Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and

It’s Olden Days day at school and Lenny is looking forward to winning the interclass competition with the historical item he’s brought in: his invincible rat. After his rodent makes a break for it, can Lenny pull victory from the jaws of defeat? A hilarious, highly illustrated romp for readers of 6+. Choosing Books for the Classroom: The Just Imagine review panel select their favourite Graphic Novels.

Graphic novels for KS1 introduce children to the conventions of the comic in an accessible way. Speech bubbles, for instance, are carefully placed and not overwhelming. Storylines are straightforward and easy to follow in the pictures. Forced to take up a museum internship to pay for car repairs, 16-year-old Ojibwe citizen Perry Firekeeper-Birch finds herself unexpectedly enthralled by what she learns on the job. When she discovers that a local university has been holding on to the bones of an ancestor called Warrior Girl, instead of returning them to her tribe, Perry and her fellow “Misfits” are determined to bring them home – even if that requires a heist. From the award-winning author of Firekeeper’s Daughter, this superb YA thriller interweaves compelling action with a sense of the Native Americans’ long fight for their own history. Graphic novels for KS1 list: Recently, there has been a surge in graphic novels published for younger children. The books we have chosen for this list are suitable for KS1, especially for children in year 2. Many are also appropriate for children in lower KS2, especially for children in year 3. This is an idea which is really taking off in schools everywhere and they will certainly welcome this new series which is aimed at the young emerging reader. The Chaffy character has been around in various guises including a worldwide Find the Chaffy campaign, but here he meets the delightful Max Boggle and his family, who have just moved to Animal Island.

Max and Chaffy: Welcome to Animal Island! - The Bookseller Max and Chaffy: Welcome to Animal Island! - The Bookseller

In 2013, Smart and James Turner’s Fish-Head Steve! was the first graphic story to be shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Smart has also illustrated comics for the the Sunday Times, the Dandy and the Beano. Young fans will be delighted to see the next mystery adventure served up in bitesize reader – friendly chapters and interspersed with engaging visual puzzles to solve. This is a brilliant introduction to comic layout and readers will feel a great sense of achievement at completing a chapter. The illustrations are the epitome of cute, as are the mix of characters and the text is appropriately sized and clearly laid out. This is a series which will be absolutely snapped up by parents and teachers everywhere and will most definitely get kids hooked on reading!

Our top picks from recent titles

Nyla grew up with her mum and her grandma, because her dad died when she was little – or so she’s always been told. But now Grandma Farida, “time-travelling” in her mind as her memory weakens, insists she’s seen her lost son in the supermarket. When Nyla promises Grandma that she’ll find him and bring him home, she unravels a whole web of secrets in this eloquent, affecting verse novel for 9+. Humour and friendship are recurring themes, often featuring comic duos. Bumble and Snug is written specifically to develop emotional literacy, but not at the expense of a good story children want to read. Find out more Then they discovered the cake was missing, but our duo was soon hot on the trail following clues and with puzzles for the reader to solve. With lots of red herrings and dead ends, Max and Chaffy were beginning to think they had failed, when they found another chaffy and this one had a familiar looking hat and was hot on the trail! This time Max and his friend Chaffy wake up to a hive of activity on Adventure Island. All their friends are planning a secret birthday party for Chief Constable Moose. Bradley was making lanterns, Orlando was making a sign to fly behind his plane and grumpy cat Foghorn was supposed to be finding a present. Crumble had made a delicious strawberry cupcake and that is where the trouble began. Not only did Crumble let Max and Chaffy into the secret, but all the noise attracted Chief Constable Moose, who was accused of ruining the surprise and sent away. The denouement was a big surprise, but everybody learned that plans are not more important than people and that being greedy can lead to a sore tummy. The gentle messages in this perfectly pitched series are very effective for a young audience and they will love to see another chaffy find their perfect home. Teachers and parents will also love the design a chaffy activity sheets and draw along videos on www.findchaffy.com