What Are You Looking For?

A short introduction to the holiday’s historical background, covering the Battle of Puebla and celebrations held each 5 May.

This is a first-person account of childhood experiences with disability and a brain tumour, centred on the author's efforts to make sense of feeling different and her use of writing to cope.

This is a family story shaped by two generations’ experiences: the sisters’ reluctant journey and Mare’s account of her youth and wartime service.

Expect an outdoor adventure centred on a dog’s determination to find her team, rather than an account of the race rules or a factual guide to the Iditarod.

This is an approachable informational guide that explains puberty, body care and healthy habits through conversational advice, illustrations and practical instructions. It presents bodily variation as normal and invites readers to seek support from trusted adults.

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.

A portrait of Chanel’s rise in fashion sits alongside discussion of poverty, prejudice, self-invention and wartime controversy. The book offers achievements and faults together rather than presenting an uncomplicated style icon.

This is a personal account of rejecting inherited hatred and choosing peace. It offers a way into questions about responsibility, identity and prejudice, while engaging with terrorism and family history rather than treating them as abstract subjects.

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.

Expect a high-stakes resistance story centred on loyalty, oppression and difficult choices. Its speculative world includes a plague’s aftermath, time-travelling operatives and a society controlled through medicine, walls and surveillance.

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 a brisk detective adventure led by an inventive young protagonist. It offers missing-person puzzles, disguises, sibling tension and eventual cooperation, with humour and suspense rather than an informational or realistic treatment.

A richly visual memoir follows Say from childhood in Japan through wartime upheaval and family strain to a serious apprenticeship with cartoonist Noro Shinpei.

A focused biography about curiosity, family support and persistence: Louis Braille loses his sight, encounters inadequate books and develops a six-dot system to make reading and writing more accessible by touch.

A hands-on baking guide offering varied cake recipes, decorating techniques, adaptations and ideas for presenting cakes as gifts. Its strongest appeal is practical activity: reading leads directly into making, decorating and sharing food.

This is an activity-led nonfiction book: readers can learn and practise tricks, then consider how presentation, preparation and originality affect a performance. It suits shared experimentation as much as quiet reading.

A classic-style children’s adventure built around a coastal mystery, teamwork and discovery. Expect suspense from dangerous rocks, suspicious night-time signals, local wrongdoing and the children’s determination to investigate without adult direction.

A practical introduction to personal finance, this book explains saving, spending and managing money while also addressing investing, salary negotiation and retirement savings. It aims to build confidence and positive financial habits through clear, relatable explanations for girls and young women.

A structured introduction to everyday money matters, moving from saving and investment to borrowing, insurance and budgeting. Its practical examples connect financial knowledge with university, college, starting work and travel.

A practical, illustrated introduction to habitats and conservation, moving between wildlife facts and achievable actions. It may help children connect distant environmental concerns with things they can do closer to home.

An accessible introduction to plastic’s environmental effects, balancing explanations of pollution with practical actions and examples of children contributing ideas, projects and solutions.

This offers an unusual way into evolution: each decision moves the reader towards another organism, making traits, environments and survival part of an active exploration rather than a page-by-page narrative.

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.

This is an energetic life story about curiosity, persistence and widening possibilities, linking sporting achievement, scientific work and exploration with Ride’s later efforts to encourage girls and young women in science and mathematics.

A biography about difference, persistence and practical problem-solving, linking Temple Grandin’s visual thinking with her scientific work and concern for livestock. It combines personal history with explanations and visual material rather than offering only a straightforward life story.

A visually rich biography about how Peter Mark Roget’s love of words and lists developed into the thesaurus. It combines personal history with ideas about language, organisation, medicine, invention and learning.

This is an arresting historical biography about a woman who turns a desperate search for security into an extraordinary public feat. Its interest lies both in whether she survives and in what happens when recognition and reward do not follow.

A reflective memoir about gender identity, sexuality and the gradual process of recognising oneself as nonbinary. Its emotional centre is the search for comfort and belonging, rather than a simple, instant answer.

A gentle introduction to Siberian tiger cubs, centred on their protected beginnings, maternal care and gradual preparation for independence. Its accessible presentation links animal behaviour with the cubs’ cold natural surroundings.