Tamarind Books Blog » recommended reads

A Blog Triumph for Malaika Rose Stanley

Tamarind — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:44:03 +0000

Author of Skin Deep and Spike and Ali Enson, Malaika Rose Stanley, contributed a fantastic blog post for An Awfully Big Blog Adventure last week. In Black, White and Just Right Malaika compiles a list of children’s and young adult fiction which feature mixed-race and mixed-heritage main characters. The list includes titles from authors such as Bali Rai, Philip Pullman and Rick Riordan. However, it was not easy to put the list together. As Malaika says, ‘It’s a short list – and not in a good way – but in the end, isn’t quality always more important than quantity?’ We couldn’t agree more Malaika.

To read the full article, follow this link: http://awfullybigblogadventure.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-white-and-just-right-malaika-rose.html

A Green Day in Brighton

Tamarind — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:59:53 +0000

Friday July 9^th saw Brighton’s Balfour Infants School in for a treat – not only did they get a visit from their newly-elected local Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, but also Tamarind illustrator Karin Littlewood! The Year 1 and 2 pupils listened cross-legged to a great speech from Caroline about biodiversity. She explained that if you imagined the world as an apple, only a quarter of it would be land, and the rest water… and only a half of that bit of land was habitable! So you can imagine how important it is to protect that relative slither of land we live on.

Illustrator Karin Littlewood and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas

After Caroline spoke, Karin gave a brilliant reading of The Day the Rains Fell. The book explores the idea of how the watering holes appeared in the savannah desert and celebrates the diversity of the animals living in the plains. One by one, each animal lends its colours to Thandi’s beaded necklace until she has a rainbow assortment of colours! After the reading the children decorated their own beads with all the patterns of their favourite animals.

The children enjoyed the arts and crafts no end, but the event had a serious message. Caroline Lucas said “…young people need to learn about the earth’s fragile state. We’ve taken the biosphere for granted for too long. The global climate talks last year in Copenhagen failed to tackle climate change in any meaningful way so time is running out.”

Caroline also praised the book, saying “The Day the Rains Fell is the best book I’ve seen for younger children – and for parents who want their children to enjoy and learn at the same time – about why humanity and every species on the planet is threatened.”

More of Tamarind’s ‘green’ books:

Books to Read with Dad

Tamarind — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:52:01 +0000

It’s time to put dads, step-dads and grandads back in the limelight. Here are some lovely picture books that do just that…

A Safe Place
And Me!
The Best Toy
Dave and the Tooth Fairy
Ella Moves House
The Feather

The Tamarind 10: Must-have titles for any library

Tamarind — Tue, 25 May 2010 11:19:17 +0000

We love all our books, but if you need recommendations, here they are: 10 books every library and school must have! Click on the titles to find out more.

10
Dave and the Tooth Fairy

A classic! Former National Curriculum text celebrating over 15 years in print. Currently on Oxford Reading Tree.

Themes: jobs, losing teeth, Down’s Syndrome, wheelchair use, fairies

9
Choices, Choices…

A hilarious rhyming romp through careers for boys.

Themes: jobs, poetry, humour

8
Amina and the Shell

A tropical Thumbelina tale, highlighted in children’s book week 2009.

Themes: climate change, giants, agriculture

7
The Day the Rains Fell

Stunningly illustrated tale about saving the environment highlighted in children’s book week 2010.

Themes: environment, water, creation, animals, African jewellery and pottery

6
The Silence Seeker

An asylum seeker’s search for peace and quiet in the noisy city – a great book for discussion.

Themes: immigration, making friends, noises and silence, urban life, ESL, SEN

5
Miss Bubble’s Troubles

A clever class saves their beloved teacher in this rhyming story.

Themes: humour, poetry, school, hospital, pets

4
Ferris Fleet the Wheelchair Wizard

Space, magic and wizards! Great junior fiction for boys.

Themes: space, humour, wheelchair use, single-parent family, working mums, moving house

3
Accessible biographies of well-loved icons

Including Benjamin Zephaniah, Malorie Blackman and the Obamas. Click here to view all.

Themes: Black History Month, non-fiction, biography, careers

2
Spike and Ali Enson

A tale of alien adoption.

Themes: humour, aliens, sibling rivalry, adoption

1
The Young Chieftain

Pacey 11+ fiction where L.A. skater boy Jamie MacDoran faces up to an ancient Scottish legacy.

Themes: dual heritage, bereavement, family history, responsibility

And a little something for bed time…
The Night the Lights Went Out

A soothing, lyrical story for anyone who’s afraid of the dark.