Writer in Residence

This heartfelt, profound book by award-winning picture book makers Tom Percival and Richard Jones is a subtle and beautiful reminder to all of us that using our voices to stand up for what we believe in is important, both for the collective, but for the individual too.

Will and his dad don’t have much, and when there’s the chance to make easy money, Will must make a difficult decision. Moving and gritty, this is a fantastic read. 

When Finn tells a fib about breaking Grandma’s clock, it leads to more and more fibs. How can he tell the truth? Reassuring, kind and sensitive, this is a lovely book, beautifully illustrated.

When Isabel’s family moves to a new neighbourhood, everything is strange and different. Isabel feels like people look right through her – that is, until she starts to notice the other invisible people trying to make the world a better place.

Norman has always been normal, perfectly normal… So he is very surprised to have wings suddenly one day! This is a sweet and truly uplifting story that celebrates diversity in a subtle but unique way.

A picture book about how grumpy Daniel starts to notice the sweet things in life and improves his mood. 

When new boy Anansi arrives in Tale Town, everyone welcomes him to his new home, except for Jack. Missing a parent and feeling unease about a new friend are handled in an interesting, engaging way that doesn’t push the moral.

Ruby loves being Ruby. Until, one day, she finds a worry – and it won’t stop growing. How can Ruby get rid of it and feel like herself again? A very beautiful, sensitive look at anxiety and how a problem shared is a problem halved. 

This is the third book in the Dream Defenders series and would benefit from being read in sequence. The imaginative Dreamscape setting, short chapters and lively black-and-white illustrations make it an engaging tale which celebrates individualism and promotes emotional wellbeing.

After storming off to bed upset and in a terrible mood, Erika wakes up in the most incredible place ever: there are rainbow-coloured trees, super bouncy grass and waterfalls that flow up instead of down. But she’s in danger of being trapped there… can she find her way home?

When being the youngest and smallest gets too annoying, Ravi roars and turns into a tiger! But who wants to play with a tiger? An entertaining book about losing your temper and recovering from it.