What Are You Looking For?

This guide focuses on how to recognise abuse in a teen relationship and support a friend. It also addresses maintaining the friendship and finding help for both the friend and the person experiencing abuse.

This guide tackles friendship questions through practical advice and activities, rather than a fictional storyline. Its examples include being called names, ignored at school, lonely or left out.

A short, high-interest story about a teenager facing distress, secrets and changing friendships. The plot centres on Darcy’s efforts to recover and support a friend, rather than on an informational account.

A young band’s story is paired with advice about the principles its members say have guided them. This may suit readers interested in music, friendship or pursuing a personal ambition.

A historical account of a strained friendship, set against disagreements about governing the new United States, with reconciliation included in the story.

This is a historical account centred on Jack’s testimony, alongside photographs and context about the Holocaust. It follows his imprisonment, efforts to survive, liberation and search for family.

Belle’s companionship is the book’s distinctive lens on Keller’s life. Alongside their bond, it introduces Keller’s experience of learning to communicate and some of the ways she did so.

This is a performance-centred story in which Troy, Gabriella and their friends pursue a Broadway opportunity.

A realistic school-and-family story about a small triplet seeking greater independence, with friendship developing through a butterfly-garden project and factual butterfly material extending beyond the narrative.

This is a hands-on self-discovery book rather than a continuous narrative. Its main appeal is the combination of quizzes, written responses, creative tasks and explanations that turn reflection into an activity.

Expect a football-centred childhood story rather than an account of Burglar Bill. Its unofficial team, friendships and setbacks provide comic energy, while the reflective voice gives the book a poignant, nostalgic dimension.

This is a deliberately irreverent coming-of-age novel about turning embarrassing experiences into writing. Its comic voice may offer recognition to readers who feel socially awkward, but it includes frank references to sexual subjects and bodily functions.

A lively introduction to a mathematician whose curiosity shapes both his work and his way of living. The book combines biography with number puzzles, equations and visual discoveries, presenting collaboration and mathematical thinking as central parts of Erdős’s life.

A light science-fiction adventure combines space travel, a search for a lost species and an environmental idea: neglecting nature can leave the world empty. The imaginative setting may invite discussion without presenting the book as a factual account.

A hands-on guide for making knotted bracelets with embroidery floss. It offers colour photographs, step-by-step guidance, basic techniques and varied designs, with finished bracelets framed as gifts shared with friends.

This is a visually rich wartime memoir about service, segregation, friendship and artistic persistence.

A suspenseful historical adventure combines a child-led mystery with Tutankhamun’s story. It offers friendship, family loyalty and questions about who has the right to remove cultural treasures, alongside period travel and Egyptian history.

This is a serious memoir about a child navigating poverty, school exclusion, racism and violent home relationships. Alongside distressing experiences, it includes friendship, sibling joy, Abuela’s influence and moments of perseverance.

This is a practical guide to brains, wellbeing and learning, inviting children to explore ideas through facts, questions, quizzes and activities rather than simply reading explanations.

A dark, energetic mystery about an unusual group protecting overlooked children. Its strongest offering is a determined heroine, an ensemble built around difference and friendship, and a vividly grim historical setting.

A richly illustrated blend of Sophie’s seasonal story and factual exploration, moving from countryside fruit to warmer-climate plants and tropical foods. It offers plenty to inspect, but the narrative and information may feel unevenly integrated.

This is a lively time-travel comedy that combines ancient-Rome information with peril, slapstick and a rescue mission. Expect cartoon action, repeated catchphrases, potty humour and bright panels, with factual sections and a drawing lesson at the end.

A practical, activity-led exploration of digital wellbeing: readers are invited to examine screen habits, manage distractions, stay safer online and make room for relationships and activities beyond devices.

A fast-moving magical quest gives Chompa a determined central role while opening discussion of Indian and South Asian folklore, colonial power and cultural loss. The journey spans India and London, with friendship and new skills supporting her search.

A true account of Owen, a baby hippo rescued after the 2004 tsunami, and Mzee, an elderly tortoise who becomes his companion. Their shared routines offer a vivid animal-centred story about connection across difference.

A historical friendship story seen through Eva’s diary, balancing courtly change with private hopes and losses. Its strongest interest appears to be the contrast between Eva’s personal happiness and Catherine’s increasingly difficult royal life.

A hands-on introduction to Impressionism, linking familiar artworks with techniques such as shimmering brush strokes, colour rectangles and pointillism. Its activities may give readers ways to explore ideas practically while learning about artists and their artistic world.

A personal childhood memoir about imagination, reading and writing, alongside friendships, loneliness, toys, parents and difficult family circumstances. Its photographs and illustrations add a visual dimension to Wilson’s recollections.

Choose this deliberately as an introduction to LGBTQ+ history and activism; its subject should be clear before a family decides to read it.