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Find out morePersonal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) focuses on developing the knowledge, skills and attributes to keep children and young people healthy and safe and to prepare them for life and work. The books in this section cover a range of PSHE topics including bullying, disability, family issues and racism. There are both fiction and non-fiction titles and cover age ranges from Toddler to Older Teen.
*Now an acclaimed live-action Netflix series!* Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. This joyful trip into the LGBTQ+ world of Heartstopper is the perfect gift for anyone who loves the graphic novels or Netflix TV series - from Alice Oseman, bestselling author and winner of the YA Book Prize. Now in full colour for the first time! The full-colour Heartstopper Yearbook is packed full of exclusive content from the Heartstopper universe - including never-before-seen illustrations, an exclusive mini-comic, a look back at Alice's Heartstopper artwork over the years, character profiles, trivia, and insights into her creative process - all narrated by a cartoon version of Alice herself. By the winner of the YA Book Prize, Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie's lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.
Leon John Crothers is 4779 days old (thirteen years and one month, if you’re mathematically challenged), he has been ‘moved on’ from six different schools and most people think he has an attitude problem. Leon doesn’t care for the label, in the same way that he doesn’t care for Tim Burton, supermarket trolleys, train fanatics or Bounty bars. This time, however, things may turn out differently as help comes from where he least expects it - Dr Snot, a physician at pains to help Leon navigate 'normal' and classmates, Tanya and Lawrence who both face their own challenges. When school bully Glen Jenkins humiliates Leon in the school canteen and almost destroys Lawrence, Leon very reluctantly agrees to the formation of a club, The Asparagus Bunch. How Leon manages to navigate school woes and family drama – and astonishingly ends up with not one but two friends – is nothing short of a miracle, or maybe just simply down to being different. The book has been set using a dyslexic-friendly font.
Be open, be honest, be you! Big Bright Feelings for little people. Milo loves spending time with his best friend, Jay. But when a new girl called Suzi moves in next door, Milo starts to feel left out. The jealous feeling gets stronger and stronger - until suddenly, a green-eyed monster pops up beside him! Soon, the monster is poisoning Milo's thoughts. It won't leave him alone! Can Milo find a way to free himself from the monster and repair his friendship? Warm and uplifting, Milo's Monster is an inspiring story about dealing with feelings of jealousy. It's the ideal starting point for helping children to build strong friendships and say goodbye to jealous feelings. Tom Percival's Big Bright Feelings series is the perfect springboard for talking about mental and emotional health, positive self-image, building self-confidence and managing feelings. Every child's bookshelf should contain his books.
One boy's mission to take down a team of super-villains, with the help of his boring, dishcloth-selling grandad? When Jesse's grandad wins tickets to a retirement cruise and offers to bring Jesse along, Jesse is not exactly thrilled. A boat load of old age pensioners?! No thanks. Not to mention that he's pretty sure his parents are going to be talking about a D.I.V.O.R.C.E. while he's safely out of the way. But from the moment the pair arrive on the cruise ship, it's a different story. Mysterious cat burglars, crime lords and smugglers all seem to be on board and odder than that, Gramps knows them all! When an attempted murder occurs, Jesse decides it's time to find out what they're hiding, and catch the villain responsible. But Gramps might be hiding the biggest secret of all. Can Jesse unravel the mystery, before time runs out? A hilarious adventure with heart for fans of The Worst Holiday Ever and Gangsta Granny featuring a gorgeous intergenerational relationship between a boy and his grandad, who is determined to reconnect with his family before illness intervenes. Brought to life with fabulous illustrations throughout - this package will delight readers.
Discover that bereavement can be a beginning, not an ending, in this beautiful story of one boy's grief when he loses his beloved grandfather. Dadaji loves to teach others to paint, especially his grandson. But after Dadaji passes away, the boy can't bear to use the favourite paintbrush his grandfather left for him. When a little girl knocks on the door, the boy discovers how many lives Dadaji touched with his art, and finds a way to continue his legacy.
Rabbit and his mum have moved to the coast to run a small caravan park. Rabbit has been struggling since he saw his father die - he finds it hard to speak. When he befriends a local boy, Joe, Rabbit begins to feel better - but he keeps having strange dreams of a frightened white horse. Hunting for the animal, the two boys stumble across something much more dangerous: a man being held hostage by a criminal gang. Their discovery will set them on a dangerous path that will risk everything Rabbit holds dear...
Medal Boy lives in a caravan on his own in the woods. His dad, John, is in prison and promises to get out soon. All the boy needs to do is survive alone for a little while longer. But dark forces are circling - like the dangerous man in the Range Rover, who is looking for his stolen money. And then there are the ancient forces that have lain asleep in the woods for an age.
Brimming with kindness, and voiced with humour by its adorable Charlton-obsessed protagonist, Adam Baron’s Some Sunny Day evokes all the fears and frustrations of pandemic lockdown from a child’s perspective. With a cast of gloriously authentic characters, it’s also a beautiful tribute to the work teachers did during the pandemic, and incredibly funny, with a mystery to boot. Cymbeline Igloo (Cym) is well and truly fed up of being locked down. His mum is super-paranoid about COVID-19 and takes social distancing to the extreme. She’s also obsessed with keeping busy, which is why a massive clear out leads to her accidently giving away Cym’s beloved signed football shirt. A powerful subplot about the experience of refugees comes to the fore when Cym discovers who has his shirt. Then, when COVID strikes close to home and his fellow Charlton-supporting neighbour Mrs Stebbings, the much-loved school cook, is taken into hospital, Cym realises what really matters, and rallies his class to pivot their WWII history assignment into a magical project to make her feel better. Incredibly moving (reader, I cried), Some Sunny Day also brilliantly evokes the hilarious absurdities of lockdown, from taking daily exercise with a TV personality and baking sourdough bread, to supermarket shortages, and the triumph/despair of discovering/missing out on that last pack of toilet paper or bottle of ketchup. A truly special story that will chime with thousands of young readers, this would also make a great book to read as a class.
The blackbirds' song uplifts and restores in this captivating novella from one of the most exciting voices in children's fiction. After a devastating car crash, Annie is unable to play her flute and retreats from the music she's always loved. She exists in a world of angry silence - furious with her mum and furious she can't seem to play her beloved flute any more. Then she meets Noah, who shows her the blackbirds' nest hidden in the scrubland near their flats. As their friendship grows, the blackbirds' glorious song reignites Annie's passion for music. But when tragedy strikes again, will her fragile progress be put at risk?
All of George’s family are yetis, except for George. George doesn’t fancy chasing ramblers, or luring stray hikers to their doom. Perhaps he has something else in mind? A story of courage, acceptance and finding yourself - and subtly discusses modern ideas of gender and self in a light-hearted, humorous way that the whole family can enjoy.
June 2022 Debut of the Month | A cheery little chap called Chester Chestnut is our guide through this introduction to mindfulness for children. In his baggy dungarees, he’s an identifiable figure and children will understand his worries: what if he can’t make friends at school, or forgets the words in the school play, or can’t stop thinking about all that could go wrong on an outing. Fortunately, he knows what to do and, by the end of the book, so will readers. The story shows Chester using mindfulness, describing the steps so clearly and simply that even the youngest will understand what to do and why. A final page lists things to remember. If you’re wondering about the title, imagine eating a lemon – a brilliant demonstration of the power of the mind. If you are parent or carer to a worrier, Ruby’s Worry by Tom Percival is recommended too.
June 2022 Book of the Month | Multi-stranded and suffused in sapphic love, Cynthia So’s If You Still Recognise Me debut is a compassionate, cute ode to fandom, finding love, and finding your people. The novel also deftly explores the intersection of sexism and racism, homophobia, and abusively manipulative relationships while remaining a super-sweet coming of age story that’s populated by characters who will make many a heart melt. Elsie is British-Chinese, bisexual, and has a serious crush on Ada, who she met on a comic fandom forum. Though separated by the Atlantic, Elsie is about to disclose her feelings when Joan, her best friend from childhood, returns to study at Oxford Uni after moving to Hong Kong. Cue all sorts of unexpected complications. Elsie is also still struggling with the lingering effects of an abusively controlling ex, whom she now suspects is one of those “men who see Asian women as submissive and obedient playthings they can dump all their problems on and then discard.” In addition, Elsie’s family is reeling from the death of Gung Gung, her grandad. Why hadn’t they visited him for eight years, and why is her Uncle Kevin so absent? At least Elsie has her new gay, and possibly asexual, comic store co-worker to turn to. A quest to do something wonderful for Ada and her family facilitates a superb representation of older lesbian, gay, bi and non-binary characters – individuals leading gorgeously fulfilling lives who inspire Elsie as she finds herself falling deeply in love, resulting in a sparkling, satisfyingly sincere summer read.
