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This is an illustrated introduction to poverty and hunger around the world. It explains the issues through text and images, and raises the possibility of helping people affected by them.

A family faces bereavement, a makeshift home and difficulty getting enough to eat. Alongside those hardships, the children find fun in nature and the family grows closer to its new home.

Victor’s search for work becomes a struggle to survive, shaped by his responsibility to his family and his friendship with Rico. The journey brings him into contact with smugglers and the risks of crossing the border.

A fantasy adventure follows Pong, marked as a fugitive after escaping prison, and Nok, who sets out to capture him. Their paths raise questions about inequality and whether law is always just.

Expect a high-action fantasy about survival, loyalty and choosing what sort of person to become, rather than a romance-led story. Aina’s assassin role and the consequences of her choices are prominent.

The story follows Harry’s effort to build a life through work, with his resolve and moral judgement tested along the way.

A family story about Floss’s choice to live with her father, whose failing café brings financial strain and upheaval. School friendships add another thread, and the ending is open rather than fully settled.

A young girl’s search for work and food provides a personal route into the Great Depression. Molly’s experiences bring attention to unemployment and poverty, while the story’s fictional framing means her journey is not a full account of everyone’s experience.

This is a historical story of a divided society and a personal return to danger, with Darnay’s choices set against injustice and revolution in France.

At its heart, this is a story of an unlikely friendship sustained through hardship, with music and Christian faith connected to a movement from despair towards hope.

This is a story of hardship and changed fortunes, centred on Sara’s efforts to keep her hopeful outlook despite difficult treatment.

A broad historical introduction, moving from traditional cultures and specific Native groups to colonisation, US expansion and Native groups today. It combines photographs and historical images with maps, fact boxes and reference sections.

A folk-tale adventure combines a family’s financial hardship with a haunted-house challenge. Thomas’s kindness to a stranger and his encounter with a frightening ghost are central to his attempt to find treasure.

This is Christian historical fiction centred on bereavement, sibling estrangement and encounters with Jesus. Its premise brings religious belief into the characters’ responses to loss.

The memoir centres on a boy's changing hopes: reading and writing matter to him, while difficult circumstances lead him to question himself and his values.

A fairy-tale-like meeting of peasant children and a royal household, set in motion by a mysterious pouch. The chapter headings suggest several intertwined encounters and story threads.

A broad introduction to world trade, from its history and economic systems to its effects on workers and the environment, with attention to both benefits and drawbacks.

This blends a family’s observance of Lent with school-life plots, including a Bigfoot search and a spelling bee. Its events run through the season to Easter Sunday.

The boys’ choice is not simply about money: they consider whether a possible way to meet personal needs could also send cocaine back into their neighbourhood.

This is a socially engaged play in which a beggar’s protest sets a fantastical condition for the park’s community. Its central concern is how people treat those living in poverty.

A fairy-tale-style identity swap drives a story of lost status, a threatened marriage and a mystery. Magdalen and a shepherd must uncover what is happening before two realms are endangered.

A short social story combines a child’s discoveries in Varanasi with a serious encounter involving an abandoned newborn. Stylised black-and-white illustrations are mentioned.

A brisk, playful fairy-tale mash-up centres on a resourceful girl whose petty theft has consequences. Expect magic, mischief, action and uncertainty about which characters can be trusted.

This is a collection of viewpoints rather than a single settled account; expect arguments that differ over causes, responsibility and possible solutions.

A wishful, fantastical premise leads into a story about poverty, children’s work and exclusion. Nemo’s longing to play and learn is set against the pressures faced by children living on the streets.

This is a high-stakes historical adventure about a teenager caught between hopes of wealth and the violence surrounding diamond mining. It offers sustained emotional intensity alongside questions about family, freedom, exploitation and recovery.

This is an adventurous historical novel that places two vulnerable siblings amid harsh nineteenth-century poverty. Its fast-changing journey offers suspense, vivid Manchester settings and questions about family, survival and social change.

This is a fast-moving Tudor adventure centred on loyalty, injustice and a child’s effort to protect his father. It offers contrasting views of courtly wealth and London poverty, alongside historical detail about power and religious change.

A disadvantaged horse moves from failed racing to carriage work, learning about history, reading, languages and different political systems. His later involvement in a crisis gives the story an adventure arc, but the precise resolution is unclear.

A concise life story about moving from poverty into broadcasting, talk-show success and independent production, with attention to Winfrey's public influence and the admiration and criticism surrounding it.

A brisk, atmospheric historical adventure: William searches London for John Diamond while confronting a troubling family secret.

This is a gritty coming-of-age novel about Manny’s family, identity and desire for respect. It combines hardship with affection, humour and tenderness, using striking language to portray a Mexican-American teenager’s world.

This is a grim historical adventure about unjust punishment, endurance and friendship. Its atmosphere is bleak, but Tom and Midgely’s imagination gives the story a counterweight of resourcefulness and hope.

A compact introduction to Pope Francis’s background, Catholic belief and church structures, with attention to his public leadership, humility, concern for poor people and views on issues affecting the Catholic Church.

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 playful premise drives a story about wishes producing unexpected results.

A reflective coming-of-age story about discovering family roots and negotiating more than one sense of home. Its strongest elements are relationships, vivid place-writing, cultural encounter and questions of identity.

A poetic, emotionally serious story about two traumatised teenagers seeking connection and truth. Its unusual voices and recurring poems offer rich interpretation, while difficult experiences and contested ideas about healing require thoughtful engagement.

A reflective picture-book story about Eva’s connection to Ethiopia after adoption. It contrasts difficult access to water and food with practical comforts in her new home, while holding memory, loss and belonging together.

A warm, episodic family story in which each child encounters a different mishap or opportunity. It combines humour and adventure with working life, financial constraint and the affection holding a large family together.

A coming-of-age story about choosing one’s own direction when sport, family and community expectations pull strongly. Its remote landscape and hockey culture provide an intense setting for questions about loyalty and independence.

A stark historical journey about a young woman claiming an independent life, while discovering that escape does not remove poverty, danger or responsibility. Its restrained style and unsettled emotional relationships may reward readers who prefer serious, atmospheric fiction over easy comfort.

A fast-moving historical adventure places a young protagonist between friendship, justice and danger. Its Robin Hood setting is paired with questions about hunger, power, reputation and what makes someone a hero.

A broad introduction to how teenagers’ lives can differ across Mexico, linking place and economic circumstances with education, technology, heritage and traditions.

A gritty coming-of-age story about a Mexican American teenager navigating school, neighbourhood pressures and competing futures. Eddie’s relationships and private reading help him reconsider the identity he has built and the choices available to him.