Image
Blog image
BLOGS
Created: 17th April, 2023

Each month CLPE's Librarian, Phoebe Demeger, will reveal some of her favourite books she has recently added to our Literacy Library.

Discover March's below:

EYFS:

The Nose, Toes and Tummy Book (Sally Nicholls and Gosia Herba, Andersen) is a dynamic and exuberant picturebook, celebrating each part of the body in turn and inviting interaction from little ones and their grown-ups. With vibrant inclusive illustrations showcasing a broad variety of families and carers.

Mo Willems’ beloved double-act return in Elephant and Piggie: We Are in a Book! (Mo Willems, Walker), with all the madcap comedy of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and as gloriously fourth-wall-breaking as B.J. Novak’s The Book With No Pictures. The speech bubbles and comedy narrative are perfect for supporting reader development.

Written and illustrated by Krina Patel-Sage, Watch Me Bloom (Lantana) is an illustrated collection of nature haiku, each based on a different flower. The seasonal or cultural meanings behind each flower are alluded to in the poems, and expanded upon further in a closing glossary. Each poem also highlights one or more of the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning, and Give.

 

KS1:

The Perfect Sushi (Emily Sakoto Seo and Mique Moriuchi, Barefoot Books) follows a little girl’s frustrated attempts to make sushi for her grandmother. With some Japanese vocabulary and onomatopoeia, and painted collage illustrations by Mique Moriuchi, this is a lovely study of food, family and heart.

An exciting new collaboration between Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson, Twenty Questions (Walker) is an inspired collection of illustrated rhetorical questions, inviting critical and imaginative engagement from the reader. It will never be read the same way twice, and can be enjoyed at any age stage. Perfection for the Primary classroom!

Two picturebooks that share a similar theme are Farah Loves Mangos (Sarthak Sinha, Flying Eye) and Who Owns the Woods? (Emily Hibbs and Jess Mason, Little Tiger) – each draws on the relationship between humans and trees. Within Sinha’s sunny, summery colour palette, the exuberant Farah learns patience and an appreciation for all the things a tree can do, besides bearing delicious fruit for her to eat. And in Hibbs and Mason’s rhyming account of creatures who share the woodland environment, we learn that not one of them has an overall claim to the land – not even humans, as much a part of ‘nature’ as any plant or animal.

 

Lower KS2:

From the creator of the celebrated Journey trilogy, Aaron Becker’s wordless picturebook The Tree and the River (Walker) tracks the changes to an imagined landscape through time as humans come into contact with it, through all stages of growth, decay and renewal. Epic in scale, and like Twenty Questions, it is an invitation to engage imaginatively with the images.

One of many delightful new publications from dyslexia-friendly publisher Barrington Stoke is Budgie (part of their Little Gems range) by the current Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho. A sweet standalone story, starring a little boy, a lost budgie and a grumpy neighbour. Featuring illustrations by David Barrow, this is a charming tale about kindness and community.

The first book in a new series by Mo O’Hara, author of Agent Moose and more, Honey’s Hive (Andersen) stars a young adventure-hungry bee named Honey, trying to find her place in the world. Featuring wacky illustrations by Aya Kakeda, Honey’s Hive has a strong theme of teamwork, and plenty of facts about bees and their behaviour threaded throughout and in a closing fact file.

The final book in Burhana Islam’s My Laugh-Out-Loud Life trilogy, The Big Breakout (Knights Of) sees our hero Yusuf prepare to become an uncle for the first time. Yusuf is a wonderful protagonist, with big ideas that don’t always go to plan, and a memorable cast of friends and family around him. With doodle-style illustrations by Farah Khandaker.

 

Upper KS2:

Tourmaline and the Island of Elsewhere (Little Tiger) is a superb adventure narrative, with some subtle magic, by Ruth Lauren. Headstrong young Tourmaline, in defiance against the university where she lives, sets off on a quest to find and rescue her missing archaeologist mother. Not only is it a clever and engaging adventure – featuring, among other things, a fierce band of women pirates – but Tourmaline raises interesting questions around the ethics of artefact-hunting and museum collections. Contemporary, sophisticated and imaginative, and the start of a series.

Jamie (Orion) is a landmark new novel from L.D. Lapinski, author of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series. It stars a non-binary child who, along with their friends, takes matters into their own hands upon discovering that the only secondary schools available to them are for “boys” or “girls” only. Hopeful and empowering, and each chapter closes with a glossary of words connected to LGBTQ+ or non-binary identity.

A landmark publication from Big Picture Press, Human 2.0 is a high-production study of human bionics and prosthetics, written by campaigner and Touch Bionics ambassador Patrick Kane. The history of prostheses starts as early as 3500 years ago, and runs right up to the present day and near future, covering everything from glasses and hearing aids to bionic limbs and powered exoskeletons, plus biographies throughout. With evocative artwork by Samuel Rodriguez, this is a fascinating and empowering celebration.

The highly anticipated sequel to the bestselling and beloved 2018 original, Young Gifted and Black Too (Wide Eyed Editions) sees Jamia Wilson profile 52 more global Black icons from history and the present day (the entries are arranged chronologically), a list comprising of musicians, activists, artists, changemakers and more. All are accompanied by Andrea Pippins’ brightly bold illustrations.

Following on from Fourteen Wolves by the same author, The Tiger’s Tale: A Conservation Story (Catherine Barr, Bloomsbury) is an account of real-life attempts to track and protect the tigers of the Emerald Forest in Panna, Central India, with artwork by Tara Anand. Not only is the narrative filled with facts about tiger behaviour and the role of scientists in their conservation, but the true-to-life setting and characters (the ‘cast’ of tigers are based on real animals) lend an immediacy to the tale, and give more weight to the closing ‘call to action’ to the reader. A beautiful and important book.