Love Letters to the Dead follows Laurel on her journey of coming of age and grief. The novel’s journey begins with a simple task in her English class where her teacher asks her to write a letter to any dead person of her choosing. Laurel dedicates her first letter to Kurt Cobain telling him about […]

This book can give children a wonderful insight into the lives of other children across the globe. The daily lives and activities of seven different children are highlighted, from countries like Japan, Peru, and Uganda. Getting a glimpse into the lives of others can help us understand differences but also, that at the end of […]

This heartwarming story shows the beauty of non-traditional families and can help introduce this topic to young readers. The Central Park Zoo houses all kinds of animals, the penguins being among the ones that love living in pairs. Roy and Silo, two male penguins, are in love and desperately want a little penguin of their […]

When Donovan tells his mom about the adventure novel they’re reading at school, her reaction comes as a surprise. So what if the two boys in the story talk about loving each other? However, this kickstarts an attempt to ban the assigned book The Adventurers due to “mature” and “inappropriate” content. This storyline is intertwined […]

This young-adult book focuses on child abuse, parental neglect, social stratification, and friendship and is structured as diary entries of the two girls Treasure and India.Young Treasure lives with her mother and her abusive stepfather Terry who one day hits her with his belt and scars her forehead. Upon this incident, Treasure’s grandmother takes her […]

This wonderfully illustrated book is all about the beauty of helping others. George the giant just got a brand new outfit that finally makes him feel good about himself again. But what makes him feel even better is helping out others. So when he gives all of his new clothes away to different animals, he […]

This is a small children’s book with three short stories concerning daily situations worth thinking about more deeply. The first is about William who is teased by his classmates with the nickname ‘darling’ his father likes to call him. When he has to move on to the next school, he is worried his father will […]

Robots is an animated science fiction comedy about material values, consumerism, and perseverance. Young robot Rodney Copperbotton follows his dream to become an inventor and leaves his home for the big city to meet his idol Bigweld whose company hires inventors and provides robots with spare parts. Upon arriving, however, Rodney learns that Bigweld has […]

Simon and Annika miss their Grandma, who lives in the US, a lot. But distance can be overcome in many ways! And so, the siblings write a letter and send it off in a red envelope. This piece of paper travels halfway across the world, all to show Grandma her grandchildren love and miss her. […]

“Well that is Planet Earth. Make sure you look after it, as it’s all we’ve got.” This beautifully illustrated book presents Earth as something precious that needs to be protected by all generations. The story shows both the beauty of the world as well as its problems while staying optimistic, for: “Though we have come […]

This humorous story of two fox cubs is the perfect introduction to graphic novels for younger readers. Nancy and Ted, two young foxes, have always lived in the Big City. However, they are driven away by the terrifying street cat Princess Buttons. They seek refuge in the countryside, but Grimwood isn’t as peaceful and quaint […]

“This is how I speak. Even the river stutters. Like I do.” This beautifully illustrated children’s book tells the story of a young boy finding his voice. Struggling with stuttering, he feels uncomfortable speaking in front of the class. He finds comfort in driving out to the river with his father, where he’s told that […]

“Yes, that day they both learned that, no matter your size, we all have a mouse and a lion inside.” In this adorably illustrated children’s book, a mouse sets out on a mission to learn how to roar. He’s tired of being ignored by other animals and is convinced that, if he could only roar […]

This illustrated coming-of-age book series is about politeness and friendship. An anthropomorphised bear from Peru is found at Paddington station and taken in by the Brown family. Because his Peruvian name is too hard to pronounce, he is named after the place he was found. Paddington has a liking for marmalade and always carries a […]

A children’s book about friendship, individualism, and the difference between luxury and simple values. Corduroy is a teddy bear in a department store waiting to be sold. He is discovered by a young girl whose mother, however, refuses to buy the beer who is even missing a button. Hearing this, Corduroy sets out to find […]

This heart-warming picture book on being different, feeling isolated and finally finding friends and acceptance follows a bear who always wanted to be a rabbit. Born as a bear but identifying as a bunny, Bunnybear experiences peer pressure from the other bears, who tell him to stop hopping around and twitching his nose as rabbits […]

This heart-warming picture book for children about queer identities, belonging, empathy and acceptance follows a rabbit called Herbert, who identifies as a fox. Herbert loves everything about foxes, so he eventually wants to become one. First, his mum is not quite happy with her son cross-dressing as a fox, but then she accepts that Herbert […]

Mad Libs is a game that shows how a simple concept can lead to endless possibilities. Each page of a Mad Libs booklet offers a new story in the shape of a “fill in the blanks” text. Behind each gap, you’re told what kind of a word is supposed to fill it: an adverb, a […]