Where the World Ends

Oh this book! Sometimes a book is so Right that it feels like it couldn’t possibly be anything other than it is. No other author could have done it justice. No other subject matter or writing style could have improved it. 'Every time a lad came fowling on the St Kilda stacs, he went home...

Across the Divide by Anne Booth

Perfect for topic work around war and pacifism and understanding diversity, Across the Divide belongs in every school library. 

Elise and the Second Hand Dog

If you like your humour on the dark and quirky side then Elise and the Second Hand Dog is for you. A hidden gem, this middle grade adventure about a lonely child and her talking dog was an honour title in BookTrust's In Other Words initiative, a project set up to promote great writing from...

Running on Empty

This is a very special book. Full of heart and honesty it perfectly expresses a child's view of an unfair world. AJ's parents have learning difficulties and his grandfather, who used to keep everything going, has died, leaving it up to AJ to be responsible. He is a young carer with the weight of adult...

A Change is Gonna Come

This book is a stunner! Twelve fresh, fun and beautifully written YA short stories by new and established BAME authors, written around the subject of change.  I forgot how much I love short stories. The immediacy, the focus, the variety. I first fell in love with short stories reading Jon McGregor and then Lucy Wood's...

Countless by Karen Gregory

I inhaled this book. I was emotionally involved from the very start and couldn't bear to put it down.  'When Hedda discovers she is pregnant, she doesn't believe she could ever look after a baby. The numbers just don't add up. She is young, and still in the grip of an eating disorder that controls...

How Many Dinosaurs Deep?

How Many Dinosaurs Deep? by Ben Kitchin and Vicky Fieldhouse (New Frontier) is a delightful book that brilliantly portrays the parent/child relationship. 'Jim is not quite sure that he's ready to move from the baby pool to the middle-sized pool. Can a group of splashing, sploshing dinosaurs help him face his fears?' Anyone who has...

Young Ambassadors for diversity and inclusion

I'm making the assumption that if you read this blog you are already on board with the fact that inclusive and diverse books are groovy and important things. I figure you know that they can, and will, help the next generation change the world. And that's why I want to share this campaign for Young...

Behind the scenes of Happy, Sad, Feeling Glad – with giveaway

I am thrilled to have a guest post from award winning illustrator Yasmeen Ismail as part of the blog tour for her Draw & Discover series of activity books. Yasmeen is the bestselling author/illustrator of Time for Bed Fred and I'm a Girl. The books in the Draw & Discover series are her first activity...

Stargazing for Beginners by Jenny McLachlan

There's a lot to love in this book about friendship and finding yourself amongst the chaos of life.  'Science geek Meg is left to look after her little sister for ten days after her free-spirited mum leaves suddenly to follow up yet another of her Big Important Causes. But while Meg may understand how the universe...