Early Years
We're Going to Find a Monster by Malorie Blackman, Illustrated by Dapo Adeaola.
Join two intrepid adventurers as their imaginations transform their house into a wild wonderland - and their big brother becomes a mighty monster. A joy to read-aloud with its cumulative refrain, and full of funny, relatable characters, this is a contemporary celebration of creativity, fantasy and family.
The Rapping Princess by Hannah Lee, illustrated by Allen Fatimaharan.
The tale of a princess named Shiloh. She lived in a kingdom, not far from yours, in a grand house with a swimming pool and fourteen floors. I know that sounds too big but here's the thing: her mother and father were the Queen and King.
The Missing Piece, by Jordan Stephens.
Sunny loves jigsaw puzzles - the bigger the better. When she completes one, she gets a warm, happy honeybee buzz. One day, her Gran gives her a ONE-THOUSAND-PIECE puzzle. Piece after piece, all by herself, she puts together the picture, until DISASTER! The final piece is missing. Sunny may be small, but she is very determined - so she sets off to find it.
A Grand Place, by Leighan Renaud and Elizabeth Lander.
While Zora waits for Grandma to return, she explores what it means to have a home away from home. This nostalgic love letter to Grenada is a joyful celebration of Caribbean culture and all the forms it has taken over generations. Join Zora on her journey through this heart-warming tale of love, family and home.
Zazi Finds Plantain, by Ogaga Emuveyan and Asma Mohamed.
Zazi heads out to the market with dad in search for plantain. Will they find it before dinner? This vibrant picture book is a visual representation of how food brings people together. Join Zazi in her search for plantain and you just might end up getting more than you bargained for!
Fruits, by Valerie Bloom.
How much fruit do you think one small girl can manage to eat in one day? In the case of the narrator of this counting poem, the answer is a lot! Count from one to ten and learn the names of some Caribbean fruits, and find out what happens after eating a cocktail of mangoes, bananas and more.
Too Small Tola and Three Fine Girls, by Atinuke and Oninye Iwu.
Too Small Tola is just the right size to fit under the bed and rescue Grandmummy's most prized possession when it goes missing. Her abilities in maths prove to be very helpful when Grandmummy becomes ill. In the title story, though Grandmummy can't afford to buy Tola new clothes, Tola turns out to be just as fine as the three fine girls she so greatly admires.
Daddy do my Hair, by Tolá Okogwu and Chante Timothy.
It’s the evening before School Picture Day and Beth would like a brand new hairdo! Join Daddy and Beth on a wonderful hair adventure in this heart-warming depiction of the quality time spent between parent and child.
Luna Loves Library Day, by Joseph Coelho.
Every week Luna looks forward to one special day: the day when she discovers magic among the library shelves; the day she gets to spend with her dad. Exploring the books, Luna and her dad find magic, mystery and even start to mend their own history.
Granny Came Here on the Empire Windrush, by Patrice Lawrence.
One day, Ava is asked to dress as an inspirational figure for assembly at school, but who should she choose? Granny suggests famous familiar figures such as Winifred Atwell, Mary Seacole and Rosa Parks, and tells Ava all about their fascinating histories, but Ava’s classmates have got there first – and she must choose someone else. But who?
Nature Trail by Benjamin Zephaniah and Nila Aye.
This joyful celebration of nature reminds us all to take a closer look at the world around us, and enjoy the wonder of nature wherever we find it. Packed with animals and minibeasts galore, this imaginative rhyming text is perfect for reading aloud.
So Much, by Trish Cooke and Helen Oxenbury.
Mum and baby are home alone when – DING DONG! – Auntie and then Uncle and Nannie and Gran-Gran and the cousins come to visit. And they all want to hug and kiss and squeeze and eat the baby right up ... because everybody loves the baby SO MUCH!
5-8 Years
My Beautiful Voice by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Allison Colpoys.
A moving, lyrical picture book about a shy child unlocking the power of their own voice through poetry, with the helping hand of an extra special teacher.
If You Read This, by Kereen Getten.
When Brie was younger, her mama used to surprise her with treasure hunts around their island town. After she died three years ago, these became Brie’s most cherished memories.
Now, on her twelfth birthday, her mama has another surprise: a series of letters leading Brie on one last treasure hunt.
The Boy with Wings, by Lenny Henry.
When Tunde sprouts wings and learns he’s all that stands between Earth and total destruction, suddenly school is the least of his problems. Luckily, his rag-tag group of pals have got his back, and with his new powers, Tunde is ready to fly in the face of danger.
Clean up! By Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeaola.
Join Rocket as she sets sail on a brand new mission - to save a Caribbean island from plastic pollution! When Rocket goes on holiday to visit her grandparents, she's shocked by the pollution that's spoiling their island home and putting the local sea life at risk.
In Our Hands, by Lucy Farfort.
When the world is plagued with isolation and cursed to live without colour' it is up to a group of determined children to grow a seed of hope that will inspire everyone to come together and build a better future.
Marv and the Mega Robot, by Alex Falase-Koya.
Marvin is an ordinary boy who loves spending time with Grandpa, reading comics, and making science experiments with his best friend Joe. But everything changes when he discovers a mysterious superhero suit hidden in the attic . . . to his amazement, Marvin learns that he is next in a long line of superheroes. Now the time has come to meet his destiny!
The Marvelous Granny Jinks and Me, by Serena Holly.
When Jada Jinks finds a box of magic tricks in her granny’s flat, she uncovers her granny’s SECRET dream of becoming a magician. Jada soon decides that she’s going to help Granny Jinks fulfil her dreams, but one thing stands in her way – her dad, Jonny Jinks, who hates magic! Will Jada be able to help Granny Jinks pass the auditions for Dalton Green Magic Society, and will she learn some tricks of her own along the way?
9-12 Years
Onyeka and the Empire of the Sun, by Tolá Okogwu.
Black Panther meets Percy Jackson in this action-packed and empowering middle-grade superhero series about a British-Nigerian girl who learns that her Afro hair has psychokinetic powers. Soon to be a feature film with a major streamer!
The Good Turn, by Sharna Jackson.
Looking for more challenging tasks, Josie enlists her friends Wesley and Margot into her very own Scout troop, the Copseys, named after the street they all live on. That night they stumble across something strange. Someone seems to be living in the derelict building! The Copseys have to solve the mystery... and perhaps earn their bravery and activism badges along the way...
The Breakfast Club Adventures by Marcus Rashford and Alex Falase-Koya.
When twelve-year-old Marcus kicks his favourite football over the school fence, he knows he's never getting it back. Nothing that goes over that wall ever comes back. But when Marcus gets a mysterious note inviting him to join the Breakfast Club Investigators, he is soon pulled into an exciting adventure with his new mates Stacey, Lise and Asim to solve the mystery and get his football back!
Coming to England, by Floella Benjamin.
Floella Benjamin was just a young girl when she, her sister and two brothers arrived in England in 1960 to join their parents, whom they had not seen for fifteen months. They had left their island home of Trinidad to make a new life in London – part of a whole generation of West Indians who were encouraged to move to Britain and help rebuild the country after the Second World War.
The Infinite, by Patience Agbabi.
Leaplings, children born on the 29th of February, are very rare. Rarer still are Leaplings with The Gift – the ability to leap through time. Elle Bíbi-Imbelé Ifíè has The Gift, but she’s never used it. Until now. On her twelfth birthday, Elle and her best friend Big Ben travel to the Time Squad Centre in 2048. Elle has received a mysterious warning from the future. Other Leaplings are disappearing in time – and not everyone at the centre can be trusted.
African and Caribbean Folktales, Myth and Legends, by Wendy Shearer.
A rich collection of folktales, myths and legends from all over Africa and the Caribbean, re-told for young readers. From the trickster tales of Anansi the spider, to the story of how the leopard got his spots; from the tale of the king who wanted to touch the moon, to Aunt Misery’s magical starfruit tree. This book includes traditional favourites and classic folktales and mythology.
Mia and the Lightcasters, by Janelle McCurdy.
Mia always dreamed of being an umbra tamer until she met the wild creature on the Nightmare Plains. Since that day, she prefers to stay safe within the walls of Nubis. Safe, that is, until a surprise attack. With her parents captured, Mia's only hope is to travel to the City of Light to find help.
Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow, by Benjamin Dean.
Things aren't going great for Archie Albright. His dad's acting weird, his mum too, and he all he wants is for everything to go back to normal, to three months before when his parents were happy and still lived together. When Archie sees a colourful, crumpled flyer fall out of Dad's pocket, he thinks he may have found the answer. Only problem? The answer might just lie at the end of the rainbow, an adventure away.
When Life Gives you Mangoes, by Kareen Getten.
Nothing much happens in Sycamore, the small village where Clara lives - at least, that's how it looks. She loves eating ripe mangoes fallen from trees, running outside in the rainy season and escaping to her secret hideout with her best friend Gaynah. There's only one problem - she can't remember anything that happened last summer.
The Lightning Catcher, by Clare Weze.
Alfie has noticed a few things since his family moved to Folding Ford. He really misses life in the city. He and his sister don't exactly fit in here. But the most interesting one is that the weather is BONKERS. One frost-covered branch on one tree in the middle of June? A tiny whirlwind in a bucket in the garden? Only in Folding Ford.
You Can Do It, by Marcus Rashford and Carl Anka.
Marcus uses the power of his voice to shine a light on the injustices that he cares passionately about, and now he wants to help YOU find the power in yours! From surrounding yourself with the right team, to showing kindness to those around you, to celebrating and championing difference, You Can Do It shows you that your voice really does matter and that you can do anything you put your mind to. You don't have to be an International footballer to make a difference – even the smallest changes can have the biggest impact.
Mic Drop, by Sharna Jackson.
There’s been another murder on The Tri, and the block’s best detective due are on the case: Nik and Norva are back in the second instalment of Sharna Jackson’s bestselling contemporary detective series for kids. It’s October half term, and up-and-coming popstar TrojKat returns to The Tri, where she grew up and her parents still live, to film a music video for her next big hit.
13+ Years
The Black Flamingo, by Dean Atta.
Big hearted and dizzyingly flamboyant, Atta’s verse novel about a black gay teen reclaiming his identity as a drag artist is an outspoken triumph from the opening couplet to the last.
Becoming Dinah, by Kit de Waal.
Seventeen-year-old Dinah needs to leave her home, the weird commune where she grew up. She needs a whole new identity, starting with how she looks, starting with shaving off her hair, her 'crowning glory'. She has to do it quickly, because she has to go now.
Oh My Gods, by Alexandra Sheppard.
Life as a half-mortal teenager should be epic. But, for Helen Thomas, it’s tragic. She’s just moved in with her dorky dad and self-absorbed older siblings – who just happen to be Greek gods, living incognito in London!
The Dark Lady, by Akala.
Henry is an orphan, an outsider, a thief. He is also a fifteen-year-old invested with magical powers …
Rapunzella, or, Don't Touch my Hair, by Ella McLeod.
Rapunzella is imprisoned in an enchanted forest made of her own Afro and the might of the evil King Charming seems unstoppable. But is it? Can Rapunzella use her power to change the future? You’re fifteen, you spend your time at school and at Val’s hair salon with Baker, Val’s son, who has eyes that are like falling off a cliff into space. The salon is a space of safety, but also of possibility and dreams… Dreams of hair so rich and alive that it grow upwards and outwards into a wild landscape, becomes trees and leaves, and houses birds and butterflies and all the secret creatures that belong in such a forest. Is there a future where such possibility and power is more than just a dream?
Black and British, by David Olusoga.
When did Africans first come to Britain? Who are the well-dressed black children in Georgian paintings? Why did the American Civil War disrupt the Industrial Revolution? These and many other questions are answered in this essential introduction to 1800 years of the Black British history: from the Roman Africans who guarded Hadrian’s Wall right up to the present day.
Cuts Both Ways, by Candice Brathwaite.
London is everything to Cynthia, so when her parents move her to a place where there is only one bus an hour and the faint smell of horse manure continuously permeates the air, it’s a culture shock, to say the least. As is transitioning to a private school. At her new school, Cynthia immediately finds herself caught between two brothers – head boy Thomas, who is white, and his adopted Black brother, Isaac. There is something about Isaac she cannot quite get enough of … but her father wants her to partner up with someone like Thomas, someone who will be ‘better for her future prospects’. When it turns out the brothers have been keeping secrets from her, secrets that link back to the life Cynthia thought she had left behind in London, she realises that not everything is as it seems.
The King is Dead, by Benjamin Dean.
James has been a prince all his life, and since he was born, he’s been thrust into the spotlight as the first Black heir to the throne. But when his father dies unexpectedly, James is crowned king at the tender age of seventeen, and his life irrevocably changes. When James’ boyfriend suddenly goes missing, threatening envelopes appear in the palace, and gossip and scandals that only he knows are leaked to the public. As the anonymous informant continues to expose every last skeleton in the royal closet, James realises even those in his inner circle can’t be trusted.
Only on the Weekends, by Dean Atta.
Fifteen-year-old Mack is a hopeless romantic – he blames the films he’s grown up watching. He has liked Karim for as long as he can remember, and is ecstatic when Karim becomes his boyfriend – it feels like love. But when Mack’s dad gets a job on a film in Scotland, Mack has to move, and soon he discovers how painful love can be. It’s horrible being so far away from Karim, but the worst part is that Karim doesn’t make the effort to visit. Love shouldn’t be only on the weekends. Then, when Mack meets actor Finlay on a film set, he experiences something powerful, a feeling like love at first sight. How long until he tells Karim – and when will his old life and new life collide?
Being Amani, by Annabelle Steele.
It's been over a year since that night and Amani hopes that starting all over again will help her move on from the past. So, when she moves to a new city, Amani wants to focus on her new life, her best friends and the boy she's been crushing on but everything is falling apart and Amani finds herself looking for happiness in all the wrong places. Can Amani confront the ghosts of her pasts so she can become the girl she's always wanted to be?
When our Worlds Collided, by Danielle Jawando.
When fourteen-year-old Shaq is stabbed outside of a busy shopping centre in Manchester, three teenagers from very different walks of life are unexpectedly brought together. What follows flips their worlds upside down and makes Chantelle, Jackson, and Marc question the deep-rooted prejudice and racism that exists within the police, the media, and the rest of society.
The Upper World, by Femi Fadugba.
After suffering a knock to the head, 15-year-old Esso experiences a chilling vision: that night he will witness the violent deaths of everyone he knows. He writes off the out-of-body experience as a strange dream - until a series of frightening coincidences prove that the vision is just hours away from coming true. There is only one person who can help him rewrite the future. The trouble is, she hasn't been born yet . . .
Witches Steeped in Gold, by Ciannon Smart.
Iraya Adair has spent her life in a cell. Heir of an overthrown and magically-gifted dynasty, she was exiled from her home on the island nation of Aiyca when she was just a child. But every day brings her closer to freedom - and vengeance. Jazmyne Cariot grew up dressed in gold, with stolen magic at her fingertips. Daughter of the self-crowned doyenne, her existence is a threat to her mother's rule. But unlike her sister, Jazmyne has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother's power. Sworn enemies, the two witches enter a deadly alliance to take down the woman who threatens both their worlds. But revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain - except the lengths Iraya and Jazmyne will go to win this game. Two witches. One motive. And a very untrustworthy alliance.
