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Find out moreAre you fascinated to read about people and places? We have a collection of books about famous people, the jobs we do, the cities we live in and the world around us.
Publishing for the 75th anniversary of the Partition of India in August 2022, this book is a unique exploration of the rich and complicated history of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Britain. There are many ways of telling the same story, and how you tell it depends on your point of view. Some stories are so complicated, or difficult to explain, that they're not often told at all. Like the story of how a company ended up running a country, or how one man drawing a line on a map could change the lives of millions of people forever. This book aims to piece together the interesting, surprising, and sometimes very sad story of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Britain, and how these countries have shaped one another over the centuries. From exploring the vast empires and amazing inventions of ancient India, to revealing the challenges faced by South Asian migrants to Britain - or celebrating the amazing culture, innovations, inventions, and achievements of British people of South Asian heritage today - this book shows how the past, present and future of these four countries will always be intertwined. Written by Donna and Vikesh Amey Bhatt who were inspired to write this book for their two young sons, with consultancy by Rajbir Hazelwood, historian of South Asia and Modern Britain, Lands of Belonging includes an exploration of the impact of British rule over India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were all one country at the time), from the foundation of the East India Company to India's involvement in supporting Britain during both World Wars, to India's fight for independence and the British government's decision to Partition the country, resulting in the largest migration of people in history.
Touching on major moments in the story of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights including the Stonewall Uprising, the first Gay Pride Rally and the dazzling history of drag and the ballroom scene, We Are Your Children is a wide-ranging and inclusive account of a multifaceted movement, with detailed and characterful colour artwork. This book showcases figures from queer history like Harvey Milk, Julian Hows, Carla Toney, Crystal LaBeija, We Wha, Vincent Jones, Marsha P. Johnson, Alan Turing, Sylvia Rivera and many more. From the secret slang adopted by gay Londoners the 60s, to the decades of sit-ins and marches, there are countless fascinating stories to be told: stories of resistance, friendship, love, fear, division, unity and astonishing perseverance in the face of discrimination and oppression.
Fresh from his success interviewing a tiger and other clawed beasts, in the book of that name, Andy Seed adapts his tranimalator into a time machine and heads into history to put searching questions to the likes of Cleopatra, Boudica, Harald Bluetooth and Akbar the Great. These famous rulers might be nonplussed to find a nosy interviewer from the future turning up with a microphone, but they answer his questions honestly and even put up with his terrible jokes. It’s lots of fun, but packed full of facts and historical information too. There are lively black and white illustrations on every page, pictures of the characters and their homes plus maps, making it even more accessible, and there’s a quiz at the end to test your knowledge. This succeeds in the same way that the Horrible Histories series does, bringing history alive in a thoroughly memorable and appealing way.
May 2022 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month May 2022 | Within a heart-warming story revolving around the love between a grandchild and her granny, award-winning author Patrice Lawrence has cleverly found a new way of telling a beautiful story of one young woman’s arrival in England on the Empire Windrush while also touching on the amazing achievements of some of the best-known black women from previous generations. When Ava asks her Granny to help her dress up as someone she admires for a school assembly, Granny goes straight to the dressing up trunk. Should Ava go as Mary Secole or Rosa Parks? Both are women that she admires but she knows her school friends will go as them too. But then Ava discovers Granny’s suitcase. In it, there are just a few precious things that she was given when she left home. Each is a reminder of Granny’s family at home. Ava listens to Granny’s story about leaving home and about staying on – even though there were some dark days along the way. Inspired, Rosa knows that her own Granny is the person she most admires!
Within a heart-warming story revolving around the love between a grandchild and her granny, award-winning author Patrice Lawrence has cleverly found a new way of telling a beautiful story of one young woman’s arrival in England on the Empire Windrush while also touching on the amazing achievements of some of the best-known black women from previous generations. When Ava asks her Granny to help her dress up as someone she admires for a school assembly, Granny goes straight to the dressing up trunk. Should Ava go as Mary Secole or Rosa Parks? Both are women that she admires but she knows her school friends will go as them too. But then Ava discovers Granny’s suitcase. In it, there are just a few precious things that she was given when she left home. Each is a reminder of Granny’s family at home. Ava listens to Granny’s story about leaving home and about staying on – even though there were some dark days along the way. Inspired, Rosa knows that her own Granny is the person she most admires!
To celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, here is the story of her life... The Queen is one of the most famous women in the world. But what is she really like? This enthralling story of the life of Queen Elizabeth II is full of photographs and facts that capture the drama and grandeur of her reign as Britain's longest-serving monarch, from her childhood during the Second World War and her coronation up to the present day. Perfect for older fans of Little People, BIG DREAMS
May 2022 Non-Fiction Book of the Month | Ending with a call to readers to change the world, this handsomely illustrated book tells the story of the first Greek gods. We see it all from the viewpoint of Gaia, the goddess who created the world as a beautiful, peaceful place only to watch in anguish as her husband and then her children squabble, fight and even infect the mortals with their greed and jealousy. The stories are full of drama - Cronos swallowing his children, the gods of Olympus battling giants - and the book also describes the creation of the Furies and the Fates, giving us a different view of them. Told via a striking graphic novel format, it’s a visual treat while the direct, straight to reader text is very engaging. Much more than an introduction to early Greek myths, it will make readers see the world and their role in it differently.
Interest Age 8+ Reading Age 8 | David is a top non-fiction author whose concise, informative and brilliantly written children’s titles have won him critical acclaim and the 2017 Blue Peter Book Award.
Telling the real-life story of Mona Baptiste, a Trinidadian singer who was brave enough to follow her dreams and ambitions across the sea on the Emperor Windrush. With gloriously evocative, almost technicolour illustrations, full of life and movement, we follow Mona as she grows up on Trinidad and her growing passion for singing. She sings at festivals and carnivals and seeing an advertisement for the Windrush sailing, she persuades her parents that this is what would make her dreams come true. In England she started singing everywhere ‘so people would get to know my name’. She sang in clubs, on radio and television and became highly celebrated in Europe. Sometimes life was tough and sometimes she had ‘ to be quite strong’ but this is a very positive inspirational story of a girl who fulfilled her dream. ‘ I wanted to sing for the whole world,/ and I wanted to sing for me,/That’s why I got on the Empire Windrush/ and sailed across the sea’ The rhythmic text is equally evocative, full of the cadences and musical lilt of the Caribbean. Providing a brilliant aspirational role model and a useful support to history and diversity collections, this is published in good time to celebrate Windrush Day on 22 June.
50 Goddesses, Spirits, Saints and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief | Using photographs of objects from the British Museum collections beside bold, bright, clear illustrations of the female characters, the stories and animals often associated with them. This is most definitely a book to dip into repeatedly. Each double page spread looks at a specific person, their legends, the stories that have altered over time and their often-multiple names. The book is arranged into five different sections covering Ruling and Guiding figures, New Life figures, War and Death figures, Love and Wisdom figures and Animal and Nature figures. The whole of the history of beliefs seem to be covered from Africa to Wales, Aztec to Maori, Far Eastern to Norse to name but a few! The Introduction shares thoughts on the way the word Goddess has changed its meaning over the years and Dr Ramirez shares a very useful Glossary of unusual terms as well as indexing individual goddesses – always a huge benefit that unfortunately some authors and publishers fail to appreciate. A beautiful book I can imagine being included in many topic boxes and school libraries.
Travel back 400 years to visit rowdy theatres and royal palaces to understand what it was like to live in Shakespeare's Elizabethan England and the influence it had on his ground-breaking work.
Interest Age 5-8 | A touching tale about friendship, family and finding joy in the darkest of times. Inspired by the childhood of French portrait artist Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun. High quality cream paper and a special easy to read font ensure a smooth read for all.
