children's & YA recommendations on the go
Uncle David and Simon are going to get married! There’s lots to do, from making the invitations to arranging the decorations, but when the wedding rings go missing just before the ceremony, Bear the dog has to use all of his special skills to help save the day! An engaging picture book and a heart-warming celebration of love, family, weddings and marriage equality.
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“Cleanly rendered illustrations show the family dutifully following orders while things go hilariously wrong. Roberts’s precise pencil and watercolor illustrations go beyond the entertaining premise to matter-of-factly portray a family at the intersection of a number of identities.” Horn Book
“The colourful illustrations are an absolute joy, and contain so many wonderful details, from stylish clothing to the fabulous facial expressions of the characters.” BookTrust
“Pencil and watercolor scenes by Roberts emphasize the increasing goofiness of the family’s repeated efforts to get their mess under control, and light rhymes by McGinty pair smartly with the amusing concept.” Publishers Weekly
“McGinty’s jaunty, rhyming text makes for a fun read-aloud, but Roberts’ brightly colored, energetic illustrations are the real attraction. The increasingly frantic family, with light to dark skin tones, doing silly tasks from a muddled list will incite giggles. The smart and sneaky puss wins the day.” KIRKUS
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This riotous romp of a picture book follows a frantic family as they try to get some chores done-with no help from the family cat, who keeps scrambling the list of chores with hilarious effects. Get ready for a rollicking read-aloud with a truly purrfect ending.
It’s cleaning day, but the family cat will do anything to avoid getting a bath. So instead of mopping the floor or feeding the fish, the family is soon busy rocking the rug, vacuuming the lawn, and sweeping the dishes. Bouncy rhyme carries the story headlong into the growing hilarity, until finally Dad restores some kind of order-but will the cat avoid getting his whiskers wet?
Dad and Papa are the heads of this large and loving biracial family, mirroring illustrator David Robert’s own orientation and providing picture book readers with a positive depiction of LGBTQ+ characters in a fun and funny family story.
Alice McGinty is a prolific author of books for children, and David Roberts is well-known for his work on the popular Questioneers series. Together, their upbeat text and energetic art with pops of neon color make for a standout picture book, just right for gifting and enjoying together at storytime.
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“The book’s tone is sharp and insightful but never judgmental, and the characters’ voices are distinctive and realistic. Moon offers up powerful and positive life lessons wrapped in an engaging, tender, and satisfying story.” Horn Book
“A moving and memorable glimpse into one endearing middle schooler’s life.” KIRKUS
Thirteen-year-old Eli likes baggy clothes, baseball caps, and one girl in particular. Her seventeen-year-old sister Anna is more traditionally feminine; she loves boys and staying out late. They are sisters, and they are also the only family each can count on. Their dad has long been out of the picture, and their mom lives at the mercy of her next drink. When their mom lands herself in enforced rehab, Anna and Eli are left to fend for themselves. With no legal guardian to keep them out of foster care, they take matters into their own hands: Anna masquerades as Aunt Lisa, and together she and Eli hoard whatever money they can find. But their plans begin to unravel as quickly as they were made, and they are always way too close to getting caught.
Eli and Anna have each become used to telling lies as a means of survival but, as they navigate a world without their mother, they must learn how to accept help and let other people in.
Read an interview between author and editor…
Arthur A. Levine founded Levine Querido in April 2019, after a 23-year tenure as the President and Publisher of Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic. He founded Arthur A. Levine Books in 1996, coming over from Knopf Books for Young Readers where he had been Editor in Chief.
“You know, when you live in a time of progress, it seems that progress is the only possible way. The idea that everything we’d gained, all of those hard-won rights, could be taken away from us, and that open minds could be closed again? But then the Outrage happened.”
Welcome to England, where the Protectorate enforces the Public Good. Here, there are rules for everything – what to eat, what to wear, what to do, what to say, what to read, what to think, who to obey, who to hate, who to love. Your safety is assured, so long as you follow the rules.
Gabriel is a natural born rule-breaker. And his biggest crime of all? Being gay. Gabriel knows his sexuality must be kept secret from all but his closest friends, not only to protect himself, but to protect his boyfriend. Because Eric isn’t just the boy who has stolen Gabriel’s heart. He’s the son of the chief inspector at Degenerate Investigations – the man who poses the single biggest threat to Gabriel’s life. And the Protectorate are experts at exposing secrets.
“An adorable diary of love’s gut punches.” KIRKUS on Heartstopper1
““The thing I really love most about making comics is being able to express emotions in a story without having to use any words. My favourite scenes in Heartstopper are the ones where there is no dialogue, you completely understand how everyone is feeling just from the images.” Alice Oseman in The Bookseller
The bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between.
Charlie didn’t think Nick could ever like him back, but now they’re officially boyfriends. Charlie’s beginning to feel ready to say those three little words:I love you. Nick’s been feeling the same, but he’s got a lot on his mind – not least coming out to his dad, and the fact that Charlie might have an eating disorder. As summer turns to autumn and a new school year begins, Charlie and Nick are about to learn a lot about what love means.
Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger.
“Each conflict is resolved authentically and naturally, moving the story along at the perfect speed. The scenes between Flávia and Nishat simmer, and their mesmerizing relationship unfolds with just the right amount of complexity. Most satisfyingly, each character gets the ending she deserves. Impossible to put down.” KIRKUS
A heart-warming, queer YA love story.
Nishat and Flavia are rivals at school, but Nishat can’t help the secret crush burning in her heart – even though her parents disapprove of the fact she likes girls. When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants – as long as she isn’t herself. Because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. Nishat doesn’t want to lose her family, but she also doesn’t want to hide who she is, which only gets harder once Flavia walks into her life. Beautiful and charismatic, Flavia takes Nishat’s breath away. But as their lives become tangled, they’re caught up in a rivalry that gets in the way of any feelings they might have for each other.
A new voice in young adult fiction, Adiba Jaigirdar was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and moved to Dublin, Ireland from the age of ten. She has a BA in English and History from University College Dublin, and an MA in Postcolonial Studies from the University of Kent.
The Henna Wars was f.p. hardback June 2020.
Follow the author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dibs_j/
The author’s next book Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating is out in May (2021)
