In this novel about family relations, loss and growing up written entirely in verse, 12-year-old Josh and his twin brother Jordan ‘JB’ live for basketball. That is why they are the star players of their school’s team, the Wildcats. Still, there is a hardship on and off the court for Josh to overcome: being trained […]
A young readers’ novel about family, friendship and gender roles. When Matthew’s cousin Sam comes over from the USA, he is not a likeable character: impolite, smelly and with long hair. So in order to join the local school boys’ gang, he has to accept and complete the challenge they set for him – come […]
A young readers’ novel about bullying, peer pressure, acceptance, diversity and friendship: Muncle Trogg is a giant, albeit a tiny one. In fact, he is so small that all the other giants make fun of him. So Muncle Trogg sneaks away to study the creatures which look most like him: humans, aka Smallings. One particular […]
The first part of the trilogy tells the story of ‘A’ and his peculiar challenge: Every day he wakes up to discover that he is another person, yet again. In the meantime, A managed to get accustomed to that. But when he one day wakes up being somebody named Justin, he meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon, […]
Written in verse, this story for beginning readers follows detective Nate – the World’s Greatest Detective – on his case of finding a missing cat on Halloween. It also features background information on the celebration and ideas for fun Halloween activities. Overall, more than two dozens of Nate’s stories are available.
In this realist novel about poverty, exploitation, human trafficking and ‘modern’ slavery, 13-year-old Lakshmi lives a poor but happy life with her family in rural Nepal. When a monsoon washes away her family’s remaining crops, she is forced to take on a job. When she is tricked into moving to the city, instead of prosperity […]
In this epistolary novel about family, migration and loss, a 12-year-old Jewish girl named Rifka documents her family’s escape from Russia in 1919 and their journey to the USA: how Rifka distracted guards by telling them stories, how she fell sick and needed to be treated in Belgium before they could go on and how […]
A young adult novel about losing self-control, self-and body image, depression and the presence of winter. This is the story of two best friends Lia and Cassie, albeit with a sad twist: When one develops bulimia, the other one develops anorexia and thus they start a contest, trying to find out which of the two […]
In this picture book, an IT-savvy donkey and a book-loving monkey discover the advantages of a ‘classic’ book, offering wonders which no digital medium seems to provide. This work is suited for interdisciplinary teaching with regard to Computer Sciences.
A sombre novel about mental health, desperate teens and a hostage situation: When two teenagers take the customers of a coffee shop hostage, 16-year-old Zach is among the hostages. To make things worse, Zach suffers from schizophrenia and is dependent on his medication. Can he get through to his captors in time or is this […]
In this comedy thriller, 12-year-old Joe fears his grandma: She is both physically repulsive and horribly mean, and Joe is afraid she has terrible plans in mind for him. When one day his parents are away and she takes him to a get-together of many other mean grannies, he rightfully fears for his life – […]
A young adult novel about desires, fears and the struggle to keep up. 16-year-old Tessa is fatally ill with leukemia, so she comes up with a bucket list of things to do before she dies, e.g. commiting crimes, having sex and doing drugs. While her family is trying to cope in different ways, Tessa happens […]
An easy read navigating the diffuculties of migration and growing up trapped between two cultures. Manjit is a teenage boy living in Leicester (England), brought up by strict Punbjabi parents. Dissappointed by Manny’s grades and behavior, his parents arrange for him to be married in India: They take him there and then return to England […]
The illustrations in this book not only tell the story of a heartwarming family adventure but also show the cultural richness of Australia. The little possum Hush was made invisible by his Grandma Poss, who possesses magic, to protect him from the Australian bush dangers. When Hush wants to be able to see himself again, […]
Jabberwocky is considered one of the greatest nonsense poems in English literature. It tells the tale of a monster called the ‘Jabberwock’ and is full of nonsense words and neologisms. The poem can be found in Lewis Caroll’s novel Through the Looking Glass. Possible classroom activities include: Students can try to decipher what the poem […]
You may think Australian wombats don’t do much except eat, sleep and dig. Well, this little wombat is different. Not only does he eat, sleep and dig, he also trains humans to do work for him like give him treats. This illustrated (and hilarious) story shows us that we may all share some qualities with […]
The comedic autobiography describes Trevor Noah’s childhood as a mixed-race child in South Africa during the apartheid era. Suited for interdisciplinary teaching, it can be used in connection to History class while discussing South African history. A possible introduction to the book could be to watch clips of Trevor Noah hosting the The Daily Show.
This heartwarming illustrated story shows children the importance of accepting yourself and finding the upsides in difficult situations. Buford the little ram has trouble keeping up with his peers. His horns won’t stop growing and have started getting in the way of climbing the steep hills like his friends. He decides to spend the summer […]