What Are You Looking For?

A historical account of escape from slavery, centred on the secret network that helped people seek freedom. The stories also include the possibility of reunion with family.

This offers a historical account of Jewish communities and cultural encounters across several periods and regions.

A purposeful, visually striking account of collective action for water, combining biography, environmental concern, Indigenous language and spiritual practice. Its central invitation is to consider how people might show respect for water and act on that responsibility.

This is a historical biography centred on faith, bereavement, financial loss and service. It presents Seton’s work founding a religious community and school, alongside the community’s later charitable institutions.

This is an informational account of one family's displacement, return and continuing difficulties, set alongside facts about Afghanistan and its people. It also points towards helping refugees who lack permanent homes.

A practical introduction to food, from farm and market to shared meal. Its learning is woven into a group outing, with opportunities to notice ingredients, preparation, composting and community participation.

A broad, structured introduction to New York City’s history, linking people, places, politics, geography, conflict and change. It suits a reader who enjoys learning through chronological chapters and visual material, with optional hands-on activities alongside the historical account.

A direct, encouraging guide for young men, combining personal experience with advice about identity, education, friendships, family, money and sexual behaviour. Its strongest offering is a supportive mentor voice addressing difficult social pressures.

A lively introduction to Franklin’s changing roles, from printer and experimenter to civic organiser and statesman. It presents a broad historical journey supported by period images and reference material, with perseverance and inventive thinking prominent in the portrait.

A fact-rich investigation of rubbish as a cultural, economic and environmental problem, combining statistics and history with vivid people and practical examples of communities reducing waste.

This is an adventure-led environmental story in which children respond to pollution, encounter wildlife and learn about protecting habitats.

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.

This is an inclusive, informational picture book that introduces children to different conditions and abilities through a shared gardening project. Its central invitation is to ask respectful questions, recognise individual strengths and see difference as part of community life.

The biography describes Obama working towards Harvard Law School and becoming a prominent lawyer before her later public role.

A focused introduction to Jazz Jennings’s public identity and LGBTQ advocacy, with possible terminology support.

Expect a playful ecology read: Fern leads attempts to raise a fallen tree, while forest characters contribute information about their roles. Its main pleasures are inventive puns, cartoon exchanges and the eventual shift from rescue mission to ecosystem insight.

This is an illustrated adventure that uses a boy’s encounter with Stone Age life to introduce practical processes and archaeological curiosity. Its open-ended dream-or-time-travel premise invites discussion rather than a single definite explanation.

A true, illustrated account of a boy who wonders how things work, teaches himself from old science books and builds a windmill for his drought-ravaged village. The emphasis is on persistence and practical invention.

A hands-on farm-and-tractor book for shared reading, centred on a driver’s working day. Its strongest offer is participation: children can engage with the vehicle theme while noticing jobs that help farmers.

Expect a bleak flooded setting, solitary travel, danger from other young people and a determined search for family. The ending is described as positive, although the journey is repeatedly presented as harrowing and gloomy.

This is an informational, community-focused account of turning discarded plastic into purses. Its angle links environmental action with persistence, collective work and economic empowerment rather than presenting rubbish only as a problem.

A warm introduction to football as something people can enjoy together, whether playing in a major stadium or an informal outdoor space. It foregrounds shared participation and belonging rather than competition, expertise or football celebrity.

A true story follows Jennie from childhood through meeting Abram, love, his death and her search for courage. It links fear and bravery while showing grief as part of continuing life.

A nature-rich memoir that follows a young birder’s family travels and growing public activism. Its strongest interest may lie in the way birdwatching connects personal identity, family life, conservation and a search for belonging.

A gently suspenseful wartime adventure with a strong historical setting. It combines a secret mission and possible betrayal with village tensions, friendship, refugee experience, and the practical importance of art, music and community.

A vividly remembered village childhood, told through family routines, school, work, local characters and changing rural life. Its interest lies in crafted atmosphere and perspective rather than a complete factual account of Lee’s life.

This is a child-focused historical account of persecution, concealment and courage during the Holocaust. Its central contrast is between a community’s ridicule of Anton and his decision to protect Jewish neighbours at great personal risk.

This book offers a personal, question-led route into Ancient Greek society rather than only a summary of rulers or events. Its range of voices can help readers compare work, status, religion and community life.

A concise historical introduction to the Esselen, combining evidence about their life before European arrival with an account of disease, cultural disruption and changing community identity.

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 chronological introduction to LGBT civil-rights history, told through people’s experiences, major struggles and contributions. Its creative activities make the subject participatory, while the historical scope connects earlier activism with more recent events.

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