sangma - Earth’s Incredible Places: Everest 62
Fraser, Tim & Soh, Sarah - Juniper Mae: Knight of
Tykotech City 56
G
Garai, Anita Kate - Being with our Feelings –
A Mindful Approach to Wellbeing for Children 70
Getten, Kereen - Ada Rue and the Banished 56
Gourlay, Candy - Wild Song 64
Grant, Colin, Dyer, Emma, and Taylor, Melleny - Windrush 55
Gravel, Elise - What is a Refugee? 41
H
Hailey, Carole - The Silence Project 68
Hart, Caryl - Meet the Weather 43
Hawkins, Finbar - Stone 64
Hawkins, Samantha - My Mummy Marches 43
Hegarty, Shane - Big Berry Robbery: The Shop of Impossible
Ice Creams 56
Henry, Lenny and Ryder, Marcus - Black British Lives Matter 69
Hesse, Karen - Granny and Bean 44
Hussain, Anika - This Is How You Fall in Love 68
I
Irving, Ellie - Oh, Armadillo! This Party’s All Wrong 44
J
Jacob, Catherine - Coco Settles In 44
Jardine, Lis - The Detention Detectives 56
Jeffers, Oliver - Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth 44
Jennings, Andrew - Maths Like a Ninja: An Essential Maths
Toolkit for Every Child 62
Jewell, Tiffany and Durand, Aurelia - This Book Is Anti-Racist 65
Jewitt, Kath - I Can Be Calm 44
John, Lou - The Worry Jar 44
Jones, Andy - Bob vs the Selfie Zombies 56
K
Kanani, Sheila - Can You Get Rainbows in Space? 62
Kara, Siddharth - Modern Slavery 69
Keable, Georgiana and McFarlane, Dawne - Fairytales,
Families and Forests: Storytelling with Young Children 70
Keilty, Derek - Ivy Newt and the Storm Witch 46
Khoo, Rachel - The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice 56
Krysa, Danielle - Art and Joy: Best Friends Forever 46
Kurman, Hollis - Counting in Green; 10m Little Ways to Help
Our Big Planet 46
L
Lamb, Simon - A Passing On of Shells: 50 Fifty-Word Poems 57
Lapinsky, L.D. - Jamie 57
Larwood, Kieran - The Treekeepers 57
Lawrence,Patrice and Sucre, Camilla - Granny Came Here
on the Empire Windrush 41
Lehrer, Tom and Smith, Chris - That’s Mathematics 46
Lewis, Gill - Moonflight 57
Lincoln, Beth - The Swifts 57
Liptak, John and Scallon, Michelle - Bounce Back Move
Forward 70
Llewellyn, Bryn, and Holmes, Ian - How to Move & Learn 70
Long, Matty - Who Ate All the Bugs? 46
M
Magee, John - The Happy Tank: Fill Your Life With Happy
Habits 62
Matheson, Cara - Finding Floss: The Colour Changing
Cockapoo 46
Maxwell, Lucas - Let’s Roll: A Guide to Setting Up Tabletop
Role-Playing Games in Your School or Public Library 71
McCombie, Karen - The Broken Dragon 47
McKenna, Skye - Hedgewitch 57
McLachlan, Jenny - Stink 58
McLaren, Meg - Wee Unicorn 47
McNicoll, Elle - Like A Curse 58
Mellon, Jim - Juno’s Ark 58
Meza, Erika - As Brave as a Lion 47
Mohamud, Ayaan - You Think You Know Me 65
Mora, Francisco - Frida Kahlo: Her Life, Her Art, Her Home 66
Muncaster, Harriet - Emerald and the Ocean Parade 58
N
Nabi, Zohra - The Kingdom Over the Sea 58
Naidoo, Beverley - Children of the Stone City 58
Neal, Tony - Squeeze in, Squirrel! 47
Newson, Karl - Little Owl’s Bedtime 47
Newson, Karl - The Same but Different Too 47
Newson, Karl - Beware the Blue Bagoo 48
Noakes, Laura - Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star 59
Novials, Àlex - Tutankhamun: The Tale of the Child Pharaoh
and the Discovery of His Tomb 62
O
O’Brien, Louise - 100 Things to Know About Architecture:
In a Nutshell 63
O’Hara, Mo - Honey’s Hive 59
Oke, Arike and Garrett, Scott - Anti-Racism 65
Olusoga, David - Black and British: A Short Essential History 65
O’Neill, Richard - A Different Kind of Freedom:
A Romani Story 59
Owen, Polly - Darwin’s Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular 63
P
Padmacandra - Don’t Be Silly 48
Papp, Lisa - Madeline Finn and the Rescue Dog 48
Parr, Lesley - Where the River Takes Us 65
Perry, Caroline - The Corgi and the Queen 48
Perry, Jamar - Cameron Battle and the Escape Trials 59
Pettegree, Andrew and Weduwen, Arthur der - The Library:
A Fragile History 71
Piedra, Tony - One Tiny Treefrog: A Countdown to Survival 48
Porter, Jane - So You Want to Be a Frog 48
Puckett, Gavin - Blanksy the Street Cat 50
R
Reeve, Philip - Otter Chaos: Adventuremice 59
Reynolds, Jason - Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You:
A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped
from the Beginning 65
Ritsos, Giannes - A Broken Man in Flower: Versions of Yannis
Ritsos 68
Robinson, Roger and Pitts, Johny - Home Is Not a Place 69
Rosen, Michael and Blake, Quentin - On the Move:
Poems about Migration 55
Ross, Alice - The Nowhere Thief 59
Rutter, Helen - The Funniest Boy in the World 60
S
Sage, Amara - Influential 69
Sands, Philippe and Rowson, Martin - The Last Colony 69
Sangera, Sathnam - Stolen History 55
Satyamurti, Carole - The Hopeful Hat 69
Scales, Helen - Scientists in the Wild: Galapagos 63
Scott, Jordan - My Baba’s Garden 50
Sedgwick, Marcus - Ravencave 60
Seed, Andy - Interview with Blackbeard & Other Vicious
Villains 63
Siggins, Gerard - Rugby Rookie: Stepping Up a Level,
Stepping Back in Time (Rugby Spirit) 60
Skaug, Trygve - If I Were Prime Minister 50
Skukla, Nikesh and Heuchan, Claire - What Is Race?
Who Are Racists? Why Does Skin Colour Matter?
And Other Big Questions 65
Smart, Jamie - Bunny Vs Monkey: Multiverse Mix-Up! 60
Smith, Chris - World Tales for Family Storytelling III 60
Somara, Shini - Engineers Making a Difference 66
Sparkes, Amy - The Toy Bus: The Repair Shop Stories 50
Sperring, Mark - If I Were the World 50
Stevenson, Anne - Collected Poems 69
Stevenson, Robert - A Child’s Garden of Verses 50
Sworder, Zeno - My Strange Shrinking Parents 51
T
Taylor, Andrew - You Got This! Thriving as an Early Career
Teacher with Mr T 71
Taylor, Sarah - A Spoonful of Spying: Alice Éclair, Spy
Extraordinaire! 60
Timms, Barry - A Pinch of Love 51
Tomlinson, Davinia - Cash is Queen 66
Tregoning, Robert - Out of the Blue 51
Tsang, Katie and Kevin - Space Blasters: Suzie and the
Moon Bugs 51
Tulloch, Jonathan - Cuckoo Summer 61
V
Vallepur, Shalini - Refugees & Displacement 65
Văn, Mượn Thị - I Love You Because I Love You 51
The Voice: 40 Years of Black British Lives 66
W
Wakelam, Darrell - Art Shaped: 50 Sustainable Art Projects to
Kickstart Children’s Creativity 63
Wambu Onyekachi - Empire Windrush: Reflections on
75 Years of the Black British Experience 69
Ward, Nick - Gorilla City: The Lost Diary of Charlie Small 61
Ward, Nick - Pirate Galleon: The Lost Diary of Charlie Small 61
Webb, Holly - The Little Lost Kitten: Little Gems 51
Welford, Ross - The Monkey Who Fell from the Future 61
Weze, Clare - The Storm Swimmer 61
Williams, Eloise - The Curio Collectors 61
Whyman, Matt - Our Planet 63
Wood, Laura - The Agency for Scandal 65
Z
Zephaniah, Benjamin - Windrush Child 55

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR PHIL EARLE
‘A masterful
writer’
M. G. LEONARD
‘One of the
most authentic
storytellers writing
for children today’
LESLEY PARR
‘The kind of writer who shines a light on what it is to be human,
and how an adventure can help us find ourselves’ A. F. STEADMAN
‘I very much admire Phil Earle’s inventiveness
and truthful emotional power’ PHILIP PULLMAN
CHILDREN’S BOOK
OF THE YEAR
The Times
WINNER
British Book Award
WINNER
Books Are My Bag
Readers Award
#UntiltheRoadEnds @PhilEarle @AndersenPress ISBN 9781839133169 | Paperback £7.99 | 1st June 2023

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