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Teaching children Values through stories and texts.

The Values Bookshelf

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My Nana’s Garden by Dawn Casey

3 min

My Nana’s Garden by Dawn Casey

Values: Love, Joy and Kindness. This book was on the Kate Greenaway longlist for 2021 and rightly-so as Jessica Courtney-Tickle’s illustrations have created a visually stunning masterpiece. The colourful pages perfectly accompany Dawn Casey’s rhyming, gentle language that guide you through this book. This is a book that follows generations of a family (specifically the women and girls) as a garden grows and changes over the years. In the beginning, there is Nana and her grand

How The Stars Came To Be by Poonam Mistry

3 min

How The Stars Came To Be by Poonam Mistry

Values: Love, Kindness and Patience. Poonam Mistry is such a talented author and illustrator. With my Key Worker bubble of Year 3 and 4 children in the summer term of 2020, we studied You’re Snug With Me (illustrated by Mistry) and the children were blown away by the visuals. Therefore, when I saw How The Stars Came To Be on The Kate Greenaway shortlist for 2021, I knew I needed to get a copy. Mistry loves folklore tales and stories of Hindu gods and goddesses, and you can se

The Boy & The Bindi by Vivek Shraya

3 min

The Boy & The Bindi by Vivek Shraya

Values: Happiness, Joy, Love and Confidence. The Boy & The Bindi is a lovely rhyming picturebook about a little boy who wants to know more about his mother’s bindi and wants one too! It is a great way of understanding more about Hindu or Jain (or in some cases, Buddhist) culture from a child’s perspective and celebrates diversity in the best way possible. It is my understanding that usually married women and babies wear a bindi, but in this story when the little boy asks to w

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

4 min

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

Values: Hope, Love, Courage, Resilience, Compassion, Community, Perseverance, Respect, Self-Belief... Illegal is a graphic novel telling the plight of brothers, Ebo and Kwame, as they leave their home in Niger and head across Africa and the Mediterranean with the hope of reaching Europe, their sister and a better life. It mirrors the journey taken by millions of people every year. Some are refugees fleeing war and conflict; others are hoping to find work and family. For all o

Voyage of the Sparrowhawk by Natasha Farrant

3 min

Voyage of the Sparrowhawk by Natasha Farrant

Values: Love, Hope, Determination, Courage. It has to be firstly said that this book blew me away and I devoured it in a day or two. I was lucky enough to be gifted it as a Secret Santa present from Reading Rocks and I was thrilled to receive it! Since receiving it, this book has won the Costa Book Award 2020 prize, and I am not surprised at all. It is perfect for UKS2 – adventurous, gripping and a glimpse into life for children about a century ago. Set in 1919, the story fol

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

The Girl with Two Dads by Mel Elliott

3 min

The Girl with Two Dads by Mel Elliott

Values: Love, Friendship, Respect. This picturebook is simple and heart-warming. It tells the story of two friends - Pearl and Matilda - who love all the same things from jumping in muddy puddles to climbing trees. One day, Pearl sees Matilda being dropped off at school by her dad, but it isn't the same dad that dropped her off the day before! When she asks Matilda, she learns that Matilda has two dads instead of a dad and a mum. Pearl is very excited about this as her dad is

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

Your Name Is A Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

3 min

Your Name Is A Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

Values: Pride, Self-Belief, Love, Respect and Inclusion. This unique story tells the tale of a little girl who does not want to go to school because nobody, including her teacher, can pronounce her name. Her mother encourages her to tell everyone that names are songs and they have rhythm and beauty in them. The mother shows her how to sing and dance to her name, to proudly show the world how to pronounce it. As the book progresses, we see a whole range of children's names fro

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

Starbird by Sharon King-Chai

3 min

Starbird by Sharon King-Chai

Values: Love, Friendship, Empathy, Happiness, Integrity. Wow! This is a stunning picture book that I cannot imagine any child being able to resist. It is visually and linguistically appealing and has a strong story-line too. The illustrations pop and the Starbird himself glimmers with silver as you turn each page. The book is written in the style of a folktale (yet is very contemporary and accessible) and tells of the magical Starbird whose song weaves the most beautiful drea

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy

3 min

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Values: Love, Kindness and Courage (and many more!) I think this could possibly by THE most Values-based book that has graced, and will grace, this blog. If you haven't heard of it or seen Charlie Mackesy's illustrations in this past year, you may have been living under a rock! This beautiful book is about four characters, as suggested by the title. There isn't a plot so to speak but the characters talk to each other and give advice. Charlie wrote and sketched all of the hand

The Girl Who Stole An Elephant by Nizrana Farook

3 min

The Girl Who Stole An Elephant by Nizrana Farook

Values: Trust, Respect, Friendship, Love, Empathy, Responsibility. I had been excited to read this book ever since I found out about it. Firstly, because I love an adventure book and find children are almost always invested in knowing how the adventure concludes; and secondly, because I lived and taught English in Sri Lanka and will always have a soft spot for the beautiful country and its generous people. In this adventure, Chaya is our fiesty heroine and the story begins wi

My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart

3 min

My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart

Values: Acceptance, Pride, Love, Kindness, Positivity and Confidence. This stunning book follows nicely on from my last review (You Are Perfectly Designed) with the same theme of acceptance. It is a powerful take on breaking down gender stereotypes for young children. In this story, the little boy has a shadow. His shadow is not like other boys' shadows as it likes to twirl, dance and wear pink. It doesn't look anything like his dad's shadow which is blue and strong; his dad

I Am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown

2 min

I Am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown

Values: Love, Equality, Pride, Self-Belief, Trust and Respect. This new book (published 2019) tells of the conversations between a father and son. When I first opened the book, and saw the dedication I knew it would be great book for the Values bookshelves either for families or for schools, "This book is dedicated to every child and adult who has ever felt different or not good enough. You can have the life you want and deserve because you have the tools to attain it. You ar

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling

3 min

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling

Values: Friendship, Love, Determination and Courage. There isn't a teacher or parent in the land who hasn't heard of Harry Potter, or got their own thoughts about whether this is a book for primary school aged children. If you know me, you know I love Harry Potter and have done since my dad read the first book to me and my brother as a bedtime story when I was in Year 5. It was shortly after it was first published and my dad had heard it being discussed on the radio. I haven'

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