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Teaching children Values through stories and texts.

The Values Bookshelf

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It's My Pond by Claire Garralon

3 min

It's My Pond by Claire Garralon

Values: Equality, Compassion and Respect. This gorgeous book is perfect for little ones – nursery upwards. I would use it right up to Year 3 or 4 though, so there is plenty of opportunity to get a lot of use out of it! The book has been translated from French by Sarah Ardizzone and is published by Book Island who are based in Bristol. The book is simple in colours, shapes and words but so powerful in its message! The story begins by a pond with a duck. When another duck appea

The Fate of Fausto by Oliver Jeffers

3 min

The Fate of Fausto by Oliver Jeffers

Values: Compassion, Respect, Honesty and Sustainability. This painted, contemporary fable is currently on The UKLA's Age 3-6 Longlist for 2021 and was also on the Kate Greenaway Longlist for 2021. It is no surprise! The way Oliver Jeffers has used traditional lithography really brings the story to life and, to me, this form of painting seems to work particularly well to depict the sea. This is the story of Fausto. Fausto believes he owns everything - from the flowers to the s

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

6 min

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Values: Resilience, Hope, Community and Compassion. Front Desk by Kelly Yang is one of the most powerful and gripping books I have ever read - not to be underestimated as a book for children, this is one for adults too. It has sky-rocketed straight into my top five books! I will definitely return to it too, as I feel it is a book you may read differently the second time. The protagonist is a girl named Mia Tang who, as the back cover says, has lots of secrets: she lives in mo

The Garden of Inside-Outside by Chiara Mezzalama

3 min

The Garden of Inside-Outside by Chiara Mezzalama

Values: Peace, Happiness and Compassion. This junior graphic novel is a stunning tale about friendship, confinement and inner beauty. The author, Chiara Mezzalama, has based this story on her own childhood when, in 1981, her family moved to Iran after her father became the Italian ambassador there. Chiara tells of the war-torn city of Tehran and also the stark contrast of the walled palace and gardens where she and her family live. Descriptions of pomegranate trees, an ancien

The Phone Booth in Mr Hirota's Garden by Heather Smith

4 min

The Phone Booth in Mr Hirota's Garden by Heather Smith

Values: Empathy, Compassion, Community, Courage. This book holds a special place for me, as I have just finished writing an essay on how it explores grief and healing for one of my MA modules. I have studied it and studied it over two months and still love it just as much as when I first read it. I think that in itself speaks volumes! The book is set in Japan just before, and in the aftermath of, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused over 18,000 people to lose their liv

Queer Heroes by Arabelle Sicardi

3 min

Queer Heroes by Arabelle Sicardi

Values: Kindness, Love, Respect, Compassion, Equality, Integrity, Pride... and so many more! Queer Heroes is a collection of 53 inspirational queer heroes which was published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. It is a bright, bold and interesting read for children and adults alike. In the introduction to this book, Arabelle Sicardi writes that she grew up scouring books to try and find people 'like me' especially when she felt confused, isolated and

Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour

3 min

Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour

Values: Friendship, Hope and Compassion. I admit that I fell in love with this picture book the first time I read it. It was short listed for the UKLA Book Awards for 2020, and rightly so. The words and images work beautifully together to tell the tale of a little girl living in what the reader can assume is a refugee camp (although this is never explicitly confirmed): it is named 'The World of Tents'. Lubna arrives at the camp with her father. We see none of the rest of her

Tibble and Grandpa by Wendy Meddour

4 min

Tibble and Grandpa by Wendy Meddour

Values: Love, Compassion, Empathy, Consideration and Hope. Tibble and Grandpa is on the UKLA longlist for the 3-6 category for 2021... and I think it will end up on the shortlist too! As soon as I started reading, I knew I had something special in my hands. In this emotive book, Tibble is worried about Grandpa who is very quiet and isn't speaking much. Tibble tries different strategies to get through to Grandpa, and manages to engage him in a game of ' What are your top three

Maia And What Matters by Tine Mortier.

3 min

Maia And What Matters by Tine Mortier.

Values: Love, Empathy, Compassion and Patience. This picturebook is striking and unique. It's artwork is what captured my attention - is is mature, layered and collaged compared to a lot of other picturebooks. This book, published by Book Island, has been translated from Dutch funded by a kick starter. Maia is a little girl who is impatient, curious and impulsive - just like her beloved grandmother, who is her best friend. The two share many interests and personality traits,

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

4 min

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Values: Love, Kindness, Compassion, Patience, Hope and Empathy. This is the first graphic novel I have featured on my blog and as soon as I opened it, I was hooked. It made me wish I am currently teaching UKS2 (Years 5 and 6) as I would LOVE to explore this book with a class. Released this year, it is the true story of Omar Mohamed and his brother, Hassan, as they grew up in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya having fled rural Somalia. After witnessing his father's death and being

Mum's Jumper by Jayde Perkin

3 min

Mum's Jumper by Jayde Perkin

Values: Love, Kindness, Compassion and Hope. Having had two children in my classes over the last few years who have lost a parent, I would have loved to have had a book like this to hand. Jayde Perkin has created a compassionate and heartfelt picturebook that deals with the loss of a parent. Mum's Jumper is a book about the emotions and journey through grief that can come after bereavement. It talks of leaving hospital after losing Mum, the funeral and the weeks and months af

The Journey by Francesca Sanna

3 min

The Journey by Francesca Sanna

Values: Compassion, Empathy, Love, Hope, Kindness, Determination, and Trust. If you are a primary teacher or parent/carer of a primary-aged child and you do not have this on your bookshelf, you are really missing out. It is a sensitive and powerful picture book depicting the journey that refugees embark upon once they decide to leave home. Francesca Sanna was inspired to write this book after meeting two refugee girls who told her their story. She then went on to talk to more

The Boy At The Back Of The Class by Onjali Rauf

3 min

The Boy At The Back Of The Class by Onjali Rauf

Values: Empathy, Friendship, Kindness, Acceptance, Inclusivity... and lots more! This modern book was the winner of both the Blue Peter Book Award in 2019, and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize also in 2019. It has received lots of praise and I couldn't wait to read it! Onjali Rauf has worked supplying emergency aid to refugees at Calais and Dunkirk, and this story has been inspired by some of the people she met. She has gone on to set up the NGO, Making Herstory - a char

The Happy Newspaper by Emily Coxhead

3 min

The Happy Newspaper by Emily Coxhead

Values: Positivity, Hope, Kindness, Compassion, Strength and Empathy. I have been patiently waiting to do this blog post since last week as I wanted to feature the latest edition. It dropped through my letter box yesterday and I spent a happy hour looking at all the positive news from the last three months. Emily Coxhead began writing and publishing The Happy Newspaper 'to celebrate all that's good in the world' and it most certainly does that. I have had my subscription for

Young, Gifted and Black by Jamia Wilson

3 min

Young, Gifted and Black by Jamia Wilson

Values: Hope, Equality, Respect, Confidence, Integrity and Compassion. This non-fiction book celebrates over fifty Black iconic men and women and should be a staple in all schools. It is beautifully illustrated and easy to navigate. Furthermore, it has an excellent range of heroes represented to inspire children and young people today. Figures from Harriet Tubman to Barack Obama to Beyonce to Zadie Smith to Usain Bolt to Kofi Annan are celebrated in this empowering book. I re

Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival

3 min

Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival

Values: Inclusion, Acceptance, Compassion, Kindness and Peace. Perfectly Norman is one of Tom Percival's books that I love. I have previously reviewed Ravi's Roar in terms of Values teaching and I love this one just as much. Perfectly Norman is a crowd pleaser. You can read it to your own children as a story at home, or to a class or even whole-school assembly. I believe it is accessible for children up to Year 6. In this story, Norman has always been "perfectly normal". Unti

The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad

2 min

The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Values: Pride, Respect, Compassion, Empathy and Equality. Ibtihaj Muhammad is a fencer and the first Muslim American woman in hijab to compete for the United States at the Olympic Games. She has used her voice and her platform to write this emotive book empowering young girls and women wearing hijab. I think it's a book every primary school should own whether or not they have a Muslim community at their school. The book follows two sisters going to school. The older sister, A

Grandad's Island by Benji Davies

2 min

Grandad's Island by Benji Davies

Values: Love, Compassion, Trust, Friendship, Kindness and Integrity. Grandad's Island is a book oozing with love between Syd and his Grandad. It is a story of adventure, happiness and hope. Syd and his Grandad embark upon a journey to an exotic desert island and have all sorts of fun together. Grandad then tells Syd he won't be returning home and Syd has to return by himself. It is a story of love and loss in the most sensitive and powerful of ways. Benji Davies tells the tal

Welcome To Our World by Moira Butterfield

2 min

Welcome To Our World by Moira Butterfield

Values: Community, Equality, Inclusion, Respect, Compassion, Pride and Confidence. Welcome to our World is one of the most popular books in my classroom. It has had children right up to Year 6 engrossed and on the waiting list to borrow it from my class library! This non-fiction book is a celebration of children's lives around the world. It includes information on cultural clothing, greetings, breakfasts, party games, typical school days, birthday cakes and cures for hiccups

The Silence Seeker by Ben Morley

2 min

The Silence Seeker by Ben Morley

Values: Empathy, Friendship, Kindness, Respect, Compassion, Patience. The Silence Seeker is a book crammed with Values based teaching and messages from start to finish. The illustrations would be at home in a graphic-novel type of book, and this appeals to older children. I have studied this book with both Year 5s and Years 6s and all of them enjoyed it. A new family move in next door to Joe and his mum explains that they are asylum-seekers who have travelled a long way. She