PSHE and RHE Themed Reading Books

Together We Can

Caryl Hart and Ali Pye

Together We Can is a celebration of all the different forms and types of friendship. Crammed with a huge diversity of characters (and animals!), with a wide range of interests, this joyful book looks at what a friend is, how to be a friend, how to make friends, and the value of being together. It offers gentle suggestions on combatting loneliness, taking turns, saying sorry and finding commonality with others. Every child will be able to find someone like them within the pages of this book.

Only One You

Linda Kranz

This is a feel-good story with an important message about the value of each human being. Only One You is a good book for stimulating discussion and reflection about treating each individual with respect and appreciating the uniqueness of ourselves and others. 

The Same but Different Too

Karl Newson and Kate Hindley

This book very cleverly identifies our similarities and differences and demonstrates how these enhance our everyday lives.  The sparse, rhyming text jogs along beautifully and the wonderfully funny, detailed illustrations are full of humour, joy and affection. This book provides a brilliantly simple way to explain the advantages of difference to young children in a warm and entertaining way.

Almost Anything

Sophie Henn

This is a truly charming picture book with an empowering message about the power of self-belief. At the beginning of the story, George the rabbit sits on a tree stump watching his woodland friends busy doing all sorts of clever and fun activities like painting, roller-skating, knitting and dancing. Believing that he can’t do anything like that, George leaves himself with no option but to sit and watch. That is, until a wise old bear observes George’s no-can-do attitude and decides to help him to cultivate some important self-belief. This is an endearing picture book that encourages young readers to have the confidence to try new things using the ‘magic’ of a positive attitude from within themselves.

Tyrannosaurus Drip

Julia Donaldson & David Roberts

Tyrannosaurus Drip, a little peace-loving vegetarian dinosaur, never fits in with his adopted family of fierce Tyrannosauruses. After putting up with lots of bullying from the other dinosaurs, Drip runs away to find a place where he really belongs and soon he finds the inspiration to stand up to the bullies. 

Ruby’s Worry

Tom Percival

Percival depicts a 'worry' with a yellow orb that appears next to Ruby one day and continues to grow when she ignores the shadow-like entity, simply hoping that the worry will disappear of its own accord. When she meets another child with their own 'worry' and asks them about their feelings, she realises how to rid herself of worries... she needs to talk about them! 

The Colour Monster Goes to School

Anna Llenas

Colour Monster is heading to school - but he is not really sure what exactly school is. Is it a spooky castle filled with terrifying animals? Or perhaps a place in the sky, amongst the rainbows and clouds?  With a little help from a friend, Colour Monster soon finds his feet at school and throws himself head first into lots of exciting activities.

Marshall Armstrong Is New To Our School

David Mackintosh

This is a witty story with appealing cartoon-style illustrations. It follows the tale of a boy called Marshall on his first day at a new school. Marshall stands out from the crowd and so the children of his new school know that it is going to be a challenge for Marshall to fit in there. Marshall soon finds a way to show everybody that he can make friends and have fun without having to be just the same as everybody else. 

Mum’s Jumper

Jayde Perkin

This beautiful picture book is well suited for being in the hands of a child who experiences the loss of a loved one. It is a story of grief that manages to hold the complexity of the feelings of a child and her dad alongside the rawness of those emotions in a simple and perfect way. The child in the story finds comfort in her mum’s jumper. She muses why her mum left it behind, as she loved it so much. The child wears the jumper all of the time – the smell of her mum merging with her own smell. Her dad explains that grief is like the jumper – it stays the same size but she will grow into it – so the grief never goes away or diminishes, it is just that everything else grows around it.

The Goodbye Book

Todd Parr

A simple but effective picture book explaining the different emotions felt after the loss of a loved one. The bright and bold illustrations depict a goldfish losing its friend in the fishbowl, while the simple text gently reassures as it explains and validates the changing emotions associated with grief. A good choice for younger children and also for children with additional needs.

Germs Are Not For Sharing

Elizabeth Verdick & Marieka Heinlen

A simple but very effective guide for younger children, covering good personal hygiene habits to help prevent the spread of germs. The book covers what to do after you sneeze, cough, blow your nose, drop food on the floor and use the toilet. With cartoon-like illustrations and a repeated refrain of 'germs are not for sharing'.

Troll Stinks!

Jeanne Willis & Tony Ross

This is a great choice of book for exploring the topic of e-safety and cyberbullying with young children. Billy the Goat and his friend Cyril are playing with a phone when they decide to send mean messages to the troll living under the bridge. Soon the two friends discover that their online actions have had a big impact on troll's feelings and that their messages were not such a fun idea after all.