Punching the Air

By Ibi Zoboi & Dr Yusef Salaam This book tells the story of a 16 year old American boy called Amal Shahid. He is black and Muslim and his name means ‘Hope’. One night he is involved in an incident in a local neighbourhood. When the case goes to court he is treated as an

Pattan’s Pumpkin: An Indian Flood Story

By Chitra Soundar & illustrated by Frané Lessac One of my younger brother’s has just finished his first half-term in reception class. He has really enjoyed learning all about Autumn and his class went on a special welly walk to search for pumpkins. This made us head to the book shelf to find all our

Dadaji’s Paintbrush

Written by Rashmi Sirdeshpande & illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane We always like to add diverse books to our collection and have enjoyed other books by this author. My little brothers love her funny books about clever dinosaurs but this is much more serious and gentle. This beautiful picture book is all about a boy whose

The Moon from Dehradun: A Story of Partition

Written by Shirin Shamsi & illustrated Tarun Lak What was Partition? In August 1947, India achieved independence from British rule. The country was split into two new independent states: India and Pakistan. East Pakistan later became Bangladesh. India was formed of mostly of Hindu regions, while Pakistan was made up of mostly Muslim regions. Partition

Look Up!

Written by Nathan Bryon & illustrated by Dapo Adeola I am a member of my school’s astronomy club and enjoy learning about the stars, planets, meteors and comets. The book is about a little girl called Rocket, who wants to be an astronaut when she grows up – just like her heroine: Mae Jemison, who

Goodnight Ganesha

Written by Nadia Salomon & illustrated by Poonam Mistry This was a Diwali gift and the first thing I noticed are the amazing illustrations by Poonam Mistry. Every single page is decorated with beautiful and very detailed drawings. The book describes the bedtime routine of two children, a girl (the narrator) and her brother Vikram.

Charles Darwin’s ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES: Words that changed the world

Written by Anna Brett Illustrated by Nick Hayes In science lessons at school this year, one of the topics we studied was evolution and inheritance. I found it quite interesting to learn how plants and animals have adapted to suit the environments they live in. If you are interested in science or animals then I

Seasons of Splendour: Tales, Myths and Legends of India

Written by Madhur Jaffrey & Illustrated by Michael Foreman I am always interested to read stories about India. I have previously read a book by Madhur Jaffrey called Robi Dobi. I enjoyed it so thought that this would probably be a good read too. Instead of one long story, this book contains a collection of

We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me

By Benjamin Zephaniah / illustrated by Onyinye Iwu In 2020 I read Baroness Benjamin’s brilliant picture book Coming to England. It was so interesting to learn about her family’s journey to the UK and about other people like her who sailed to England on the Empire Windrush. When I learned that Benjamin Zephaniah had written

Long Walk to Freedom: Illustrated Children’s edition

Author: Nelson Mandela & Abridged by: Chris Van Wyk Illustrator: Paddy Bouma We bought this book during Black History Month so that I could learn more about one of the most well known and influential figures from black history. It tells the incredible story of his life and achievements. He experienced the unfair treatment that