Stories about your Community

This book addresses issues of poverty with sensitivity while talking about friendship and empathy.

The whole community comes together to help Sharonda and Mama build their house.

This book tells a story about a family that continues to stay together even when they're separated.

Yew is from Malaysia, and trained as a master shoemaker with his friend Jimmy. Yew’s father and grandfather were both master shoemakers too, and he is the last in the line.

When Jimmy set up a shoe shop in London, he asked Yew to move to the UK to work with him. Together they made the most stupendous shoes you’ve ever seen!

They made shoes for princesses and pop stars all over the world. Can you imagine what colours and shapes they were?

After ten years working together, Jimmy sold his shop and Yew opened his own shoe store.

Yew’s designs featured in newspapers, and he had lots of famous clients. They called him The Shoe King!

But the world began to suffer from a financial crisis. People lost their jobs and their homes. They no longer had money to buy Yen’s fabulous footwear with its expensive price tags.

Yew closed his shoe shop. He couldn’t sell his shoes so he put them in a storage unit.

Yen had a lot of bills to pay and not much money. He couldn’t pay for his house so he left and began to sleep in the storage unit. There was no heating so it was very cold.

Sleeping at the storage unit wasn’t allowed, so he had to hide. He couldn’t use the power at night in case someone saw.

A few years passed like this, until the landlord of the storage unit found out Yew was sleeping in there. That’s when he had to start sleeping outside, on the streets.

Yew needed help. He went to a charity called Crisis. They helped him to improve his English so he could be more confident speaking to people.

They helped him learn new skills too – how to make hats so he could sell them, and how to do yoga and tai chi.

The charity gave him a bed at a shelter, and eventually a place at a hostel, so he no longer had to sleep outside.

Since then, the charity has helped Yen pay off his debts and get some money to start making shoes again. Yew is the last master shoemaker in his family, and he is getting ready to reopen his shop.

This book encourages children to ask questions to develop empathy, and learn about other children’s likes and passions. 

Holly has sensory issues because of her autism and doesn't like anything sticky. With help from family and her teacher, Holly receives the encouragement she needs to give slime a try. 

A story of two friends working together to make inclusivity happen in their school. 

Sophie comes up with the lovely idea to donate her hair to someone who really needs it.

My Heart empowers all children to live with love and self-acceptance.

A great story about mindfulness, celebration, meditation and enjoying each moment.

Cora learns to deal with her worries: big or small, silly or frightening, likely or impossible.

This book empowers children to do small acts of kindness that make a positive impact on others.

The wonderful story of a girl who wants to turn the local landfill into a beautiful park.

A book to empower children to believe in their ideas, even when others think differently.

When Mary decides to pick up some blueberries for her neighbour she starts a chain reaction of positive changes around the world. 

An empowering story about two sisters who work in their community to make change.

Explore the real difference children can make to energy use in their lives with Switch and the energy savers.

Abi still remembers the moment she fell in love with fashion. It was when she came across a pair of beautifully embroidered denim shorts.

So began Abi’s passion for all things fashion. She loved wearing very high heels, dying her hair purple, and using a bright pink mobility aid.

However, Abi discovered that fashion wasn’t easy for everyone to enjoy. It was hard for people from Black, Asian or other ethnic backgrounds. It was also hard for people with disabilities.

Abi has a visual impairment. This means she can’t see as well as other people.

When Abi first got interested in fashion, she had to rely on other people to explain what clothes looked like when she went shopping

Fashion was Abi’s way to express herself. She felt that by making it hard for her to enjoy fashion, designers and shops were saying that fashion wasn’t for her. Have you ever felt left out? What could have been done to make you feel more included?

In November 2019, Abi began making a film called Diversity in Fashion – Time for Change.

For the film, she spoke to different people who have jobs in the fashion industry. They design, make or sell the fashionable clothes we like.

Abi explained how important it is to show that anyone can enjoy fashion and feel fashionable.

The more we see people who look like us enjoying things, the more we feel included, confident and comfortable to express who we are. When do you feel most confident or comfortable?

Sometimes, it can be hard to speak out when we see someone being excluded, or to stand up for things that we care about.

Abi knows how important it is to do this. We shouldn’t be scared of people’s differences. We need to be open to them and adapt what we do and how we do it to make sure everyone can be involved.

‘There’s so much value in difference,’ says Abi. ‘There's so much value in our stories, what we've got to say, our perspective. We can't just have a carbon copy of opinion and depictions.

‘We need everyone. That's why I feel the value is in everybody. We’re in the world together, all our voices matter, our value needs to be recognised, and that value comes from our diverse perspectives.’

This book empowers children to work together to achieve dreams.

This story is based on the author’s grandmother's childhood and shows young children how working together can make a big difference within the community. 

A wonderful tale about how friendship can lift you up even in difficult times.

This book empowers children to be proud of themselves and their background.

This book describes the experience of navigating multiple cultures and finding the beauty in different traditions and languages.

Mahadiya and her friends used to go to school regularly. But during the pandemic, all the schools in her small village in Ethiopia closed.

Around 26 million children in Ethiopia haven’t been able to go to school because of the pandemic.

Mahadiya was worried that she would forget what she had learned. She worried she would have to start working and wouldn't be able to return to school when it opened again.

Mahadiya lives in the Somali region of Ethiopia, which has lots of hot deserts. How hot do you think deserts get?

In lots of villages, packages aren’t sent by car, train or aeroplane. They’re delivered by camels! Do you know what camels look and sound like?

When schools in the area closed, wooden boxes filled with books were strapped to camels and sent across the region. People call this the camel library.

21 camels, each carrying almost 200 books, have visited over 22,000 children in 33 villages.

Hassen travels with the camel and the books, helping the children they visit to learn by reading.

Mahadiya's still sad that she's missing out on school, but she loves that she can continue to read. She's still following her dreams of becoming an engineer - thanks to the camel library!

With the help of a kind zookeeper, two penguins get a chance to welcome a baby penguin of their own. 

A stunning reimagining of the classic tale, The Frog Prince that proves anyone can have their happily ever after! 

This book shares the loving bond between two same-sex parents and their children. 

A rhyming story of self-acceptance and kindness towards each other. 

Princess Violetta teaches herself how to fight, ride horses, and be brave to become the best knight in the land.

The story of Raffi empowers children to treasure and grow their passions. 

Princess Magnolia ditches her flouncy dresses to become an action hero and fight monsters.