This epistolary novel tells a timeless coming-of-age story from the perspective of 15-year-old introvert Charlie, who is struggling with highschool life. Whether it is finding his taste in music or finding his first love, it all holds a special challenge for him. Bright days of joy, happiness and empowerment as well as gloomy days of […]
This short story from the realm of magical realism problematises resentment, prejudice and peer pressure. Ken Liu’s fantasy story depicts the struggle of a woman with a migrant background between retaining her ‘old’ identity and simultaneously adopting a new one. Her son Jack re-tells several episodes of their lives, showcasing his mother’s special talent: When […]
A thrilling metafictional novel about identity, ideals, racism, terrorism, American patriotism and imperialism, loyalty and distrust. Frame narrative: On a single afternoon at a Lahore café, Changez, a Pakistani man tells an unnamed American stranger about his life: Beginning with his elite education at Princeton and continuing into professional success in glittering New York City. […]
An epistolary young adult fiction in form of a diary on identity – a story about navigating the world of peer pressure, friendship, teenage angst, love, heartbreak and of course high school. This novel revolves around Amelia ‘Mia’ Thermopolis, a teenager in New York who discovers that she is the princess of a small European […]
A children’s novel in the realm of realistic fiction on rebellion, family and growing up. Jake has been kicked out of every public school in Rhode Island, he burned down the last school that he attended. To avoid being put into a juvenile detention center, he is sent to a home-school run by an eccentric […]
A children’s novel on friendship, love, loneliness, sorrow and melancholy. 10 year-old India Opal Bulloni has just moved to a trailer park in a small town in Florida. Her father preaches at the local church and India trys to settle in and get to know her neighbors. When she sees a scruffy little dog at […]
A dystopian, social science fiction novel about the importance of memory, individualism and identity construction. 12 year-old Jonas lives in a society where the ruling force is ‘Sameness’. A life without colours, pain or past. Everyone is assigned their job at the age of twelve. No uncertainty, no problems. The only person who safekeeps the […]
A spin on the classic ‘princess is saved by the prince who slays the dragon’ tale. When Princess Elizabeth’s castle is destroyed and Prince Ronald is kidnapped by a dragon, she knows she has to save him. She follows the dragon, dressed in a paper bag and manages to rescue the Prince. However, he tells […]
An illustrated book about the importance of sharing. Amanda and Jeremiah just can’t get along in kindergarten. They keep wanting to read the same books, use the same toys… The teacher tells them kids in kindergarten share. They share everything. Well Amanda and Jeremiah take that sentence literally and start sharing shoes, dirty socks…
An illustrated book about a father daughter relationship. Grocery shopping can be stressful, and if she could, Tyya would buy every last candybar in the store. She just wants ‘something good’. Her dad reprimands her and tells her to not move until he’s done grocery shopping. She listens and stands so still that she’s mistaken […]
A relentless exploration of racial prejudice and finding your voice as a young adult. 16-year-old Starr is a black student attending an elite school with a white majority, always carefully presenting herself in order to fit in. When her friend is accidentally shot by a police officer in front of her eyes, Starr is not […]
This magic novel about the invigorating and healing power of nature, friendship, childhood, isolation and rebirth follows 10-year-old Mary, a sour child of wealthy British parents living in India. When Mary’s parents suddenly die of cholera, she is sent to England to live with her uncle in the Yorkshire Moors. It is not long after […]
In this collection of illustrated poems, Dahl gives his own versions of fairy tales that could do with some dark humour. Ranging from Cinderella to The Three Little Pigs, all of them come with a dark twist.
Imagine entering the world only to realize you’re all alone. In this illustrated story a baby bird hatches out of its egg but its mother is nowhere to be found. On a quest to find her, the baby bird encounters many different animals, always leading to the question ‘Are you my mother?’.
An illustrated collection of opposites ranging from big and small to whisper and shout. Each set of opposites has its own representative animal, no extra words needed. Sandra Boynton’s range of illustrated children’s books include various topics that cover the building blocks of basic vocabulary. Whether it’s From Horns to Toes about different body parts […]
A story about the well-known cat with the striped hat and his companions Thing One and Thing Two. On a rainy day, the cat visits Sally and her brother. He wants to show them tricks and play but the siblings’ pet fish strongly objects. This book is wonderful for getting to know adjectives and simple […]
Buddy the bunny may have big ears but that doesn’t mean they work well. He has the unfortunate habit of misunderstanding everything. If someone asks him to get potatoes, he brings them tomatoes. This gets him in trouble when he has to help a grumpy bear cook soup. Full of helpful illustrations, this book combines […]
A children’s book series about a sentient, anthropomorphic school bus that takes a teacher and her class on unusual field trips to explain different scientific facts or phenomena. Destinations include outer space, the human body, the past and more. The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body provides a good entry point to the series. […]