COMMUNITY

A SPRINKLE OF HAPPINESS (Lucy Rowland, David Litchfield)

A Sprinkle of Happiness (Scholastic, 2024) is an uplifting, warm-hearted story about how small acts of kindness can grow from the smallest of seeds…

…and into the mightiest of things!

When a boy and his grandma find a tiny sunflower seed and plant it together, their love and care transforms it into a towering sunflower that spreads joy through their community.

But when the sunflower blows down in a storm, the boy is devastated. Grandma reminds him that "A sprinkle of happiness is all you need!" as something even more special grows in the town. Joyful text and illustrations that you can’t help but smile at – this is a dazzling book with themes of kindness and community.

ADOETTE (Lydia Monks)

Adoette is a wonderful picture book by Lydia Monks, inspired by the true events in Sheffield, UK when 10,000 street trees were due to be chopped down.

The story follows the tale of the life of one tree, aptly named Adoette which means ‘big tree’, and the changes she sees. Within Lydia Monks’ bright and bold illustrations, we see community life on the street and how it changes over time. Sadly, one day, Adoette is no longer welcome and some want her to go. Adoette was at the heart of the community, and her memories live on when one little girl plants one of her acorns in a garden, which the community has come together to create.

The author’s note at the end is really moving and the book is dedicated to all the people who took the time to care and campaign to save the trees.

Adoette is a story about how the small seed of an idea can grow and how there is always hope.

(Reviewed by Emily Davison, author of THE BLUE UMBRELLA)

THE GIRLS WHO PLANTED TREES (Caryl Hart, Anastasia Suvorova)

The Girl Who Planted Trees is many things! It’s a story about never giving up, it’s a story about bringing a community together to create something incredible and it’s a story about looking after our world.

The girl discovers that there was once a lush forest on the great grey mountain, and after the discovery, she is determined to plant as many trees as she can. Even though the blazing sun and fierce storms nearly put an end to her hard work, she never, EVER gives up.

The Girl Who Planted Trees is a powerful story, beautifully told and illustrated. It is an empowering story for children, where one girl’s dream inspires a whole village and together, they create something incredible.

(Reviewed by Emily Davison, author of THE BLUE UMBRELLA)

THE QUEEN ON OUR CORNER (Lucy Christopher, Nia Tudor)

The Queen On Our Corner is narrated by the girl in the story, who notices a homeless woman who sits on the corner of their street. The girl calls her a Queen and imagines all the different adventures she may have had, included fighting dragons and the battles she’s been in. When a fire spreads on the street, it is the ‘Queen’ who alerts everybody. The girl brings to everyone’s attention that it was the Queen who helped, and finally the other people notice her. With the child’s encouragement, the community comes together to build her a home on the corner.

Nia Tudor’s illustrations and earthy tones suit the gentle story well. Children will enjoy exploring all of the little details that Nia has brought to the book.

With poignant words by Lucy Christopher, and stunning illustrations from Nia Tudor, this book gently introduces the concept of homelessness to children.

(Reviewed by Emily Davison, author of THE BLUE UMBRELLA)

FLOODED (Mariajo Ilustrajo)

In Flooded, we follow the story of a city which wakes up to find that everything is a little bit… WET! However, at first, nobody seems to mind. Despite being inconvenient, the animals find ways to cope with the problems that the water brings, in funny and ingenious ways. But soon, it becomes apparent that a little bit of water can turn into a HUGE problem. Eventually, the community of animals have to listen to a quieter voice to help solve the problem, but it’s going to take all of them working together to achieve it.

The story is uniquely illustrated with a gorgeous colour palette of greys and blues. Flooded is a story about learning to face up to problems before they become too big, and about the strength that comes when a community comes together to solve a problem.

(Reviewed by Emily Davison, author of THE BLUE UMBRELLA)