Tag: BAME

The Lost Leopard by Jonny Marx and Xuan Le

This stunning picture book follows explorers Flora, Fauna and baby Bud on an exciting action-packed journey through beautifully illustrated environments in search of the elusive clouded leopard. They travel through varied habitats and encounter lots of wildlife, all labelled for the reader to identify.

The Lost Leopard is brilliantly interactive, with fun facts, lots to spot, flaps to lift and a beautiful gatefold pull out to enjoy as you share their adventure. As well as exploring habitats and the creatures that live there, The Lost Leopard gently encourages discussion about environmental and conservation issues, with a particular focus on litter pollution.

A beautiful book with gentle humour that reveals more with every read, this is one you will want to share over and over. Perfect for ages 5+ and environment topics.

About the book:

Join Flora and Fauna, the world’s greatest explorers as they embark on an extraordinary adventure in search of an elusive species of wild cat – the clouded leopard. With flaps and paper effects throughout who knows what marvellous things they’ll encounter along the way, or what their baby, Bud, may discover on this epic odyssey.

Hardback. You can get your copy here.

Gargantis by Thomas Taylor

At last! The much-anticipated sequel to Malamander is nearly here and we are SO happy to be sharing it with you all. We have SIGNED pre-orders available! Eek!

It’s a joy to be back in the world of Eerie-on-Sea amongst the characters and locations we know and love from our Malamander adventure. Dear Mrs Fossil, the delightful Erwin the cat, quirky Dr Thalassi, our beloved Jenny Hanniver, and of course, our heroes, Herbie Lemon and Violet Parma. It feels like coming home.

But there’s no time to get too comfortable amongst old friends because there are new mysterious characters appearing in Eerie-on-Sea, and a heavy dose of magic that seems to be spiralling out of control.

There’s a storm raging in Eerie-on-Sea. Has the mighty Gargantis come back from the deep…?

When an ancient bottle is found washed up on the beach after a ferocious electrical storm, all the residents of Eerie-on-Sea seem to want it … but should they in fact fear it? Legend has it that the bottle contains an extraordinary secret that spells doom for the whole of Eerie-on-Sea. Could it be true that the vast sea creature Gargantis has awoken from her slumbers, and is causing the large cracks that are appearing all across the town? Finding themselves entrusted with the bottle, Herbie and Violet discover they will need to ride the terrible storm and pacify the creature if they want to save Eerie-on-Sea from sliding into the ocean and being lost for ever.

Thomas Taylor is absolutely on form in this fantastic sequel. His clever word play is a delight to read and his world-building and character creation whisks you away in wonder.

Gargantis is an adventure mystery full of heart. It is packed with twists and turns, mysterious characters and magical beings. At its core is a story of friendship and courage, and of learning that you have the strength to face the world and to do more than you realise. It’s a celebration of children’s innate sense of justice and their belief in finding the good in the world. It is hopeful and happy and an absolute joy from start to finish.

With gorgeous cover art by the ever-talented George Ermos.

You can order your SPECIAL EDITION copy here.

Anisha Accidental Detective by Serena Patel and Emma McCann

Anisha is all set to be a (reluctant) bridesmaid at Aunty Bindi’s wedding…until a secret ransom note arrives. Bindi’s groom has been kidnapped and will only be released IF THE WEDDING IS CALLED OFF!

With best friend Milo, mischievous Granny Jas, a runaway lobster, a kitten-loving giant, and some super skills of logic and observation, it’s up to Anisha Mistry to find her uncle, before the big family wedding of the year becomes a big disaster.

This brilliantly funny character-led series is perfect for fans of Pamela Butchart and Swapna Haddow and is a great gateway read into older detective fiction like Robin Stevens’ Murder Most Unladylike series.

Anisha Accidental Detectives is the first in a brilliantly inclusive detective series featuring a multi-generational British Indian family. It reflects reality with a strong cast of characters and footnotes explaining cultural references in a fun and unobtrusive way.

Anisha is a fantastic female lead; a reluctant heroine who would rather stay out of any drama. She has much more common sense than all the grown ups and is a strong role model for STEM loving children.  Together with her best friend Milo she must use all her logic and reasoning skills to get to the bottom of the great kidnapping mystery.

The book is an ode to the strength and solidarity of female family members, celebrating women in all their different forms with Anisha’s fantastically fierce granny who never gives up and oozes positivity, and her unflappable Mum who stays calm through every crisis. The book is filled with role models and wonderful women for readers to aspire to.

Anisha and Milo flip gender stereotypes on their head and this book is a real celebration of knowing who you are, being comfortable with yourself and seeing your differences as your strengths. Emma McCann’s illustrations bring the diverse characters to life and add an extra layer of humour to a wonderfully written, fun and engaging story. 

You can get your copy here.

Wigglesbottom Primary: Break-Time Bunnies

All is chaos in Year 2! An unexpected visitor, a bewitched violin and an invasion of bunnies! What can it all mean?

The hilarious Wigglesbottom Primary series is back with a bang… and a lot of bunnies, in this laugh out loud book with three new stories about Class 2R and their wild imaginations.

School days are never boring at Wigglesbottom Primary and we love the way the stories race along at the same pace as Class 2R’s imaginations. These adventures are hugely relatable and super fun, showing a class of brilliantly positive and diverse children working together through every step of their adventures.

Pamela Butchart never fails to ace the imaginary leaps of young children and to celebrate the fun and excitement of childhood. Becka Moor’s illustrations bring all the energy of the characters to life and add even more comedy to the zany situations they create.

Perfect for Key Stage 1 and newly independent readers who love riotously funny stories.

You can order your copy here.

Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Zombies

We love the Sam Wu series! Highly illustrated, fun and fast-paced reads with guaranteed laughs, they never disappoint.

In Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Zombies Sam and his team are back to face their fears together as they investigate the strange noises – and smells – coming from Ralph and Regina’s Do-Not-Enter basement. Hilarity and chaos ensue as the team try to save the world from a rabid pack of zombie werewolves.

We particularly love this series for its readability, strong sense of fun and imagination and its beautifully positive and casual inclusion of diverse characters. Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Zombies includes gentle nods to the fear of being different and not fitting in and shows the reader that you will always find your people if you are brave enough to be yourself.

Perfect for fans of Pamela Butchart and a brilliant follow on from her Wigglesbottom Primary School series.

About the book:

The fifth in the slapstick, action-packed middle-grade series. Sam is conflicted about saving the day when it’s his arch-enemy Ralph Zinkerman the Third who falls foul of the zombie werewolves. Deals with common childhood fears in a sensitive and accepting way.

Gloves Off by Louisa Reid

#GlovesOff by @louisareid is stunning! Beautifully written in verse and packing an emotional punch, it’s a gem of a book celebrating diversity, body-confidence in the face of bullying, and the power of finding your tribe. 🏳️‍🌈💪🏾🥊

Lily turns sixteen with two very different sides to her life: school, where she is badly bullied, and home with her mum and dad, warm and comforting but with its own difficulties.

After a particularly terrible bullying incident, Lily’s dad determines to give his daughter the tools to fight back. Introducing her to boxing, he encourages Lily to find her own worth.

It is both difficult and challenging but in confronting her own fears she finds a way through that illuminates her life and friendships.

Meeting Rose, and seeing that there is another world out there, enables her to live her own life fully and gives her the knowledge that she is both beautiful and worth it.

Out now from @guppybooks you can get your copy here.

Rose, Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence

Being a teenager is hard enough, but it’s even harder in a world you’ve never known… Eighteen months ago, 17-year-old Rose and 13-year-old Rudder escaped a strict religious sect with their mum.

They are still trying to make sense of the world outside – no more rules about clothes and books, films and music, no more technology bans. But also no more friendship with the people they’ve known all their lives, no community and no certainty. It doesn’t help that their mum has to work all hours to pay rent on their cramped, smelly, one-bed flat above a kebab shop in Hackney.

While Rudder gorges on once-taboo Harry Potters and dances to Simon and Garfunkel and show tunes, Rose swaps the ankle skirts and uncut hair of the Woodford Pilgrims for Japanese-cute fairy dress and her new boyfriend, Kye.

Kye, who she wants with all her being. But there’s loads of scary stuff about their new life that Rose and Rudder have no idea how to handle – it’s normal for girls to let their boyfriends take naked pictures of them, right?

When Rudder accidently sets a devastating chain of events into action, Rose must decide whether to sacrifice everything and go back to the life she hates, in order to save the people she loves. A story about coming of age, slap-bang in the middle of a strange new world.

Rose, Interrupted is a feminist YA stunner! Infatuation vs indoctrination, the importance of friendship and role models in finding yourself and your people, and a glorious celebration of the healing power of books and the creative arts.

Full of characters who you will be cheering for and screaming at in equal measures, Rose, Interrupted shows us real people trying their best in extreme situations. Love their flaws, love their optimism, love their reality. This book has it all.

You can order your copy here.

The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan and Ben Mantle

Believing is just the beginning . . .

When Arthur and Rose were little, they were heroes in the Land of Roar, an imaginary world that they found by climbing through the folding bed in their grandad’s attic.

Roar was filled with things they loved – dragons, mermaids, ninja wizards and adventure – as well as things that scared them (including a very creepy scarecrow. . .)

Now the twins are eleven, Roar is just a memory. But when they help Grandad clean out the attic, Arthur is horrified as Grandad is pulled into the folding bed and vanishes. Is he playing a joke? Or is Roar . . . real?

We love this stunner of a book. Beautifully illustrated by Ben Mantle and with a cover that would be coveted by the most fussy of dragons, The Land of Roar looks as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside.

The Land of Roar is a story with a heart. Filled with dementor-style darkness, beautifully balanced with humour and brilliantly imagined gender-stereotype-flipping characters, it perfectly captures the imagination and play of children and explores what happens to your lands of make-believe when you begin to grow up. It celebrates embracing play and imagination and not growing up too soon.

All the ingredients for the perfect reading for pleasure fantasy adventure are here; ninja wizards, mermaid witches, a band of fierce lost girls, dragons and of course, a glittering sprinkle of magic. We lost ourselves entirely in The Land of Roar

Let your walls down and allow magic in. Get your copy here.

All the Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys

Smart is not just ticks and crosses, smart is building boats from boxes. Painting patterns, wheeling wagons, being mermaids, riding dragons. A joyful ode to all the unique and wonderful qualities that make children who they are.

We love this bright and positive book that celebrates the rainbow of talents that each child brings to the world. With engaging illustrations throughout and a colour palette filled with bright greens and oranges, this is fun and appealing for a range of ages. A beautifully inclusive book that celebrates children being children and all the ways they bring joy to their world. This is a brilliant antidote to the test-driven world todays children are living in.

You can order your copy through our online shop here.

The Girls by Lauren Ace and Jenny Lovlie

Four little girls meet under an apple tree and form a bond that grows as they share secrets, dreams, worries and schemes. This beautifully illustrated tale charts the girls' lives through ups and downs and laughter and tears. Find out how their friendship flourishes as the years pass by and the girls become women.

We love this beautifully diverse and inclusive book celebrating friendship and shared experience. A brilliant book for children of all ages, this is a picture book that offers more as you return to it, with lots of detail in the illustrations and layers in the text. Perfect for PSHE and inclusion.

You can get your copy through our online shop here.